Uefa Cup final Sporting Lisbon 1 CSKA Moscow 3What a season Roman Abramovich has had. First a title win for Chelsea and now a Uefa Cup triumph for his favoured side from his homeland: not a bad return for a cumulative investment of about £100 million this year.
CSKA Moscow, the team Abramovich's oil firm Sibneft sponsors to the tune of £10 million per annum, last night won the first European trophy ever to be taken back to Russia. It might be said their worthy triumph reveals more about the declining quality of this once-revered competition than the rise of Russian football. After all, AZ Alkmaar, the Dutch minnows with average gates of about 7,000, came within a whisker of playing in this fixture.
Graeme Souness, whose side were ejected at the quarter-final stage in what Shay Given referred to as "the biggest kick in the teeth in eight years" on Tyneside, must have been wincing.
Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle's conquerors, had earned the rare prize of a Uefa Cup final at their own ground. Their best early chance fell to Liedson, though his long-distance shot was comfortably saved by Igor Akinfeev. The Portuguese were then almost given a helping head by CSKA's captain Sergey Ignashevich when his headed clearance from Tello's free-kick from the right just missed his own post.
When Carvalho, ignorant of the danger, dawdled on the ball 20 yards out from his own goal it was an opportunity Sporting's winger Rogerio was not about to pass up, and he stole the ball before unleashing a drive into the top corner of Akinfeev's net.
In first-half injury-time, though, CSKA ought to have levelled through Vagner Love. Evgeny Aldonin played Ivica Olic into space and his low centre put the Brazilian behind the Sporting defence but he dragged his shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Within 10 minutes of the interval Vagner Love almost made amends with the unlikeliest of chances. He had his back to goal when a high ball came over his shoulder, and a swift pirouette allowed him to volley close.
Sporting replied with a set-piece that Fabio Rochemback sent just over but soon CSKA's fortunes would rise again. It was a replica of an earlier chance that allowed the Moscow side to get back in the game: Carvalho's free-kick from the right that again Sporting failed to clear. The centre back Alexey Berezutskiy was first to react and scored from six yards.
When they took the advantage it was again courtesy of their opposition's mistake. This time Carvalho was the beneficiary, as Graham Poll played advantage following a foul from Miguel Garcia the instant he played the ball between Sporting's centre halves. Yuri Zhirkov raced into the gap and put his team ahead.
Tello's well-struck cross-shot then ricocheted off Rogerio's knee and on to the post and the spurned chance did nothing but set up a counter-attack from the Russians.
Carvalho was sent rushing down the left wing in a duel with Enakarhire that he would inevitably win. His centre again put in Vanger Love behind the Sporting defence and this time he made no mistake, walking the ball into Ricardo's goal.
Sporting tried to rescue the game by introducing Hugo Viana, the on-loan Newcastle midfielder. Even Souness could have told them that was not going to work.
SPORTING: Ricardo, Miguel Garcia, Beto, Enakahire, Tello, Rogerio (Douala 79), Rochemback, Joao Moutinho (Viana 87), Pedro Barbosa, Liedson, Sa Pinto (Niculae 72). Subs Not Used: Nelson, Custodio, Anderson Polga, Rui Jorge. Booked: Pedro Barbosa. Goals: Rogerio 28.
CSKA MOSCOW: Akinfeev, Alexei Berezutsky, Ignashevich, Zhirkov, Vasili Berezutsky, Odiah, Aldonin (Gusev 86), Rahimic, Daniel Carvalho (Semberas 82), Olic (Krasic 67), Vagner Love. Subs Not Used: Mandrykin, Salougin, Laizans, Ferreyra. Goals: Alexei Berezutsky 57, Zhirkov 66, Vagner Love 75.
Referee: Graham Poll (England).
