Surfing the wave of success from matchday 1, Serie A clubs continued their good run of form on matchday 2 of UEFA Cup Group Stage. With Sampdoria taking a break this round, both AC Milan and Udinese came out victorious of their encounters vs. Sporting Braga (1-0) and Spartak Moscow (2-1).

While Udinese achieved their result thanks to a 60^th minute penalty of Fabio Quagliarella, the Rossoneri had to patiently (frustratingly?) wait until stoppage time of the second half, before a Ronaldinho-powered blast gave Milan the late victory.

Uefa.com reports.

Spartak Moscow vs. Udinese

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(From Uefa.com): Fabio Quagliarella struck twice as Udinese took a giant step towards the UEFA Cup knockout stage with a 2-1 victory against Spartak Moskow in the Russian capital. The Italian international put Udinese ahead in the 12^th minute before Clemente Rodríguez levelled five minutes later. The Spartak defender was later penalised for a foul on Simone Pepe in the box, and 25-year-old Quagliarella stepped up to beat Stipe Pletikosa from the spot to give the Friuli Stadium side their second Group D win. Pasquale Marino’s men defeated Tottenham 2-0 at home on Matchday 1.

Spartak, playing their first group-stage game, carved out the first chance of the tie when Vladimir Bystrov’s effort from inside the area forced giant goalkeeper Samir Handanovič to palm the ball away for a corner. However, Udinese responded with a Quagliarella volley from Giovanni Pasquale’s pass that got the better of Pletikosa but rebounded back off the crossbar.

Quagliarella made no mistake shortly afterwards, receiving Pepe’s pass before surging inside the box and rifling a right-footed shot past the Spartak keeper. 1-0 Udinese. The Bianconeri’s joy was short-lived, though, as Rodríguez latched on to Aleksandr Pavlenko’s corner to restore parity. 1-1

Handanovic did well to save Udinese by parrying Aleksandr Prudnikov’s stinging drive before half-time, and Michael Laudrup’s Spartak continued to dominate possession after the restart. However, it was Udinese who took the lead through Quagliarella’s penalty on the hour. 2-1 Udinese

The Russian team did not give up, though. Bystrov rattled the upright from distance before Pasquale’s dismissal reduced Udinese to ten men. Handanovič then made a formidable one-handed save to frustrate Radoslav Kováč with two minutes remaining.

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	SPARTAK-UDINESE 1-2 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 12’, 60 pen. Quagliarella (U), 17’ Cl.Rodriguez (S).
SPARTAK MOSCOW (4-2-3-1): Pletikosa – Parshivlyuk, Jiranek, Fathi, Cl.Rodriguez – Shishkin, Ra.Kovac – Bystrov, Pavlenko (63’ Maidana), Bazhenov – Prudnikov (76’ Dzyuba). (bench: Dzhanaev, Filipenko, Sovetkin, Ivanov, Stranzl). Coach: M.Laudrup.
UDINESE (4-3-3): Handanovic – Motta, Coda, Domizzi, Pasquale – Inler, Obodo (60’ D’Agostino), Isla – Pepe (84’ Ferronetti), Quagliarella, Sanchez (74’ Floro Flores). (bench: Belardi, Felipe, Sala, Lukovic). Coach: Marino.

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AC Milan vs. Sporting Braga

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(From Uefa.com): A stunning strike by substitute Ronaldinho saw AC Milan snatch a last-gasp victory against SC Braga to take a three-point lead at the top of UEFA Cup Group E.

Ronaldinho, who had replaced Pato in the 63^rd minute, unleashed an unstoppable added-time winner to deny Braga the point their gutsy performance looked to have earned. With the final whistle in sight, a cross from the left was flicked towards the Brazilian by Gennaro Gattuso and Ronaldinho unleashed a stunning shot into the top-left corner from outside the area.

Milan almost got off to the perfect start when Filippo Inzaghi headed wide of the right-hand post with less than four minutes on the clock. Andriy Shevchenko and Pato also went close for the Rossoneri in the early exchanges, while Renteria might have found the target twice for Braga in the opening ten minutes. Indeed, Braga had the best chance of the half after 28 minutes with César Peixoto‘s point-blank strike demanding a great save from Dida.

Milan could have taken a quick lead after the break but Shevchenko’s diagonal attempt from the edge of the box sailed wide, with Pato and Inzaghi screaming for the ball. Renteria threatened on the hour but sent his effort narrowly wide from distance. Substitute Clarence Seedorf dribbled his way past three defenders and into the area in the 77^th minute before sending in a shot which was deflected away by Moisés. However, the UEFA Cup favourites had one more throw of the dice late on, and Ronaldinho struck lucky, registering his first European goal since his summer move from Barcelona. 1-0 Milan.

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	MILAN-BRAGA 1-0 [Match Highlights]
GOALSCORERS: 93’ Ronaldinho (M).
MILAN (4-3-3): Dida – Antonini, Senderos, Kaladze, Jankulovski – Flamini, Emerson (69’ Seedorf), Gattuso – Pato (62’ Ronaldinho), F.Inzaghi, Shevchenko. (bench: Kalac, Bonera, Darmian, Pedrocchi, Borriello). Coach: Ancelotti.
SPORTING BRAGA (4-4-2): Eduardo – Frechaut, Moises, Rodriguez, Evaldo – Vandinho, Alan (89’ Joao Pereira), Cesar Peixoto (75’ Matheus), Luis Aguiar – Renteria, Meyong (46’ Paulo Cesar). (bench: Kieszek, Madrid, Mossoro, Jorginho). Coach: Jorge Jesus.

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Tags: AC Milan, Carlo Ancelotti, Clemente Rodriguez, Fabio Quagliarella, Jorge Jesus, Michael Laudrup, Pasquale Marino, Ronaldinho, Sampdoria, Sporting Braga, UEFA Cup

Posted in Milan, Sampdoria, UEFA Cup |

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