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Holders Sevilla led a trio of Spanish clubs into the UEFA Cup semi-finals on Thursday, mirroring the three-pronged success story for English Premier League sides in the Champions League this week.
Sevilla drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in another pulsating quarter-final second leg that put the Primera Liga title challengers through 4-3 on aggregate.
Their reward is an all-Spanish semi-final with Osasuna after the Pamplona side eased past Bayer Leverkusen, completing a 4-0 success over Bayer Leverkusen after winning 1-0 at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra.
"It says a lot about the strength of Spanish football that we have three clubs in the semi-finals," said Sevilla coach Juande Ramos.
"It's going to be tough for us to get to the final again."
Espanyol, losing finalists in 1988, reached the last four after preserving their 3-2 first-leg lead over Benfica by keeping out the Portuguese in Lisbon.
Germany's Werder Bremen await the Spaniards, striker Miroslav Klose netting twice in a 4-1 home victory over AZ Alkmaar that ended the Dutch side's hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup semis for the second time in three seasons.
Only Real Madrid, winners in 1985 and 1986, have successfully defended the UEFA Cup but Sevilla remain on course to emulate their more esteemed compatriots after surviving a touch of the jitters in London.
Leading 2-1 from the first leg, Sevilla stunned Spurs with two goals in the opening eight minutes to take control of the tie and leave the hosts needing to score four times.
Steed Malbranque had gifted Sevilla the lead inside three minutes after slicing into his own net and then Frederic Kanoute, once a crowd favorite in his two seasons with Spurs, doubled the lead.
Spurs, who have lost only once in 56 home European matches at White Hart Lane since 1961, mounted a second-half fightback.
In a sustained onslaught, substitute Jermain Defoe got one back with a cheeky close-range finish and from their next attack Aaron Lennon levelled.
With 23 minutes remaining Spurs sniffed more goals but despite a number of chances, could not break through again.
"We went out with our heads held high," Spurs coach Martin Jol told ITV. "The two early goals rocked us. At halftime I said we had to go out with pride."
PARTY TIME
Osasuna fans were in party mood in Pamplona as their side never looked likely to relinquish their three-goal first leg advantage against a lacklustre Bayer Leverkusen.
Midfielder Juanlu gave the Navarrans a deserved win when he steered in past Rene Adler from close range just after the hour.
"Although we wanted to play Tottenham, playing the holders Sevilla will still be a great game and if we do get to the final it will be an historic achievement," Osasuna defender Carlos Cuellar told Spanish TV station Canal Plus.
After a goalless draw in the first leg in the Netherlands, Werder Bremen found their scoring touch with ruthless precision against Alkmaar to remain in contention for their first European success since securing the 1992 Cup Winner's Cup.
Tim Borowski, back after a two-month absence, set Werder on their way after 16 minutes and, although Moussa Dembele equalised, Germany's World Cup striker Klose netted twice before Diego slipped in a fourth.
A solid defensive display and some inspired saves from keeper Gorka Iraizoz secured Espanyol their place in the last four.
"For a club like ours to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup represents an historic moment," said coach Ernesto Valverde, whose side will be at home to Werder in the first leg on April 26.
Miroslav Klose scored twice to help Werder Bremen of Germanmy beat AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands 4-1 and reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup on Thursday.
After a goalless away draw in the first leg, Werder moved ahead in the 16th minute when Tim Borowski beat the offside trap and swept a shot past Alkmaar keeper Boy Waterman.
The Dutch side equalised in the 32nd minute with a shot from Moussa Dembele from the edge of the area.
Klose, top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, got his first goal when he slid in to make it 2-1 four minutes later, and headed in the third for Werder in the 62nd minute before Diego made the fourth eight minutes from time.
Werder, the only non-Spanish team in the semi-finals
Espanyol took a giant step towards a UEFA Cup final place after securing a 3-0 first leg win over Werder Bremen in their semi-final on Thursday.
Moises Hurtado headed Espanyol in front in the first half, and soon after the break Walter Pandiani added a second.
Werder were forced to play most of the second half with 10 men after goalkeeper Tim Wiese was sent off for a professional foul outside the area in the 58th minute, and Espanyol stole a third at the end through Ferran Corominas.
Werder, riding high in second place in the Bundesliga, were widely tipped as a favourites for the trophy, but had little answer to the pace of Espanyol's counter-attacks and threat from set pieces.
"We played some very good football and it is a great result which we would have settled for before the match," Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde told Canal Plus television.
"But they are a very good team and we must keep our feet on the ground. We have some important players missing through suspension for the next game."
There was little to separate the sides before Espanyol took charge from a corner in the 20th minute.
Ivan de la Pena played the ball short to Francisco Rufete who swung in a cross which Hurtado headed into the top corner over a static defence.
Five minutes later, Hurtado picked up a yellow card which ruled him out of the return leg in Bremen on May 3.
Werder, who dropped into the UEFA Cup after finishing third in their Champions League group behind Barcelona and Chelsea, had fleeting chances.
WIESE RED
Torsten Frings forced Gorka Iraizoz into a flying save with a shot from outside the area, and lanky Brazilian defender Naldo headed straight at Iraizoz from a corner, before the break.
But Werder fell further behind in the 50th minute when De la Pena's nearpost corner was diverted in off the head of Uruguayan striker Pandiani, the tournament's leading scorer with 11 goals.
Like Hurtado, however, he quickly picked up a yellow card soon after to rule him out of the return leg.
Werder lost Wiese to a straight red card for bringing down Raul Tamudo outside the area as the striker bore down on goal on a swift break.
Espanyol snatched a third with two minutes remaining as Albert Riera broke down the left and crossed for substitute Corominas to score.
In injury time, Werder almost grabbed a valuable away goal as Petri Pasanen fired in a low shot which Iraizoz turned round the post one-handed.
Osasuna claimed the upper hand in their UEFA Cup semi-final against holders Sevilla after recording a deserved 1-0 victory in Thursday's first leg.
Roberto Soldado scored the only goal of the all-Spanish clash in the 55th minute as hosts Osasuna, playing in their first-ever semi-final, built a narrow lead to take to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for next week's second leg.
Meanwhile Espanyol moved a step closer to their second ever UEFA final appearance with an impressive 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen in their clash.
Moises Hurtado, Walter Pandiani and substitute Fernando Corominas scored the goals for the Catalans - finalists back in 1988 - as Werder finished the game with 10 men following the dismissal of goalkeeper Tim Wiese after 57 minutes.
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