UC Round 1: First Leg Review

Gigi Cagni's Empoli won their first ever UEFA Cup tie against FC Zurich, while Palermo secured a late win in the Czech Republic, Fiorentina were held in the Netherlands and Sampdoria are in trouble after conceding two away goals against Aalborg.

Empoli 2-1 FC Zurich
Empoli secured a historic 2-1 win over FC Zurich at the Stadio Carlo Castellani in their first ever European tie. Felice Piccolo gave the Tuscan minnows the lead on the stroke of half time and then Luca Antonini slotted home from the penalty spot on 52 minutes after he was brought down to double the lead. The Swiss side, though, gave themselves a lifeline for the second leg when Alexandre Alphonse hit home on 74 minutes. While Gigi Cagni's side can be proud of delivering a winning European debut, his men could be made to pay for not keeping a clean sheet.

Mlada Boleslav 0-1 Palermo
Palermo left it late to secure a 1-0 win over Mlada Boleslav at the Mestsky Stadion. An injury time Bosko Jankovic penalty ensure Palermo sneaked the win over the Czech outfit. The Serbia international slotted home to break Mlada hopes after they looked like they were close to securing a hard-fought home draw before they travel to Sicily for the second leg.

Groningen 1-1 Fiorentina
Groningen held a strong Fiorentina side to a 1-1 draw at the Euroborg Stadion. The Dutch side had taken a first half lead when Gorna Lovre fired them in front on 25 minutes. However, Franco Semioli netted an equaliser for the visitors when he netted on 65 minutes to leave the Florence outfit in the box seat for the return leg in two weeks' time.

Sampdoria 2-2 Aalborg
Danish minnows Aalborg scored two away goals in Genoa to secure a thrilling 2-2 draw against Sampdoria. The home side took the lead on 18 minutes when Gennaro Delvecchio pounced to fire home, but the visitors restored parity a minute later when Rade Prica showed composure to equalise. The game then continued to be an entertaining contest and Andreas Johansson looked to have scored a shock turn around and handed an away win over their hosts when he hit the back of the net on 56 minutes. However, Claudio Bellucci hit an equaliser three minutes later to save Walter Mazzarri's side ahead of the return leg.

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UEFA CUP FIRST ROUND REVIEW:
[First Leg] - [Second Leg]