Espanyol 2 - 0 Livorno

Espanyol 2-0 Livorno: Jesus Maria sparks win

Updated: February 22, 2007, 10:37 PM UK

BARCELONA, February 22 (UEFA Cup) - Espanyol cruised past Livorno to advance to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in style on Thursday.

Goals from Jesus Maria Lacruz and Coro gave the Barcelona-based side a 2-0 victory at the Montjuic which sets them up for a last-16 meeting with Maccabi Haifa of Israel.

Espanyol started with intent and went ahead after just 14 minutes.

Spanish winger Luis Garcia escaped down the right flank and found Lacruz, who fired past Livorno goalkeeper Marco Arnelia to give the home side the lead.

Livorno tried to come back into the game a minute later, but Cristiano Lucarelli headed over the bar.

Luis Garcia was proving a constant danger and came close with a couple of long-range efforts in the first half.

However, Livorno were also looking dangerous on the break and Stefano Fiore missed a great chance to score on the stroke of half-time when he shot straight at Espanyol goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.

The Catalans came out the strongest after the break and doubled their advantage after 48 minutes.

Luis Garcia was again involved, this time setting up young striker Coro, who struck a powerful drive into the bottom corner to give Espanyol a 4-1 aggregate cushion.

Moroccan midfielder Moha came on for Rufete after an hour and almost put Espanyol three ahead eight minutes later, but was dispossessed before he could get a in a shot on goal.

Despite needing three goals to advance, Livorno continued to press, but were not helped when midfielder Cesar was sent off 12 minutes from time.

With a man extra, Espanyol had several chances to add a third, but their finishing let them down and they had to be content with a 2-0 win on the night.