UEFA Cup: Amelia saves Livorno; Palermo beaten

Thursday 2 November
Group A: Partizan Belgrade 1-1 Livorno
Livorno keeper Marco Amelia turned unlikely goalscorer to give his side a dramatic UEFA Cup Group A draw with Partizan Belgrade. Nenad Mirosavljevic's 70th-minute strike looked to have been enough for the Belgrade club, but Amelia advanced to head in with just two minutes remaining to ensure the Tuscan European debutants their first point in the pool, level with Partizan who have a game in hand. In three weeks' time Partizan go to Maccabi Haifa, whom Livorno welcome the following week.

Group H: Palermo 0-1 Newcastle United
Albert Luque and young goalkeeper Tim Krul were the heroes for Newcastle United as they defeated joint Serie A leaders Palermo in Sicily to secure a second UEFA Cup Group H victory. Both sides had won their Matchday 1 fixtures, so they knew three more points would take them to within touching distance of the Round of 32. UEFA Intertoto Cup winners Newcastle, in the midst of an injury crisis, gave a first start to 18-year-old Dutchman Tim Krul, and he proved up to the task with some fine saves in defending the lead given to the visitors by Luque after 37 minutes. Newcastle will welcome Celta Vigo in three weeks' time full of confidence, while Palermo must regroup before they go to Fenerbahce.

Today's Other Results
Group A: Rangers 2-0 Maccabi Haifa.
Group B: Dinamo Bucharest 2-1 Besiktas, Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Club Brugge.
Group C: Braga 4-0 Slovan Liberec, Grasshoppers 2-5 AZ Alkmaar.
Group D: Heerenveen 0-2 OB Odense, Lens 3-1 Osasuna.
Group E: Blackburn Rovers 3-0 FC Basel, Nancy 2-1 Wisla Krakow.
Group F: Ajax 3-0 Austria Vienna, Zulte Waregem 3-1 Sparta Rotterdam.
Group G: Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-2 Rapid Bucharest, Mlada Boleslav 0-1 Panathinaikos.
Group H: Celta Vigo 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt.