2008 UEFA Europa League semi-final results

Posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm and is filed under News.

Last night’s 2008 UEFA Europa League semi-finals produced one of the biggest upsets in club football history as St. Petersburg Zenit blasted Bayern Munich out of the tournament in a 4-0 drubbing.

The surprise result was the product of lethal finishing combined with an impregnable defence that had effectively shut Bayern out of the game by the time the half-time whistle blew with the score on 2-0.

The Russian side showed all the precision usually associated with the top German clubs to score another two goals in the second half.

The last goal of the game said it all. The Zenit defence parried a desperate Bayern attack, only to launch a breakaway riposte which Pgrebnyak completed with a perfect goal in the bottom corner of the Bayern net to hand Zenit a 5-1 aggregate win.

The second 2008 UEFA Europa League semi-final played in Florence was drab in comparison to the fireworks in St. Petersburg. Rangers and Fiorentina went 120 minutes without either side finding a way to put the ball into the opposition’s net.

The game eventually went into a penalty shootout, ending 210 minutes of goalless UEFA Europa League semi final football between the two teams. Fiorentina had the best of the early exchanges in the penalties, however Rangers fought back as Alexander saved two penalties to send Rangers into the 2008 UEFA Europa League finals.