Europa League 4/15/2011.

So how about the Portuguese clubs? Spartak Moskva were eliminated in fantastic form by Porto who won a 2-5 away victory in Russia. Hulk struck in the 28th minute to give Porto an early lead. Cristian Rodriguez slotted a second in overtime of the first half to make it 0-2 for Porto before Fredy Guarin struck a third. Moskva came back thanks to Artem Dzyuba's 52nd minute goal for a 1-3 game. Falcao scored for Porto again two minutes later to make it 1-4. Ari brought Moskva one up again in the 72nd, but to no avail as Ruben Micael scored again for Porto to make it 2-5 as the final whistle blew. That's a 3-10 aggregate victory for Porto! Meanwhile, PSV were held 2-2 by Benfica in the Netherlands, not the result that the Dutch side were hoping for but a good enough result for the Portuguese power-house who won 3-6 on aggregate. PSV had looked like they might be able to do it after 2 early goals, but Luisao's strike just before the half was enough to tip things back in Benfica's favor. Twente's dream run is over as well after their defeat to Villarreal. The Netherlands's teams have dropped like flys! Emir Bajrami struck in the 32nd for the only goal of the first half, but it didn't do the Dutch much good as Giuseppe Rossi, Marco Ruben, and Cani each struck to give Villarreal a 2-8 aggregate victory and a 1-3 victory on the day. Finally, the last of the Portuguese sides, Braga, managed to edge past Dynamo Kyiv after a 0-0 result today. The aggregate score was 1-1 so they relied on the away goals rule heavily. The fact that they were able to stay in the game after Paulo Cesar was sent off in the 29th is a testament to the strength of the team, though things did get a little better after Goran Popov was sent off with a second yellow in the 87th minute. So, we'll see Benfica taking on Braga in one Semi-final match-up while Porto and Villarreal face-off in the other. It should be a great round of games! I could see Benfica facing either Porto or Villarreal in the Final, though which one is kind of hard to call. Enjoy!