Football: Overseas Round-Up: No place for sorry Inter in Uefa Cup

INTERNAZIONALE FAILED to qualify for European compettion for only the third time in their history when they lost to Bologna in a play-off for Italy's final Uefa Cup place yesterday.

Beaten 2-1 at home by Bologna in the first leg, they lost the return by the same score last night. Bologna, who reached the semi-finals of this year's Uefa Cup, wrapped up the tie with two first half goals. Giuseppe Signori put them ahead in the third minute, meeting a cross from the right to glance a rare headed goal past Inter's goalkeeper, Gianluca Pagliuca. The former Inter midfielder Stefano Bettarini added Bologna's second four minutes before the interval, escaping down the left wing before beating Pagliuca at his near post.

Inter, who pulled a goal back in injury time through the Italian under- 21 striker Nicola Ventola, have turned down the chance to try to qualify through the Intertoto Cup, preferring to concentrate on rebuilding when the former Juventus coach, Marcello Lippi, arrives in the close season.

Bordeaux picked up on the current fashion in European football by scoring in the last minute of the French league season to confound the pundits and claim their fifth title.

In a nail-biting finale, Bordeaux sent on an 18-year-old Guinean, Pascal Feindouno, five minutes from time with their match against Paris St Germain level at 2-2 and Marseilles, 1-0 up at Nantes, poised to become champions. Feindouno obliged, clinching the title with his first goal for Bordeaux.

Nuremberg plummeted four places to be relegated after a 2-1 defeat by their fellow strugglers Freiburg in the Bundesliga. Nuremberg, who won promotion last season, slid from 12th to 16th in the 18-strong league and will go down with VfL Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach, who were already doomed.

All the other clubs threatened by relegation won their last matches, notably Eintracht Frankfurt, who crushed last year's champions, Kaiserslautern, 5-1 to rise one place to 15th. The Norwegian Jan Aage Fjortoft was their hero as his goal three minutes from time allowed his side to take 15th place on goal difference.

Bayern Munich restored some pride three days after their European Cup final defeat by winning 2-1 at second placed Bayer Leverkusen.

No such drama in Spain, where Barcelona had already wrapped up the title. Their Brazilian striker Rivaldo scored twice as they scored a 3-1 victory over beat Athletic Bilbao, whose coach, Luis Fernandez, was sent off from the bench.

The brace from Rivaldo took him level with Real Madrid's Spanish international, Raul, as leading scoring with 23. Barca's other goal came from the Dutchman Patrick Kluivert.