Hamburg 0-0 Fulham
The fairytale story of Fulham’s European adventure took a strong step toward the happy ending on Thursday. A hard-fought scoreless draw at the Nordbank Arena puts the Cottagers in the driver’s seat heading back to London for next week’s second leg.
The game saw few good chances for either side, as Fulham’s stifling, well-organized defense forced Hamburg, led in the attack by Ruud van Nistelrooy, to resort to long-range shots more often than not. Many missed the mark.
The closest came in the 72nd minute, when Piotr Trochowski’s blast from 30 yards was tipped just over the bar by Fulham goalkeeper Marc Schwarzer.
American striker Clint Dempsey, recovered from a thigh injury, came on in the 52nd minute to make his first appearance in nearly three weeks. He should be in the starting XI when Hamburg visit Craven Cottage nextweek.
Atlético Madrid 1-0
Liverpool
Don’t leave Diego Forlán unmarked in the box. That’s the hard lesson Liverpool’s back line learned on Thursday when the Atlético striker put away the eventual match-winner in the ninth minute of their semifinal first leg.
The goal came when José Jurado scampered down the left flank and served a perfect cross in for the wide-open Forlán. The Uruguayan actually muffed his header, but had enough time to weakly jab the bouncing ball past Pepe Reina. Jamie Carragher had a chance to clear it off the line, but whiffed with his kick.
The return leg is next Thursday at Anfield, where the Reds’ faithful will be loath to see a similar calamity at the back.
