Celta survive late scare

RC Celta de Vigo will tackle Werder Bremen in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup after defeating FC Spartak Moskva 2-1 in Spain and 3-2 on aggregate.

Moscow woe
Nené and Aspas Jonathan scored in either half for Celta, who endured a nervous finale after Yegor Titov struck an away goal for Spartak with two minutes remaining. Time was against the Russian club, though, as they followed their city rivals PFC CSKA Moskva – 1-0 losers at Maccabi Haifa FC – out of the competition.

Tremendous finish
Lying in the Primera División relegation zone, Celta were determined to escape from their domestic troubles, temporarily at least, and give the Balaídos faithful something to cheer against Spartak. The home fans did not have long to wait, Antonio Núñez combining speed and skill on the right wing before picking out Nené who gave the hosts a 19th-minute lead with a tremendous finish.

Chances
Núñez and Pablo García passed up presentable opportunities to extend that advantage before the break, while Roman Pavlyuchenko shot narrowly wide and then straight at Esteban Suárez with two openings at the other end. Spartak carried that impetus into the second period, Maxym Kalynychenko firing wide and Suárez denying both Radoslav Kováč and substitute Artem Dzyuba.

Costly miss
The latter's miss proved costly in the 78th minute when Jonathan latched on to Ángel López's quick throw-in and drilled the ball in from distance, rendering Titov's late effort for Spartak immaterial.