Thu Apr 3 17:07:02 2008

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UEFA Cup: Contra's late goal helps Getafe tie Bayern

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Munich, Germany (Sports Network) - Cosmin Contra scored in the 90th minute as Getafe tied Bayern Munich, 1-1, on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarterfinal series in the rain and snow at Allianz-Arena.

Luca Toni scored in the 26th minute for Bayern, the favorite to win the event, but the German giants let the lead slip away in the final minutes with a visit to Spain coming up next week.

Zenit St. Petersburg rolled to a 4-1 win over Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, PSV tied Fiorentina 1-1 and Rangers and Sporting tied 0-0 in the other first legs.

Bayern dominated the early stages and had the first good scoring chance in the 18th minute. Defender Philipp Lahm made a nice run up the right and crossed to Toni in the box. Toni tried a bicycle kick but couldn't get a lot on the shot, sending it wide of the right post.

Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger helped set up the first goal by first unleashing a powerful shot toward the right post that Getafe goalkeeper Oscar Ustari dove to knock wide for a corner.

Schweinsteiger took the corner from the right and swung a cross to Toni at the far post. The Italian soared above two Getafe defenders and met the hard cross with a perfect header into the upper left corner.

Toni's eighth UEFA Cup goal was also his 27th in all competitions this season.

Getafe failed to threaten Bayern for the first 35 minutes, but its first good chance nearly tied the match.

Off a corner kick, Mario ran onto the pass unmarked and headed the ball at the left post. The shot had Bayern goalie Oliver Kahn beat, but Lahm was there at the post to save a sure goal.

Getafe, settled in after the slow start, also created the first good chance of the second half. Ikechukwu Uche made a cut to try and lose two defenders, but before he got back to the ball teammate Javier Casquero charged in to unleash a one-time effort that sailed just inches over the bar in the 54th minute.

Bayern had its first good scoring threat of the second half in the 60th minute when Lahm crossed a short pass from the right side of the box to Toni, who put a header toward the left post that was saved by Ustari.

Schweinsteiger had Bayern's next scoring chance in the 68th minute when headed a cross from Ze Roberto, but the ball deflected off a Getafe defender and over the bar for a corner.

Mark van Bommel and Toni had a two-on-one for Bayern two minutes later, but it was wasted when Toni took too long to take a shot.

Bayern wasted another opportunity in the 72nd minute when Franck Ribery wasn't able to get a shot off quickly enough.

Getafe was unlucky not to tie the game in the 84th minute when Manu headed the ball of the left post and Bayern cleared the ball out of danger. The shot came off a cross from the right side that Kahn failed to reach when he came off his line, leaving Manu open for the shot.

The Spanish side finally found the key away goal it was hoping for in the 90th minute after a wild scramble in front of the net led to Contra's goal.

Kahn came off his line to slow down the initial attack, but Getafe picked up a loose ball on the right side and played the ball back into the box. Eventually it was Contra who ran onto the ball at the top of the box, played it down off his shoulder and chipped over Kahn and two defenders on the line.

Getafe takes the key away goal back to Spain for the second leg on April 10, when all four second legs are scheduled.

Andrei Arshavin, Pavel Pogrebnyak, Aleksandr Anyukov and Igor Denisov scored in Zenit St. Petersburg's win over Bayer Leverkusen, giving the Russian club a convincing lead heading into the second leg at home.

Arshavin scored the opening goal in the 20th minute, but Stefan Kiessling tied the match in the 33rd for Bayer.

The match went into halftime tied 1-1, but the Russian club took control early in the second half and goals by Pogrebnyak, Anyukov and Denisov during an 11- minute stretch put the match away.

Fiorentina took the lead at home against PSV on Adrian Mutu's goal in the 56th minute, but Danny Koevermans scored in the 63rd minute to give PSV an edge for the second leg in the Netherlands.

Portugal's Sporting Lisbon escaped Ibrox in Scotland with a 0-0 draw against Rangers, giving it an edge entering their second leg.