Former European champions Olympique Marseille and Schalke 04 both made early exits from the UEFA Cup soccer tournament on Thursday.

Marseille suffered a humiliating 4-3 exit to Mlada Boleslav of the Czech Republic while Schalke 04, who lifted the trophy in 1997, bowed out as French side AS Nancy overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to win 3-1 at home.

The Czech league leaders, 1-0 down from the first leg in France, appeared out of hope when Marseille went 2-1 up on the night but Mlada stormed back by scoring three second-half goals for a 4-3 aggregate victory with a stoppage time header from substitute Tomas Sedlacek.

Marseille, twice beaten UEFA Cup finalists, seemed in control of their tie thanks to goals from Toifilou Maoulida and Taye Taiwoeither side of a Lubos Pecka strike.

It left Mlada, who lost in the third qualifying round of the Champions League to Galatasaray, needing to score three times.

Substitute Radim Holub gave Mlada hope four minutes after coming on early in the second half and his second eight minutes from time set up a frantic finale, capped by Sedlackek's winner.

"It was a collective failure. It should have been a simple match," Marseille chairman Papa Diouf said.

"This is a day which will serve as a lesson for everybody. The players have to tell themselves you do not win a match without showing some humility."

Two goals in a seven-minute spell midway through the first half from Brazilian defender Andre Luiz and Uruguayan striker Gaston Curbelo set French Cup holders Nancy on their way to victory over Schalke, who have made a flying start to the Bundesliga season.

Issiar Dia made it 3-0 before Marcelo Bordon got one back but Schalke's woes were compounded by striker Gerald Asamoah breaking his left leg.

Yet, it was a good night for French sides with Racing Lens and Auxerre going through.

Twice winners Parma qualified when a goal by 18-year-old striker Daniele Paponi gave them a 1-0 win over Russian side RubinKazan to go through 2-0 on aggregate.

Hapoel Tel Aviv marked the return of international competition in Israel with a 3-1 win (4-1 aggregate) over Chornomorets Odessa in front of 15,000 fans at the Bloomfield Stadium.

Editor: Donald