Espanyol in driver146;s seat

UNDERDOGS Osasuna and Espanyol each won on Thursday in the first legs of the UEFA Cup semi-finals. Osasuna beat defending champions Sevilla 1-0 at home, with Roberto Soldado scoring the lone goal in the 54th minute.

UNDERDOGS Osasuna and Espanyol each won on Thursday in the first legs of the UEFA Cup semi-finals. Osasuna beat defending champions Sevilla 1-0 at home, with Roberto Soldado scoring the lone goal in the 54th minute.

Espanyol got goals from Moises Hurtado, Walter Pandiani and Ferran Corominas in a 3-0 win over visiting Werder Bremen 8212; the only team from outside Spain in the last four.

Soldado deflected in David Lopez8217;s free kick with a glancing header, leaving Sevilla goalkeeper David Cobeno no chance. Osasuna captain Patxi Punal sent a volley wide in the 15th and midfielder Raul Garcia directed a header saved by Cobeno in the 34th. Sevilla received three yellow cards 8212; to Poulsen, Frederic Kanoute and Jesus Navas 8212; in an eight-minute spell.

Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano8217;s 50th-minute strike was disallowed for offsides, but Osasuna soon regained control. After Soldado8217;s goal, Osasuna piled forward in search of a second, with Lopez and Soldado both shooting just over the crossbar and Milosevic heading wide.

Espanyol took the lead at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium when Ivan de la Pena passed a short corner to Francisco Perez Rufete in the 20th and the former Spain international lofted the ball into the penalty area for Moises to head home. The hosts doubled their lead in the 50th, again from de la Pena8217;s corner.

This time, the midfielder curled it in and Pandiani, the UEFA Cup8217;s top scorer, headed for his 11th goal.

Bremen, aiming for a second appearance in a European final, then had goalkeeper Tim Wiese sent off in the 58th for tripping Espanyol captain Raul Tamudo.

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Andreas Reinke, who replaced Wiese and saw his first real action in the 83rd when he deflected Rufete8217;s shot, was beaten four minutes later when Corominas scored Espanyol8217;s third goal following a swift counterattack.

The German team, lacking injured Tim Borowski, Per Mertesacker and Pierre Wome, twice created danger in the opening 10 minutes. However, Bremen was then forced on the defensive by Espanyol, the leading scorers in this season8217;s competition with 31 goals.