Liverpool lead Brit pack in last 16

An 86th-minute header from Dirk Kuyt earned Liverpool a narrow 1-0 win over Sparta Prague yesterday, on a night when all three British clubs in action reached the last 16.

Rangers, beaten finalists in 2008, needed an equaliser at the death to prevail at Sporting Lisbon, while Manchester City’s expensively assembled squad eased past Greek representatives Aris.

Liverpool enjoyed the lion’s share of possession against the Czech side but, as in the first leg, they struggled to make their dominance count.

Raul Meireles blazed over wastefully from an inviting Martin Kelly cross in the first half, while French striker David Ngog was one of several Liverpool players frustrated by Sparta goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek.

With extra-time beckoning, Liverpool won a corner on the left-hand side that Meireles curled into the box and Kuyt darted away from the goal-line to cushion an intelligent header into the bottom-right corner.

Liverpool will now play Portugal’s Sporting Braga, who overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit with a 2-0 win at home to Lech Poznan of Poland.

A dramatic injury-time goal by American international midfielder Maurice Edu earned Rangers a 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon that sent the Scottish giants through on away goals.

After former Rangers man Pedro Mendes had cancelled out El Hadji Diouf’s opener for the visitors, an 83rd-minute header by Yannick Djalo looked to have given the Portuguese team victory.

Rangers launched a desperate last attack in the 92nd minute, however, and when David Healy rolled in a low cross from the Rangers right, Edu tapped home to send the travelling fans berserk.

The next stop for Walter Smith’s side will be PSV Eindhoven, who won 3-1 at home to French league leaders Lille for a 5-3 aggregate success.

Following a goalless first leg, City beat Aris 3-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium thanks to a first-half brace from January signing Edin Dzeko and a deflected Yaya Toure effort.

Roberto Mancini’s men must now tackle Dynamo Kiev, after the Ukrainian powerhouses thrashed Besiktas 4-0 to seal an embarrassingly one-sided 8-1 overall victory.

Napoli out

Elsewhere, Villarreal came from behind to defeat Napoli 2-1 in the tie of the round at El Madrigal.

Marek Hamsik broke the deadlock in the tie in the 18th minute before quick-fire goals from strikers Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi just before half-time saw the Spanish side through.

Villarreal’s last-16 adversaries are Bayer Leverkusen, for whom Michael Ballack scored his first goal since his return from injury in a 2-0 win at home to Metalist Kharkiv that completed a 6-0 aggregate victory.

Yesterday’s second legs

Zenit SP vs Young Boys - 3-1 (agg: 4-3)
Bayer Leverkusen vs Metalist - 2-0 (agg: 6-0)
Sporting vs Rangers - 2-2 (agg: 3-3) (Rangers through on away goals)
Liverpool vs Sparta Prague - 1-0 (agg: 1-0)
PSV Eindhoven vs Lille - 3-1 (agg: 5-3)
Spartak Moscow vs Basel - 1-1 (agg: 4-3)
Man. City vs Aris Salonika - 3-0 (agg: 3-0)
Ajax vs Anderlecht - 2-0 (agg: 5-0)
Braga vs Lech Poznan - 2-0 (agg: 2-1)
Dynamo Kiev vs Besiktas - 4-0 (agg: 8-1)
Twente vs Rubin Kazan - 2-2 (agg: 4-2)
Stuttgart vs Benfica - 0-2 (agg: 1-4)
Paris SG vs BATE - 0-0 (agg: 2-2) (PSG through on away goals)
Villarreal vs Napoli - 2-1 (agg: 2-1)

Last 16 pairings: Benfica vs PSG; D. Kiev vs Man. City; Twente vs Zenit SP; CSKA Moscow vs Porto; PSV vs Rangers; B. Leverkusen vs Villarreal; Ajax vs S. Moscow; Liverpool vs S. Braga.

First legs: March 10.

Second legs: March 17.