UEFA Champions League, the team finished third at the group stage and therefore took part in the UEFA Cup play-off. The UEFA Cup for CSKA began with a home match against Portugal's Benfica in the round of 32, which ended in a 2-0 victory for CSKA, in the away match CSKA drew 1-1. The next rival of CSKA was the Serbian club Partizan, the away match in Belgrade ended with a score of 1-1, and the home match in Krasnodar - 2-0 in favor of the red-blue team. In the next round, the army team defeated the French side Auxerre 4-0. Despite the 2-0 away defeat, CSKA was able to continue playing in the UEFA Cup. In the semifinals, CSKA’s opponent was the Italian side Parma, after beating which (0-0, 3-0), the Muscovites reached the final. Then, on May 18, 2005, the team became the first Russian team ever to win a European competition, the 2004-05 UEFA Cup at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, winning Sporting 3-1. The team failed to consolidate their success, losing the UEFA Super Cup to English club Liverpool on 26 August 2005 at Stade Louis II, in Monaco. Nevertheless, this year, CSKA become the first Russian club to complete a treble after winning the second Russian championship title and the Russian Cup. The team had qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League by winning the championship in 2005 and progressed to the group stage over MFK Ružomberok. At the group stage, CSKA finished in third place and qualified for the round of 32 in the UEFA Cup, but was eliminated there against the Israeli representative Maccabi Haifa. In the 2006 season, CSKA won domestic treble, as the team won all three national titles: the Premier League, the Russian Cup and the Russian Super Cup. As Russian champions, CSKA qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. At the group stage, CSKA finished fourth and last with just one draw out of five defeats and was eliminated. In the Premier League, CSKA occupied the third place, but won the Russian Super Cup. In the first half of the 2008 season, CSKA played below expectations and even finished in seventh place at the break of the season. After the European Championship, Valery Gazzaev, who announced his retirement at the end of the season, switched the game tactics to four defenders and