Sport

Monaco defy numbers and make last 16

UEFA Champions League Round-Up: GROUP C: Monaco, reduced to nine men by the end of their game in Monte Carlo, reached the last…

Wed Nov 26 2003 - 00:00

UEFA Champions League Round-Up: GROUP C: Monaco, reduced to nine men by the end of their game in Monte Carlo, reached the last 16 of the Champions League last night after a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.

PSV, whose qualification hopes are still alive thanks to their 85th-minute equaliser, had Theo Lucius sent off by early in the second period.

Fernando Morientes scored with a fine header to put Monaco ahead after 34 minutes.

Substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink equalised from a free kick shortly after Monaco's Andreas Zikos was sent off, apparently for picking up the ball because a team mate was injured.

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Monaco captain Ludovic Giuly was sent off in the 88th minute for arguing about a bad tackle on a team mate.

Monaco have 10 points from five games, their only defeat being at Deportivo La Coruna who were then handed a record 8-3 thrashing in the return leg.

Deportivo took a step closer to the next round with a 3-0 win over AEK Athens in Riazor.

They will qualify for the last 16 as long as PSV do not beat them by a better score than 2-0 in Holland in their final match on December 10th.

A 25-metre thunderbolt from defender Hector midway through the first half, a Juan Carlos Valeron strike at the start of the second and a simple finish from Albert Luque on 70 minutes helped erase the memory of their thrashing in Monte Carlo earlier in the month.

GROUP D: Real Sociedad claimed a 2-2 draw away to Olympiakos last night despite having Darko Kovacevic sent off.

Sociedad, who stayed second in the group behind Juventus, took the lead on the half hour when the Greek side's goalkeeper Fanis Kateryiannakis charged out of his area and left striker Igor Gabilondo with an open goal.

Olympiakos fought back in the second half to equalise with a thunderous long-range free kick from Ieroklis Stoltidis.

After Kovacevic was sent off, Neri Castillo gave the hosts the lead in the 71st minute, but defender Gabriel Schurrer restored parity for Sociedad .

Even if Galatasaray beat Juventus in their rearranged match, Sociedad would need just a point when they play the Turks at home in their last group game to win a place in the last 16.

Galatasaray's fixture with Juventus, which was postponed due to security risks in Istanbul, is expected to be fixed for next Tuesday.