SOCCER/UEFA Cup: A hat-trick from Brazilian Marcio Amoroso crowned Borussia Dortmund's 4-0 rout of visitors AC Milan last night as the Germans all but booked their tickets to the UEFA Cup final.
Amoroso struck three times in the first half of the semi-final, first leg tie - from the penalty spot for the first, deftly flicking the ball over flat-footed Danish defender Martin Laursen for his second and flying in for a far-post header from an Ewerthon cross for number three.
Joerg Heinrich fired in from short range in the second half for the fourth after Ewerthon again provided from the flank. Heinrich slotted the ball through goalkeeper Christian Abbiati's legs.
And in last night's other semi-final, a 51st-minute own goal from Inter Milan's Colombian defender Ivan Cordoba gave Feyenoord a 1-0 win.
The two results have all but ended the dream of an all-Milan cup final.
Amoroso, who is the Bundesliga's joint top scorer, has blown hot and cold on occasions, but he breathed fire last night as his colleagues sewed up the midfield and Brazilian compatriot Ewerthon and Czech duo Tomas Rosicky and Jan Koller cut apart the Italian defence.
His hat-trick brings Amoroso's European tally to seven, and it could have been eight, with four on the night, but for having one effort disallowed for offside.
Milan arrived without injured striker Andriy Shevchenko and defender Alessandro Costacurta, while Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa was on the bench with a strain.
They missed much more, however, showing little sign of defensive order or midfield punch, and Filippo Inzaghi and Jose Mari offered little threat in attack.
Milan showed more resolve in the second half, but their efforts smacked of too little too late. An Andrea Pirolo free kick, which beat everyone and struck the post shortly before half-time, was the pinnacle of their threat.
The return legs of the semi-finals are set for next Thursday, but the odds are stacked against an Italian side progressing.
Dortmund's win also marked long-awaited revenge for the last and only time the two clubs have met, in the European Cup quarter-final of 1957-58 when the Italians won 5-2 on aggregate.
For Jens Lehmann, too, it was also a fine night, making up for the Dortmund goalkeeper's unsettled six months at Milan in 1998.
Over in Milan, Inter had a host of chances in the first half with Mohamed Kallon forcing three saves out of Dutch goalkeeper Edwin Zoetebier.
But six minutes after the restart Cordoba slid the ball into his own net as he tried to intercept a low cross from Pierre Van Hooijdonk.
