Bordeaux beat Galatasaray to take UEFA Cup spot

Tweet

Girondins Bordeaux qualified in style for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Galatasaray in their make-or-break Champions League game on Wednesday. The French side, who were already eliminated from Europe's top club competition, took the chance of a consolation place in the UEFA Cup with both hands to ensure they finished third in Group C. Bordeaux, who have four points from five games, are three points clear of the Turkish side and cannot finish behind them as they have the better head-to-head record between the two following a 0-0 draw in their previous meeting in Turkey. Liverpool beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 to ensure they will top the standings ahead of the Dutch. "We started brightly and scored quite early. Then we managed to keep our advantage until the break," Julien Faubert, who scored Bordeaux's third goal, told reporters. "It was like a final for us. Now we're going to Eindhoven for the club's honour," veteran striker Lilian Laslandes, scorer of the second goal, added. "We are still happy to play the UEFA Cup. Maybe we will go far in that competition." FIRST GOAL The hosts were the first in action at Bordeaux's Stade Chaban-Delmas with forward Jean-Claude Darcheville failing to slot the ball past Galatasaray's Colombian keeper Farid Mondragon from near the penalty spot in the fourth minute. Bordeaux, the only club without a goal in the competition before kickoff, ended that unwanted record after 22 minutes when Alejandro Alonso beat Mondragon with a deflected drive from the edge of the area. Galatasaray reacted strongly but midfielder Hasan Sas twice proved too clumsy in front of goal. It took only 65 seconds from the start of the second half for Bordeaux to double their tally when 35-year-old Laslandes volleyed home a Faubert cross from the right. Three minutes later, Faubert made it three when he headed an Alonso free kick past Mondragon. There were signs of nerves in the Turkish team and Arda Turan was shown a straight red card for headbutting defender Franck Jurietti just before an hour was up. Junichi Inamoto, however, scored a consolation goal 17 minutes from time with an 18-metre shot that went under Ulrich Rame's crossbar.