Little Getafe continue to set the heather on fire in their first ever foray into European competition, as they disposed of Greek giants AEK Athens 3-0 on the night, 4-1 on aggregate. After coming into the tie with the advantage provided by the late away goal scored by Ruben de la Red in the first-leg, they took the lead on the night through the impressive Granero just before the break. They had to wait until the closing ten minutes to put the tie beyond doubt, however, as a Contra penalty left the visitors with a mountain to climb, and Braulio sealed the win five minutes from the end.

Michael Laudrup sprung a surprise in his line-up by including Oscar Ustari in goal instead of his compatriot Pato Abbondanzieri. Meanwhile, Uche was left out of the attack, with Braulio starting alongside Juan Angel Albin. The visitors, who came into the game fresh after having no fixture last weekend, nevertheless made several changes to their starting line-up. Up front, Liberopoulos and Manduca were left on the bench, with Lagos and January signing Mohammed Kallon both starting.

In a rather tense opening period, there was little between the two sides. Getafe, inspired by the creativity of Ruben de la Red in midfield, perhaps had the better of the chances, with De la Red himself missing with just the goalkeeper to beat. At the other end, AEK were right in the game, led by the promptings of Rivaldo. However, the opening goal arrived in stoppage time at the end of the first-half, just as it looked as though things would remain finely poised. Contra, the Romanian, a veteran of Alaves' run to the UEFA Cup final in 2001, was the supplier, hanging up a cross from the right which Granero headed home from the edge of the six-yard box. A crucial lead, but nevertheless the tie remained in the balance, as a goal for AEK would level the scores on aggregate. As a result, play was nervy, with the home side defending well, but creating few opportunities of their own. Then, into the last ten minutes, Granero rattled the bar with a free-kick, before winning a penalty which Contra converted. Four minutes later, Contra could have scored again, but his miscontrol of a Licht centre allowed Braulio to nip in and tuck home the third. Game over.

Getafe's hardy support will surely never forget the night they put Rivaldo and co. to the sword. Once again Granero, the on-loan Real Madrid man, was outstanding, although right-back Contra deserves special mention for his contribution just hours after receiving the news that his father had died. The "azulones" incredible record in Cup competitions remains intact, and they march on to a last sixteen clash with an authentic giant of the European game, Benfica. Before that, they can look forward to facing Real Madrid at the weekend. Heady days indeed for a club who had never played in the top division in Spain until 2004.