Sevilla Reaches UEFA Cup Quarterfinals

LONDON (AP) _ Goalkeeper Andres Palop scored an injury-time goal before Uruguay's Javier Chevanton added the winner in extra time to lead defending champion Sevilla past Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 Thursday

Friday, March 16th 2007, 7:59 am

By: News On 6

LONDON (AP) _ Goalkeeper Andres Palop scored an injury-time goal before Uruguay's Javier Chevanton added the winner in extra time to lead defending champion Sevilla past Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 Thursday and into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup.

The game was four minutes into injury time with Sevilla facing elimination when Palop left his net unguarded and moved up for a last-ditch corner. Daniel Alves swung the ball in and the goalkeeper headed home a goal to stun the Ukrainian crowd.

The Spaniards completed the turnaround when Chevanton scored the winner on a low shot in the 105th minute.

``He had to give his son a present by reaching the next round as his boy has been ill in hospital for a week. And he has done so and even scored a goal,'' Sevilla coach Juande Ramos said of Palop.

In another upset, AZ Alkmaar won at Newcastle 2-0 and the Dutch team went through on away goals, overturning a 4-2 first-leg loss.

Espanyol made it a perfect night for Spain, beating Maccabi Haifa 4-0 following a first-leg scoreless draw.

Benfica Lisbon got a late penalty from Simao Sabrosa to reverse its first-leg defeat and beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in Lisbon for a 4-3 aggregate victory.

After a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Shakhtar led on Brazilian midfielder Francelino Matuzalem's goal in the 49th minute, only to have the defending champions tie it with a low shot from Enzo Maresca four minutes later.

During a tense second half, Donetsk looked like it would advance, especially after Matuzalem set up Elano for the second goal in the 83rd minute. But using a desperate tactic, Palop kept his team in the match with his bouncing header, setting up substitute Chevanton to carry the Spaniards.

In Alkmaar, AZ got the early breakthrough it wanted when Georgia's Shota Arveladze pushed a cross from Danny Koevermans into the net from close range in the 14th minute.

The home team advanced when Koevermans scored a goal, beating the Newcastle defense to a corner at the near post in the 57th minute.

``It was a great performance,'' AZ coach Louis van Gaal said. ``We had to keep a clean sheet and score two and we managed it.''

Benfica advanced on two Simao Sabrosa goals. He scored from close range and Armando Petit's chip gave Benfica the aggregate lead in the first half. Pauleta, Portugal's leading career scorer, tied the overall score for PSG with a glancing header in the 32nd minute.

In the 87th minute, Leo was fouled and Sabrosa scored his third goal over two legs from the penalty spot.

In Barcelona, Ivan De La Pena, Raul Tamudo, Luis Garcia and Walter Pandiani scored second-half goals to give Espanyol a 4-0 win over Haifa.

Maccabi, bidding to become only the second Israeli team to reach the quarterfinals of a European competition, held Espanyol for 53 minutes but then allowed three goals in eight minutes.

De La Pena gave the home team the lead from outside the penalty area for the first goal of the two legs.

Captain Tamudo added the second with an angled shot from Pandiani's pass six minutes later, with Garcia extending the lead by converting De La Pena's cross from close range in the 61st minute.

Espanyol, which joined Sevilla and Osasuna in the quarterfinals, sealed its win when Pandiani made it 4-0 in injury time.