Bayer Leverkusen reached the next round of the UEFA Cup on Thursday afternoon, joining Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Haifa.
Leverkusen, which claimed the UEFA Cup in 1988, advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years, prevailing 3-2 on aggregate following a scoreless draw at Blackburn.
Ferran Corominas of Espanyol reflects after scoring a goal.
(Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)
"We fought well and finished off the job," Leverkusen manager Michael Skibbe said. "They knocked a lot of long balls into our penalty area, but we defended superbly to keep them out."
AZ Almaar, which rallied for a 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce and a 5-5 aggregate, advanced on the strength of away goals.
Maarten Martens and Barry Opdam scored in the second half to offset early goals by Tumer Metin and Alex.
"In the first half, we were losing the ball, we just played badly," AZ manager Louis van Gaal said. "We came back a different side in the second half — unbelievable."
Shakhtar Donetsk won 1-0 at Nancy on a goal by Fernandinho in the 71st minute after tying 1-1 in the opening leg.
Benfica beat Dinamo Bucharest 2-1 to advance on a 3-1 aggregate.
Maccabi Haifa ousted CSKA Moscow 1-0 when Roberto Colautti buried a rebound behind Igor Akinfeev in the 14th minute.
CSKA captured the UEFA Cup in 2005.
Sevilla still alive
Later Thursday, defending champion Sevilla moved on and Ajax did not.
Aleksandr Kerzhakov scored the lone goal of the second leg on a first-half header for Sevilla, which had a 3-0 aggregate over Steaua Bucharest.
Three other Spanish clubs also reached the fourth round — Osasuna, Celta Vigo and Espanyol.
Newcastle United, Glasgow Rangers, Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Braga also advanced.
Ajax, winner of the 1992 UEFA Cup, beat Werder Bremen 3-1 on goals by Leonardo, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ryan Babel.
Still, it wasn't enough to overcome a 3-0 loss in the opening leg as Bremen advanced.
Celta Vigo vanquished Spartak Moscow 2-1 and 3-2 on aggregate, Braga ousted two-time champion Parma with a second consecutive 1-0 win in Jorge Costa's debut as manager, and PSG prevailed 2-0 on goals by Pierre-Alain Frau and Bernard Mendy.
"It was not an easy match as they absolutely had to score," PSG striker Peguy Luyindula said.
Elsewhere, Obafemi Martins scored in Newcastle's 1-0 win at St. James Park and Barry Ferguson tallied twice as Rangers romped 4-0 over Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Lens progressed 3-1 on aggregate after playing Panathinaikos to a goalless draw.
Javad Nekounam scored on a header in the final minute of extra time as Osasuna ousted Bordeaux 1-0.
And Espanyol blanked Livorno 2-0 on goals from Jesus Mari La Cruz and Ferran Corominas to advance 4-1.
With files from the Associated Press
