Thursday's action
October 1, 2010
Thursday's Europa League results were a mixed bag for the three German sides competing. Dortmund - who are currently second in the Bundesliga - failed to convert several goal opportunities at home to Sevilla, losing the match 0-1.
Meanwhile Leverkusen let their half time advantage slip away, meaning they only took one point from their draw with Atletico Madrid. Stuttgart were the only winning German side, enjoying a late surge against Odense to win 2-1.
Dortmund fail to convert opportunities
A late goal at the end of the first half and a number of missed scoring opportunities cost German side Borussia Dortmund the match at home against Sevilla in their Europa League group stage game.
The match was scoreless until Luca Cigarini scored in the waning seconds of extra time in the first half, firing a rebound through a helpless Dortmund defense.
Dortmund was forced to play most of the second half a man down when defender Marcel Schmelzer saw his second yellow card of the match and was sent off.
Despite being a man down, Dortmund only seemed to attack the goal harder and harder as the game wore on. Their best chance came in the 69th minute with a strike from Shinji Kagawa that just bounced off the post.
In the five minutes of injury time in the second half, Dortmund controlled possession but could not turn repeated attacking runs into goals.
Stuttgart and Leverkusen take points
Meanwhile, fellow German side Stuttgart was victorious on the road against Danish side Odense.
The first goal of the match came quite late in the 72nd minute off a header from Stuttgart's Zdravko Kuzmanovic. Odense equalized six minutes later, but substitute Martin Harnik put Stuttgart ahead for good in the 86th minute with an impressive long-range strike, taking the final score to 2-1.
Bayer Leverkusen traveled to Spain to face defending Europa League champions Atletico Madrid. After dominating the first half, Eren Derdiyok gave Leverkusen their reward with a goal on 39 minutes.
However, in the second half an unnecessary sliding tackle foul by Leverkusen's Sami Hyypia gave away a penalty, which was confidently converted by Simao.
The penalty slightly rejuvenated Atletico who increased their pressure on Leverkusen's defense but without making any major impact. Both sides had minor chances to take the scoreline their way, but will have to be content with taking a point from the 1-1 result.
The next Europa clashes
The single point against Atletico is enough to take Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the group B table. Next they face Greek side Aris Salonika on October 21.
Stuttgart have now won both of their group stage matches after last week's 3-0 win against Young Boys Bern. This means they are top of the Group H table, three points clear of Bern. Their next match is on October 21 against Greek side Thessaloniki.
Dortmund have won once and lost once and will next play Paris Saint-Germaine, also on October 21. The Parisians are currently top of Group J, with Dortmund in runner-up spot.
The first three teams in each group qualify for the last 32.
Author: Matt Zuvela, Catherine Bolsover (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Ian P. Johnson