PARIS – Heartbreak befell Udinese in the Champions League play-off round for the second year running after it lost on penalties to Sporting Braga in the second leg of their qualifying tie Tuesday. Summer signing Maicosuel was the villain of the piece, his chipped penalty comfortably saved by Braga goalkeeper Beto as the Portuguese side won the shoot-out 5-4 to reach the group phase for the second time. The game had finished 1-1 after extra time at Udinese's Stadio Friuli, leaving the score 2-2 on aggregate. It meant that Udinese was eliminated from Europe's premier club competition in the play-off round for the second season in succession, after it was beaten by Arsenal at the same stage of the tournament 12 months ago. Udinese finished third in Serie A last season but has lost several key players in the summer – including goalkeeper Samir Handanovic – and it had an early scare in the ninth minute, when Zeljko Brkic had to save from Braga forward Lima. Left wing-back Pablo Armero settled the hosts' nerves in the 25th minute, crashing home a back-post header from Dusan Basta's lofted cross to put Francesco Guidolin's side ahead. Brkic was called into action on a number of occasions in the second half before the visitors' pressure told in the 72nd minute when Ruben Micael nodded in the equaliser from Mossoro's cross. It was Micael who dispatched the winning goal in the shoot-out, drilling the ball down the middle of the goal after Brazilian midfielder Maicosuel's attempted Panenka failed to catch out Beto, to the despair of his teammates. Meanwhile, Malaga reached the Champions League proper for the first time in its history after drawing 0-0 at Panathinaikos to close out a 2-0 aggregate success. The Spanish side, which has been plagued by financial problems this summer, will discover its group-stage opponents in Thursday's draw in Monaco. Elsewhere, an 81st-minute goal from Dieumerci Mbokani set Anderlecht on their way to a 2-0 home win over Cypriots AEK Limassol that enabled the Belgians to overturn a 2-1 deficit from last week's first leg. In the night's other second-leg matches, Dinamo Zagreb and Belarusian representatives BATE Barisov also secured their places in the group phase. Barca to lodge second appeal Barcelona will lodge a second appeal against the dismissal of coach Tito Vilanova in Sunday's 2-1 win at Osasuna after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) rejected an initial effort and suspended the coach for two games Wednesday. “FC Barcelona's legal department will lodge an appeal in coming days against the decision by the Spanish soccer federation's competition committee to suspend Tito Vilanova for two matches,” Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com). Barca felt Vilanova's dismissal from the bench, which came on his away debut in the league, was excessively harsh. He protested the referee's decision not to award a free kick for a challenge on Sergio Busquets and the referee said in his match report he had punished Vilanova “for angrily protesting a passage of play, having been warned by the fourth official”. — Agencies
