Titov strike takes Spartak through

A solitary Yegor Titov strike was sufficient for FC Spartak Moscow to see off FC Zürich but both sides booked their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

Section pacesetters
Titov was on hand 12 minutes into the second half to dispatch a Nikita Bazhenov cross past Andrea Guatelli. The Russian Premier League side top Group E with seven points, and will go into the draw for the Round of 32 as Group E winners with a victory against bottom side Toulouse FC in their final fixture on 19 December.

Positive start
The hosts signalled their intentions from the outset and could have opened the scoring in the tenth minute through striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. Zürich defender Florian Stahel fouled Dmitri Torbinskiy on the edge of the penalty area, with Pavlyuchenko's resulting free-kick tipped over by Guatelli. Zürich were largely restricted to attempts from distance in the first half but Bernard Challandes' side almost went into the break in front when Yassine Chikhaoui's header was touched over by Stipe Pletikosa.

Sitting back
Spartak stepped up a gear after the interval and took the lead through Titov, the midfielder finding space to drill his shot into the top corner from 12 yards. Seeming happy with their lot, Stanislav Cherchesov's team sat back for the remainder of match, but despite controlling possession the Swiss Super League side failed to trouble Pletikosa in the home goal. They nonetheless go into their final game at home against Bayer 04 Leverkusen sure of a place in the Round of 32 as a result of AC Sparta Praha's 1-0 defeat against the German side in tonight's other Group E game.