Gers become 11th UK team to lose final

Glasgow giants Rangers nearly became the last British team to lift the UEFA Cup in its final years but Zenit St Petersburg, of Russia, prevented that from happening, defeating the Scottish team 2-0 in the 2008 final played at the City of Manchester Stadium.

In all, there were 11 runners-up from the UK... nine were teams from England and two from Scotland. The list of losing finalists is:

2008 − Rangers
2006 − Middlesbrough
2003 − Celtic
2000 − Arsenal
1987 − Dundee United
1974 − Tottenham
1972 − Wolves
1967 – Leeds United
1961 – Birmingham City
1960 – Birmingham City
1958 − London XI

Second qualifying phase: MyPa-Blackburn 0-1, 0-2 (0-3). Dunfermline-Haaken (Sweden) 1-1,0-1 (1-2).

First round: Larissa-Blackburn 2-0, 1-2 (3-2). Rabotnicki (Macedonia)-Bolton 1-1, 0-1 (1-2). Tottenham-Anorthosis 6-1, 1-1 (7-2). Aberdeen-Dnipro 0-0, 1-1 (1-1). Everton-Metalist (Ukraine) 1-1, 3-2 (4-3).

Group A: Everton-Larissa 3-1. Nuremberg-Everton 0-2. Everton-Zenit 1-0. AZ Alkmaar-Everton 2-3.

Group B: Panathinaikos-Aber-deen 3-0. Aberdeen-Lokomotiv Moscow 1-1. Atletico Madrid-Aberdeen 2-0. Aberdeen-FC Copenhagen 4-0.

Group F: Bolton Wanderers-Braga 1-1. Bayern Munich-Bolton 2-2. Bolton-Aris 1-1. Red Star-Bolton 0-1.

Group G: Tottenham-Getafe 1-2. Hapoel Tel-Aviv-Tottenham 0-2. Tottenham-AaB Aalborg 3-2. Anderlecht-Tottenham 1-1.

Intermediate round: SK Brann-Everton 0-2, 1-6 (1-8). Rangers-Panathinaikos 0-0, 1-1 (1-1). Aberdeen-Bayern Munich 2-2, 1-5 (3-7). Slavia Prague-Tottenham 1-2, 1-1 (2-3). Bolton-Atletico Madrid 1-0, 0-0 (1-0).

Second round: Rangers-Werder Bremen 2-0, 0-1 (2-1). Fiorentina-Everton 2-0, 0-2 (2-2, 4-2 pens). Bolton-Sporting 1-1, 0-1 (1-2). Tottenham-PSV Eindhoven 0-1, 1-0 (1-1, 5-6 pens).

Quarter-final: Rangers-Sporting 0-0, 2-0 (2-0).

Semi-final: Rangers-Fiorentina 0-0, 0-0 (0-0, 4-2 pens).

Final: (Manchester) Zenit-Rangers 2-0.

Rangers formation: Alexander, Broadfoot, Cuellar, Weir, Papac (Novo 76), Davis, Hemdani (McCulloch 81), Ferguson, Thomson, Whittaker (Boyd 86), Dar-cheville.

Last eight for City

Manchester City reached the quarter-finals of the last UEFA Cup, before the competition was renamed Europa League, in season 2008-09.

First qualifying phase: Streymurl (Faroe Islands)-Manchester City 0-2, 0-2 (0-4).

Second qualifying phase: Queen of the South-Nordsjalland (Denmark) 1-2, 1-2 (2-4). Manchester City-Midtjylland (Denmark) 0-1, 1-0 (1-1, 4-2 pens). Hafnarfjorour (Iceland)-Aston Villa 1-4, 1-1 (2-5).

First round: Portsmouth-Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0, 2-2 (4-2, aet). Omonia Lefkosia-Manchester City 1-2, 1-2 (2-4). AS Nancy-Motherwell 1-0, 2-0 (3-0). Everton-Standard Liege 2-2, 1-2 (3-4). Litex Lovech-Aston Villa 1-3, 1-1 (2-4). Tottenham Hotspur-Wisla Krakow 2-1, 1-1 (3-2).

Group A: Manchester City-FC Twente 3-2. Schalke 04-Manchester City 0-2. Manchester City-Paris Saint Germain 0-0. Racing Santander-Manchester City 3-1.

Group D: Udinese-Tottenham 2-0. Tottenham-Dinamo Zagreb 4-0. NEC-Tottenham 0-1. Tottenham-Spartak Moscow 2-2.

Group E: Braga-Portsmouth 3-0. Portsmouth-Milan 2-2. Wolfsburg-Portsmouth 3-2. Portsmouth-Hee-renveen 3-0.

Group F: Aston Villa-Ajax 2-1. Slavia Prague-Aston Villa 0-1. Aston Villa-MSK Zilina 1-2. Hamburg-Aston Villa 3-1.

Intermediate round: Aston Villa-CSKA Moscow 1-1, 0-2 (1-3). FC Copenhagen-Manchester City 2-2, 1-2 (3-4). Shakhtar Donetsk-Tottenham 2-0, 1-1 (3-1).

Second round: Manchester City-AaB Aalborg 2-0, 0-2 (2-2, 4-3 pens).

Quarter-final: Hamburg-Manchester City 3-1, 1-2 (4-3).