By DPA
Hamburg : Swedish side Helsingborgs reached the last 32 of the UEFA Cup while Germany’s SV Hamburg were among teams close to qualifying after clear victories Thursday.
Meanwhile Greek side Panathinaikos booked their ticket for the knock-out stage without playing thanks to results in Group B.
Helsingborgs enjoyed a 3-0 win over Austria Vienna, which proved enough to clinch early qualification from Group H.
Hamburg meanwhile chalked up their second win in two games with a 3-0 defeat of French side Stade Rennes in Group D, but a 2-1 win by Norway’s Brann Bergen over Dinamo Zagreb prevented early progress from the group.
Three other teams – Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Zenit St Petersburg – missed the chance of early qualification from their groups after being held to draws.
Rafael van der Vaart scored on the half hour, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (83rd minute) and Mohamed Zidan (90th, penalty) added goals both shortly after coming on as substitutes for Hamburg.
It was the 14th game without defeat for the Bundesliga side and a fitting present for Dutch coach Huub Stevens, who was celebrating his 54th birthday.
The team can now travel to Werder Bremen for the top northern derby on Saturday in good heart. Bremen – like Hamburg a point behind leaders Bayern Munich – were meanwhile buoyed by their 3-2 Champions League victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Three second-half goals against visiting Austria Vienna enabled Helsingborgs to book their place, with Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi scoring twice after Olafur Ingi Skulason had opened the scoring.
After two successive defeats, Turkish side Galatasaray put their campaign in the group back on track with a 3-0 win at Athens club Panionios thanks to second-half goals from Serkan Calik, Rigobert Song and Hakan Sukur.
English side Tottenham Hotspur came from two goals down at half-time to beat Danish side Aalborg to go to the top of Group G.
Dimitar Berbatov, Steed Malbranque and Darren Bent were on target after the visitors had shocked Spurs with goals from Thomas Enevoldsen and Kasper Risgard.
Meanwhile Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv stunned Spain’s Getafe with a 2-1 away win following two successive defeats in the group, Walid Badir and Baruk Dego scoring first-half goals before a last-gasp consolation from Pablo Hernandez.
German league leaders Bayern Munich missed the chance of early qualification when they were held 1-1 at Portugal’s Sporting Braga in Group F.
Miroslav Klose opened the scoring just over a minute after the interval, but Austrian striker Roland Linz levelled in the 67th.
Bayern remain a point ahead of Greek side Aris Saloniki who conceded a last-second goal at England’s Bolton Wanderers in a 1-1 draw.
Spanish midfielder Toni Calvo opened the scoring a minute before half-time but Bolton’s Stelios Giannakopoulos levelled three minutes into stoppage time.
Zenit St Petersburg’s hopes of early progress from Group A were meanwhile frustrated by visiting German side Nuremberg in a 2-2 draw.
Zenit move to five points in Group A, a point behind England’s Everton who were not in action Thursday. Dutch side Alkmaar kept in the running with a 1-0 win over Greek visitors Larisa.
Atletico Madrid were 2-0 winners over Scottish side Aberdeen to look well placed to go through from Group B where Copenhagen picked up their first points with a 1-0 win at Lokomotiv Moscow.
The results mean group leaders Panathinaikos – with a maximum six points – are assured of one of the top three places to qualify.
Italy’s Fiorentina missed the chance of progressing but are well placed at the top of Group C after a 1-1 draw at AEK Athens. Czech side Mlada Boleslav were 3-1 winners at Sweden’s Elfsborg who are all but out in the group.
Zurich moved clear at the top of Group E with a 2-0 defeat of over French side Toulouse for a second successive victory, while group rivals Sparta Prague and Spartak Moscow finished goalless.