PSV Eindhoven slipped to a last-gasp 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League play-off against Sibir Novosibirsk in Siberia. A bad-tempered first half saw both teams reach the interval with 10 men as Maza Rodriguez saw red after 39 minutes for pushing Igor Shevchenko, who himself picked up a second yellow four minutes later. The match appeared to be heading for a stalemate until substitute Aleksandr Degtyarov scored for the hosts two minutes into stoppage time. Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack scored his first goal for former Champions League finalists Bayer Leverkusen with a last-minute penalty as they eased past Tavriya of the Ukraine 3-0 in Germany. Barry Bannan's 12th-minute strike gave a youthful Aston Villa side a flying start against Rapid Vienna in the Austrian capital before Atdhe Nuhiu equalised just past the half-hour mark. The Villa caretaker-manager Kevin MacDonald watched his side ride their luck in the second period as the Austrians pressed for a winner but will be more than happy to take a 1-1 draw back to Villa Park. CSKA Moscow avoided any slip-ups against Cypriot side Anorthosis with a 4-0 win effectively sealing their place in the group stages. Seydou Doumbia struck two before the break and Serb Zoran Tosic added a second half double. Tom Hateley gave Motherwell a glimmer of hope for the second leg with a last-minute goal in his side's 2-1 defeat to Odense in Denmark, while former European champions Steaua Bucharest beat Swiss side Grasshoppers 1-0 in Romania. Roy Hodgson's Liverpool were also winners but they face a nervy second leg in Turkey next week with Ryan Babel's first-half header squeezing out a 1-0 win over Trabzonspor at Anfield. Celtic bounced back from their Champions League disappointment by putting themselves in a strong position ahead of next week's second leg trip to Utrecht, Efrain Juarez and Georgios Samaras scoring in a 2-0 win. But Dundee United face a huge task to qualify for the group stages after Rafik Djebbour's early strike gave visitors AEK Athens a 1-0 lead to take back with them to Greece. Juventus were made to fight for a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in Austria. Leonardo Bonucci's early goal was cancelled out by Gordon Schildenfeld eight minutes from time but Brazilian Amauri grabbed the Italians' winner in stoppage time. Former Uefa Cup winners Galatasaray were stunned when unfancied Ukrainians Karpaty stormed into a 2-0 lead in Istanbul before a late double from former Liverpool star Milan Baros brought the Turks back level.
* PA Sport