Liverpool qualify despite loss

Holders Liverpool and upstarts Artmedia Petrzalka of Slovakia and Thun of Switzerland all qualified for the Champions League proper on a night of surprises in the third qualifying round on Tuesday.

Liverpool went through 3-2 on aggregate despite losing 1-0 at home in the second leg of their tie against CSKA Sofia.

Artmedia, making their first appearance in the competition, beat Partizan Belgrade 4-3 on penalties after the two sides failed to score a goal between them over two evenly-fought legs first in Slovakia then Serbia & Montenegro.

They will be joined in the final 32 of European soccer's elite competition by Thun, the tiny Swiss club who were playing amateur football nine years ago.

Thun stunned former European Cup finalists Malmo 3-0 for a 4-0 aggregate win and qualified along with Rapid Vienna, Real Betis, Rosenborg Trondheim, Udinese and Panathinaikos, who overcame a 3-1 first leg deficit against Wisla Krakow of Poland to take the second leg 4-1 after extra time and steal the tie 5-4 on aggregate.

The last eight qualifiers will be decided with completion of the third qualifying round on Wednesday.

FIRST DEFEAT

Liverpool, forced to play in this season's competition from the opening qualifying round because their Champions League victory last season did not guarantee them direct entry into the competition proper, lost for the first time after five straight wins.

But the setback did not cost them dearly as CSKA could not add to Valentin Iliev's 15th minute strike.

Artmedia, who stunned one-time European champions Celtic 5-4 in the second qualifying round, could not find the net against Partizan until the penalty shootout but they held their nerve to qualify for the Champions League proper for the first time.

Before this season they had only made three fleeting appearances in Europe with limited success.

Thun will also be among exalted company for the first time. The tiny Swiss club whose annual budget is less than Europe's top players earn individually in a season, built on their 1-0 first leg win in Sweden with goals from Bernardi (26th) and Mauro Lustrinelli (40th and 65th) at Berne's Wankdorf Stadium to complete their fairytale ride into the lucrative group stage.

TENTH TIME

In contrast, Rosenborg Trondheim qualified for the 10th time to make up for a miserable season in Norway where they will soon be deposed as champions after winning the title for the last 13 seasons.

They held off a late surge from Steaua Bucharest to win 3-2 on the night for a 4-3 aggregate success.

Udinese will also be in the competition for the first time after seeing off Sporting Lisbon 3-2 for a 4-2 aggregate win.

Rapid Vienna beat Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 with a late goal from Jozef Valachovic to secure a 2-1 aggregate success.