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Ballack on spot as Leverkusen enjoy Europa League win

Other News Materials 20 August 2010 01:19 (UTC +04:00)
Michael Ballack celebrated his return to Bayer Leverkusen with a stoppage-time penalty in a 3-0 win over Ukrainians Tavriya Simferopol on Thursday
Ballack on spot as Leverkusen enjoy Europa League win

Michael Ballack celebrated his return to Bayer Leverkusen with a stoppage-time penalty in a 3-0 win over Ukrainians Tavriya Simferopol on Thursday, dpa reported.

Ballack came off the substitutes' bench at half-time in the Europa League play-off for his first competitive game since returning to his former club from Chelsea in the summer.

The victory, with Michel Kadlec scoring the first two goals, puts the Bundesliga club in a strong position for the second leg of the qualifying play-off.

Ballack last played in mid-May when he tore ankle ligaments playing for Chelsea in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth.

His last game for Leverkusen was the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in 2002, before the midfielder moved to Bayern Munich and eventually to Chelsea.

"I am glad to be back, I'm healthy and am pleased I've played my first game," Ballack said.

Kadlec opened the scoring with a 25-metre shot after 54 seconds and headed a second in the 83rd before Ballack wrapped up the scoring in the second minute of stoppage time after Stefan Kiessling was brought down in the box.

Ballack, Arturo Vidal and Kadlec all stepped up take the penalty kick, but it was the 33-year-old Germany international who prevailed to blast the ball into the right-hand corner.

"Everyone wanted to shoot," Ballack said. "Kadlec had scored twice and Vidal had scored the last penalty, but they let me take it and I am grateful to them for that."

Fellow Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart meanwhile snatched a 1-0 win at Slovan Bratislava with an 88th-minute header from Martin Harnik in a game interrupted briefly by crowd trouble.

Elsewhere Premier League side Aston Villa drew 1-1 at Rapid Vienna, Paris St-Germain downed Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0, while 2005 UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow enjoyed a 4-0 win over Cypriot side Anorthosis thanks to a brace each from Seydou Doumbia and Zoran Tosic.

Russian cup winners Sibir Novosibirsk shocked PSV Eindhoven with a last-minute goal from Aleksandr Degtyarov for a 1-0 win in a match which saw Sibir's Igor Shevchenko and PSV's Francisco Rodriguez sent off in the first half.

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