fenerbahçe win thriller at sevilla published: wednesday 5 march 2008, 0.54cet
sevilla fc 3-2 fenerbahçe sk (agg: 5-5, fenerbahçe win 3-2 on pens) volkan demirel saved three penalties to decide the tie.
by chris burke from ramón sánchez-pizjuán stadium
volkan demirel turned from villain to hero to send fenerbahçe sk into the uefa champions league quarter-finals for the first time, saving three spot-kicks after hosts sevilla fc had won 3-2 to take their first knockout round tie the distance. redemption two errors inside the first nine minutes from the visiting keeper had given sevilla the perfect start, allowing daniel alves and seydou keita to score, but two deivid goals either side of a frédéric kanouté effort forced extra time following fenerbahçe's 3-2 first-leg victory in istanbul. sevilla keeper andrés palop denied edu after no further goals were forthcoming, before volkan demirel grabbed the headlines with saves from julien escudé, enzo maresca and alves.
early drama the local fans put on a captivating show before kick-off, full of colour and chanting, and their favourites soon gave them the goal they craved. kanouté won a foul 20 metres out and, with five minutes on the clock, alves curled in the free-kick via volkan demirel's misjudged attempt to save. that put sevilla ahead on away goals and they quickly took advantage of the keeper's shattered confidence. the fenerbahçe no1 was returning to action after being suspended at the weekend, and still looked rusty when keita then thrashed a shot through his gloves from distance. frustrated, zico's men began collecting yellow cards, including one for gökhan gönül, who misses the next match.
fenerbahçe revival volkan demirel made some amends in the 22nd minute, keeping out keita, and by that point fenerbahçe had earned themselves a lifeline from a mehmet aurélio corner which found deivid unmarked just inside the area. the brazilian fired hard into the bottom left corner for his third goal of this season's competition, before his compatriot alex and left-back gökçek vederson came close to putting fenerbahçe back on top overall.
kanouté volley if that signalled a resurgence from the turkish champions, kanouté had other ideas and restored sevilla's two-goal cushion four minutes before the break. the striker chested down alves's pass and volleyed in courtesy of a deflection off gökhan gönül. the visitors refused to wilt, however, and it took a goalline clearance from christian poulsen to stop edu providing an immediate reply in first-half stoppage time
intelligent football if sevilla's early goals had made for a thrilling contest, the double uefa cup winners appeared more intent on defending their lead after the restart, no doubt with coach manuel jiménez's call for intelligent football ringing in their ears after a dressing-room reminder. that gave fenerbahçe the breathing space to create chances, as alex reminded everyone when he drove the ball just over from the left.
attacking substitution sevilla were starting to betray nerves by this point, while zico attempted to give his charges an edge by introducing semih şentürk for selçuk şahin. the substitute had come on to score the winner in istanbul, yet after keita and alves had both gone close at the other end, it was deivid who once again made the difference. with eleven minutes remaining he was picked out at the far post and took his moment to fire past the helpless palop after his initial attempt had come back off the woodwork.
late chances both sides had late chances to clinch victory but the game headed into extra time where, despite producing ten goals in the preceding 180 minutes, neither team could deliver the decisive punch. that meant penalties for the opportunity to make history and – for volkan demirel – the occasion to return home a redeemed hero.
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