Sevilla’s Kevin Gameiro grabbed a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Zenit St Petersburg on Thursday to send the Europa League holders into the semi-finals after woeful goalkeeping had threatened to ruin their night.
Sevilla went through 4-3 on aggregate, but only after a 1-0 lead in Russia turned into a 2-1 deficit following two terrible errors of judgment from Portuguese stopper Beto.
The re-emergence of Italy from the footballing doldrums continued as Fiorentina and Napoli reached the semi-finals of Europe’s second tier competition after Juventus made the last four of the Champions League on Wednesday
Fiorentina beat 10-man Dynamo Kiev 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate win while Napoli completed a 6-3 victory over two legs against VfL Wolfsburg after a 2-2 draw in Italy.
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk completed the semi-final line-up but UEFA’s worst fears of a final between teams from Russia and Ukraine were avoided.
Dnipro became the only team from those two countries to reach the last four by beating Club Bruges 1-0 after the first leg ended goalless.
Unfortunate keeperSevilla’s clash with Zenit was in the balance heading into the second leg with the Spaniards holding a 2-1 lead which they increased after six minutes through Carlos Bacca’s penalty.
If the Spaniards hoped it would be smooth sailing from that point on, they did not factor in goalkeeper Beto handing their opponents a route back into the match.
The Russians, the only side left who had dropped into the competition in the last 32 from the Champions League, hit back when a speculative cross from Oleg Shatov was dropped by Beto and tapped into the empty net by Jose Rondon after 48 minutes.
The unfortunate keeper was then caught hopelessly off his line by Hulk, whose effort from 40 metres had Beto furiously back-peddling in vain as the Brazilian’s shot came down off the bar and dropped over the line.
Beto’s errors, however, did not prove decisive as the visitors wrapped up the tie when Gameiro rifled into the corner with five minutes remaining.
