Sparta stride on against nine-man Palermo

AC Sparta Praha twice came from behind to draw with nine-men US Città di Palermo and advance from UEFA Europa League Group F.

The result consolidated Jozef Chovanec's side's four-point advantage over Palermo, thus ending the Italian team's campaign. Second-half strikes from Jirí Kladrubský and Juraj Kucka – cancelling out goals from Nicola Rigoni and Mauricio Pinilla respectively – assured Sparta of their place in the round of 32. Their hosts ended with nine men following the dismissals of Dorin Goian and Javier Pastore.

It was a tentative start, however, with both sides struggling to gain a foothold in the match. The contest eventually came to life in the 23rd minute when Fabio Liverani's floated free-kick was only half cleared. The ball fell to Rigoni whose bullet of a shot found its way through a crowded penalty area and left Jaromír Blažek with no chance.

It was a half in which Sparta struggled to create any clear openings, often relying on set pieces to pressure the Palermo defence. Five minutes into the second period, though, Wilfried Bony robbed Goian of possession, before being brought down in the penalty area by the defender, who received his second yellow card.

The resulting spot kick was confidently converted by Kladrubský, despite Francesco Benussi guessing correctly. Eight minutes later, Palermo were awarded a penalty of their own, Pinilla powering in to put his side back in the ascendancy.

Kamil Vacek then crossed for Kucka – who rose majestically at the back post to guide his header past Benussi – to restore parity once again with 28 minutes still remaining. It was a subdued close, however, Fabrizio Miccoli going closest with an effort which whistled just wide. Palermo's misery was complete when Pastore was dismissed for a second yellow card in added time.

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The FC Twente story: away days

In the sixth episode of the FC Twente story, striker Luuk de Jong takes UEFA.com behind the scenes to show how he and his team-mates prepare for a UEFA Champions League game – the Dutch champions heading to Italy on Matchday 5 to face holders FC Internazionale Milano.

"Every match in the Champions League is special and the excitement is always a bit more because these are very big and beautiful matches you really look forward to and have dreamt about," De Jong says of the trip.

• UEFA.com follows the team as they gather at their Hengelo training base before joining them on the plane to Milan.

• Twente chef Jacques Bosch invites UEFA.com into the kitchen at the hotel in Milan to reveal the secrets behind the perfect pre-match meal.

• We are then off to San Siro for training as Twente's players get a first glimpse of the famous arena.

• UEFA media officer Timo Walden talks us through the clubs' media requirements on the eve of the match before Twente coach Michel Preud'homme and captain Peter Wisgerhof meet the press.

• On the matchday itself we link up with Twente fans living the dream on the Piazza del Duomo as the excitement builds.

• With kick-off approaching De Jong speaks to UEFA.com about the tense final moments before taking the field. Suddenly the waiting is over.

"The moment you hear the Champions League anthem before the game, you realise you are really standing there and that you are playing. You know it's really true and that it's not a dream."

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UEFA delivers warning about unauthorised tickets

UEFA issued a reminder to the public on Friday that it remains the sole and exclusive seller of tickets for UEFA EURO 20102 amid concerns about the sale of unauthorised tickets and corporate hospitality packages for the event.

The European governing body and the local organising committees (LOCs) of UEFA EURO 2012 have recently become aware of several unauthorised activities relating to the sale of tickets and corporate hospitality packages, particularly in the two host countries Poland and Ukraine.

There are companies offering hospitality packages for the tournament which do not have the right to do so and, moreover, do not actually have the tickets they are offering to sell. Furthermore, they are selling these packages at hugely inflated prices.

UEFA believes that by centralising the sales of any type of tickets, it can guarantee the cheapest prices on the market. Martin Kallen, the UEFA Events SA operations director, said: "It is extremely important that people and companies are aware that tickets and corporate hospitality packages can only be purchased directly from UEFA.

"There is absolutely no other entity having any ticket in its possession. We therefore urge everyone not to be tempted by such deals, as they will simply end up being denied access to the stadium as individual checks will be made at the stadium entrance. We want to protect the interest of fans and companies, and by centralising all tickets sales we make sure that tickets will be available at the fairest prices. Tickets for the fans will be on sale in March 2011 and the sales of corporate hospitality packages will follow in April 2011."

Companies interested in hospitality packages for UEFA EURO 2012 can already express their interest by emailing hospitality.euro2012@uefa.ch, while fans interested in buying tickets can register on UEFA.com/uefaeuro2012 to receive the latest ticketing information and be notified when sales start.

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Polga promises no let up from Sporting

Sporting Clube de Portugal may have secured top spot in UEFA Europa League Group C and their place in the round of 32 with a 1-0 win against LOSC Lille Métropole, but according to matchwinner Anderson Polga there will be no let up in their final game.

Polga scored on 28 minutes to secure Sporting’s 100th UEFA club competition win and ease the pressure ahead of their final group game at PFC Levski Sofia on 16 December. "We want to win in Sofia," the 31-year-old Brazilian international stressed after scoring his first goal of the season.

"We must continue to work and try to win at Sofia as we did at Lille in the first round. It will be a difficult environment but we want to win." He added: "Maybe I'm a bit happier than my colleagues because I was able to score a goal and help to get a very important victory. It was an important goal, because it gave us an historic win in a European competition."

Defender João Pereira took pride in the team ethic that resulted in a fourth win in the section. "We were very consistent defensively throughout the team, not just in defence," he said. "Fortunately we were able to score and got a well deserved victory. Now we will try to win at Sofia. Some say our group isn't very strong but the truth is these teams are all very well placed in their leagues so credit to us."

Lille go into their final game at KAA Gent trailing the second-placed Belgian side by two points and needing a win to join Sporting in the last round. "We now have to give everything in the last match to qualify," defender Emerson said.

"We did everything to avoid defeat today against a very strong side and we knew it was very difficult to play them here. A draw would have been good and we had several chances to score but we conceded very early in the game and that affected us. Now we must beat Gent to go through."

Goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau is looking forward to that decider. "We lost today and now we will have a true final at home against Gent. This is what we wanted, to decide our fate at home."

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PSV sail on at Sampdoria's expense

Two second-half goals from Ola Toivonen rubber-stamped PSV Eindhoven's progress from UEFA Europa League Group I, ending the hopes of UC Sampdoria in the process.

Giampaolo Pazzini struck for the fifth time in three matches for the hosts when he arced a header into the top corner seconds before half-time. The lead was short-lived, however, as the unmarked Toivonen headed in Ibrahim Afellay's centre six minutes after the restart and fired in a loose ball in added time, moments after Sampdoria's Guido Marilungo had been dismissed.

Goals have been hard to come by for Sampdoria of late - only Pazzini has now scored in eight matches since the end of October - yet they almost bucked that trend early on when Marilungo, running on to Pazzini's flick, rattled the outside of the post.

PSV responded with Toivonen missing his kick following Afellay's low, right-wing cross before the hosts lost centre-back Stefano Lucchini to a leg injury. That did little to disrupt a rearguard whose main concern in the first half was that of Balázs Dzsudzsák down the left, and they struck first when the in-form Pazzini stooped to head in Reto Ziegler's left-wing delivery.

With PSV's status atop the group potentially in jeopardy, the Eredivisie leaders upped the tempo, levelling when Toivonen, all alone at the far post, headed past Gianluca Curci. Massimo Volta then spurned a glorious chance to restore the Blucerchiati's lead, somehow glancing Ziegler's corner wide from all of a couple of metres out.

Dzsudzsák was the next to threaten with a free-kick which Curci did well to beat out. Despite Sampdoria needing a goal to prolong their campaign, it was PSV who continued to look the more menacing, and after Marilungo picked up a second yellow card a minute from time, Toivonen was on hand to sweep in the winner late on.

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Sam seals safe passage for Leverkusen

Bayer 04 Leverkusen secured their round of 32 berth as Sidney Sam's 35th-minute drive was enough to edge Rosenborg BK 1-0 in Trondheim.

A Patrick Helmes hat-trick had inspired the German outfit to a 4-0 success in the reverse fixture, but a single strike proved sufficient for Jupp Heynckes' charges this time around. Club Atlético de Madrid's surprise home defeat by Aris Thessaloniki FC in Group B's other contest ensured Leverkusen also sealed top spot in the section with a game to spare and eliminated Rosenborg.

The Norwegian champions, who completed an unbeaten league campaign following Matchday 4, twice went close to prising an early advantage. Morten Moldskred's fierce effort from distance flew just wide before the striker's header clipped the post following a precise cross from Per Ciljan Skjelbred.

Leverkusen then established command, however, with Nicolai Jørgensen's header bringing out the best from Daniel Örlund and Helmes also calling the goalkeeper into action moments after he had a goal disallowed for offside. The breakthrough finally arrived, though, when Sam was afforded time and space to control and turn 20 metres out before unleashing a veering shot into the bottom corner.

The formative stages of the second half mirrored the first with the home team in the ascendancy but again two chances went begging. Steffen Iversen met Moldskred's cross only for Sami Hyypiä to clear off the line then Rade Prica unhinged the offside trap, but could not beat Fabian Giefer when one on one.

Vadim Demidov was next to spurn a presentable chance as he rose to head wide Mikael Dorsin's free-kick, then Prica scythed through the visitors' rearguard only for his shot to somehow evade Iversen and the far upright. Giefer grasped Prica's looping header at full stretch as time ran out on Rosenborg's aspirations.

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Sporting qualify with landmark victory

Sporting Clube de Portugal secured their place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 as Group C winners thanks to a narrow victory against LOSC Lille Métropole.

The Lisbon club made their first-half superiority tell on 28 minutes when Anderson Polga volleyed in his first European goal of the season. Lille responded after the break, hitting a post late on through David Rozehnal, but, despite their efforts, were unable to find the goal which would have prevented the hosts from recording their 100th win in UEFA club competition.

It was Lille who created the first opening when Emerson's cross from the left was met by the head of Túlio De Melo, but Rui Patrício saved well. Polga hit the crossbar in the 12th minute following Pedro Mendes's corner from the left but was not be denied a little over a quarter of an hour later, volleying another Mendes delivery past Mickaël Landreau.

Landreau then denied Yannick Djaló after the Sporting striker had escaped the clutches of the Lille defence, before De Melo and Aurélien Chedjou, both with headers, threatened an equaliser. The Ligue 1 high-fliers were on the front foot again after the break with De Melo directing another header off target, this time from the lively Eden Hazard's delivery.

Try as they might, Lille came up short, their luck being typified eight minutes from time when Rozehnal's shot was deflected on to a post and Rui Patrício thwarted Franck Beria on the rebound. They will hope for better when they host second-placed KAA Gent on 16 December needing a win if they are to leapfrog their opponents and qualify for the knockout stage.

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