UEFA Cup: all-Ukrainian semis loom

UEFA Cup favourites Manchester City suffered a big loss in the opening leg of their quarter-final clash with Hamburg, while Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar made steps towards the semi-final round.

Mark Hughes's side went down 3-1, despite taking a 35-second lead in Germany.

The Manchester side now need a big performance at home next week to keep in the silverware hunt this season.

Werder Bremen have now been installed as frontrunners to lift the last ever UEFA Cup – before it becomes the Europa League. A brace from Diego steered the Germans to a 3-1 win over Udinese.

Elsewhere, this was not a bad night at all for the Ukrainian contingent in the tournament.

Dynamo Kiev made a draw away to PSG, while Shakhtar were 2-0 winners over another French side Marseille. The results make the all-Ukrainian semifinal more and more real.