Rangers’ Champions League hopes were left hanging in the balance when a late equaliser from Unirea Urziceni denied them a crucial first victory in the tournament this season. A 4-1 defeat to the Romanian champions at Ibrox a fortnight ago meant Rangers headed into tonight’s clash in Bucharest knowing defeat would spell the end of their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
Lee McCulloch thought he had secured the win with a superb strike with just 11 minutes to go but Unirea hit back to claim a point when substitute Marius Onofras grabbed a last-gasp leveller.
Sevilla joined the growing list of clubs to have booked their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League tonight after holding on for a draw against battling Stuttgart at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium. Winger Jesus Navas, captaining the side in the absence of a number of senior players, put Sevilla ahead in the 14th minute but the visitors staged a second-half fightback and deservedly claimed a point thanks to Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s deflected 25-yard strike 12 minutes from time.
The result ends Sevilla’s 100% record in Group G but, thanks to the 1-1 draw in the match between Unirea Urziceni and Rangers, they are guaranteed a place in the knockout stages.
Two goals in the last five minutes spared Jose Mourinho’s blushes at Dynamo Kiev and reignited Inter Milan’s Champions League campaign. Andrey Shevchenko, a legend at Inter’s city rivals AC Milan, scored the only goal of the first half after 21 minutes and it looked like being enough for a shock win.
Inter piled on the pressure in the second period and it finally paid off as the in-form Diego Milito equalised in the 86th minute and Wesley Sneijder won it one minute from time. Even a draw would have kept the Italians bottom of Group F, but as it was they went top - a point ahead of Rubin Kazan and Barcelona.
Liverpool’s hearts were broken by a cruel last-minute equaliser that has all but ended their Champions League dreams for a traumatic season. The much-maligned Ryan Babel had scored a wonderful goal with just seven minutes left and if Liverpool could have hung on to that lead they would still have had a realistic chance of reaching the last 16. But Liverpool’s season has been littered with shattering luck and bitter body blows, as well as beach-ball goals.
Portsmouth Football Club chief executive Peter Storrie has been formally charged with tax evasion.
Prosecutors accused him of concealing a signing-on fee for Amdy Faye by paying it into the midfielder’s bank account during his transfer to the south-coast club from Auxerre in 2003.
Storrie will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 16, a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) said.
The alleged £250,000 payment - relating to the player’s transfer to Portsmouth for £1.5m - was made between July 1, 2003 and August 12, 2005.
Rubin Kazan followed up their shock victory against Barcelona a fortnight ago with a defensive masterclass to leapfrog their Catalan opponents in Champions League Group F ahead of the evening game between Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan. Barcelona were the victims of one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history when goals by Aleksandr Ryazantsev and Gokdeniz Karadeniz guided the Russians to a 2-1 victory at the Nou Camp a fortnight ago, also the first game they had won in the competition.
Although Barca dominated possession tonight they produced few clear-cut chances as the Russian champions produced a perfect defensive display and they could even have taken all three points had Alexander Bukharov taken his chances after being introduced as a substitute with a little under half an hour remaining.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Flight of the Conchords” star Jemaine Clement has said his offbeat HBO comedy series may not continue for a third season because it requires so much work, but a final decision will be made within a month.
Clement told Reuters that he needs to discuss the future of the show with his co-star, Bret McKenzie, and with the director of the series, James Bobin.
“It very likely might not” return for a third season, Clement said. “It could come back in a shorter season or like a special,” he added.
