Mark Viduka sent his transfer value soaring to £20million by plundering his 18th Leeds goal of the season - only to be denied the winner against Italian giants Lazio by a last-gasp free-kick special from Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Viduka is understood to be a wanted man, with Roma ready to offer £16million for the Australia international this summer as they look for a new frontline partner for Gabriel Batistuta.

Roma coach Fabio Capello, whose side are poised to wrest the Serie A Scudetto from their cross-city rivals this season, is a known admirer of Viduka and his powerhouse performances.

Capello has been impressed with Viduka since watching him set up Alan Smith for the winning goal against Lazio in the Olympic Stadium in early December.

It was a goal which sparked Leeds' drive for qualification to the quarter-finals and ultimately hastened Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure from the Eternal City and into his role as England coach.

Any bid from Roma will test the resolve of manager David O'Leary and chairman Peter Ridsdale, particularly as they could potentially make at least a £10million profit on Viduka who only cost them what is now a bargain £6million from Celtic last summer.

For the 25-year-old his 62nd minute strike in connecting with an Ian Harte free-kick was his fourth goal in five matches - all of them headers - but it was Yugoslav international Mihajlovic who had the last word in Leeds' ultimately successful Group D campaign.

For O'Leary the result ensured his team signed off the group stages with the flourish he demanded, even if it was more a case of Leeds reserves against Lazio reserves.

Leeds started the game knowing they will avoid both Manchester United and Arsenal in Friday's quarter-final draw, but perhaps more significantly Turkish champions and UEFA Cup holders Galatasaray.

Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna or Bayern Munich await Leeds in the last eight, with O'Leary and his now experienced European squad afraid of no-one having sent the likes of Barcelona, Lazio and Anderlecht tumbling out of the competition.

This was O'Leary's 26th European game in charge of Leeds in the last two years, and arguably the most unusual starting line-up he has named in that time, but at least the two sides produced an entertaining goal feast.

O'Leary made seven changes to the side which started last week's 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid, a game in which the pecking order at the top of the group had still to be determined with both teams having already qualified for the quarter-finals.

Among the surprises were Alan Maybury playing in his first senior match for three years, and therefore his first under O'Leary, while Jacob Burns was in the starting line-up for the first time since November 22.

For Leeds, along with an injured Lucas Radebe, there was no Rio Ferdinand, Olivier Dacourt, Eirik Bakke and Alan Smith among the 16, with the latter two players omitted given both could have missed the first leg of next month's quarter-final if they had been booked tonight.

Danny Mills returned from his one-match suspension, while Lee Bowyer also played despite having spent the last three days in the witness box at Hull Crown Court where he is on trial with Jonathan Woodgate, who was named among the substitutes.

Lazio's line-up was also lightweight, with coach Dino Zoff having left Juan Sebastian Veron, Simone Inzaghi, Diego Simeone, Alessandro Nesta, Giuseppe Favalli, Angelo Peruzzi and Guerino Gottardi in Rome.

The reigning Italian champions still included the likes of Mihajlovic, Pavel Nedved and Fernando Couto in their side, as well as a familiar face in former Middlesbrough star Fabrizio Ravanelli.

Back on English soil, it was Ravanelli who struck the first blow in the 21st minute as he was left unmarked in the six-yard box, which allowed him to comfortably head home Nedved's cross from the right wing beyond a helpless Paul Robinson.

But six minutes later Leeds were level, with Bowyer joining the top scorers in the competition in Barcelona's Rivaldo, Marco Simone of Monaco and Manchester United's Paul Scholes on six goals.

Harry Kewell was the instigator, heading in a low ball after Mihajlovic had blocked an initial cross, with Bowyer striking a first-time, looping right-foot shot from 12 yards over Luca Marchegiani.

United's joy, however, was shortlived as within a minute Austrian referee Konrad Plautz awarded Lazio what appeared to be a contentious penalty as Ravanelli was adjudged to have been pushed over by Dominic Matteo, who was also awarded a yellow card.

Mihajlovic made no mistake from the spot, sending Robinson the wrong way, with the 21-year-old back in the starting line-up for the first time since January 24 having been forced to make way for a fit-again Nigel Martyn.

Six minutes from the break Bowyer almost became the outright leader in the scoring charts as he conjured up a bullet header from a Harte corner but one which was directed straight at Marchegiani, who only claimed the ball at the second attempt after an initial drop.

But Marchegiani was beaten again in the 43rd minute when Jason Wilcox struck a sweet left-foot volley through the legs of Lucas Castroman on the line in connecting with a Harte corner for his first goal since April 23.

Viduka then put Leeds in front for the first time before he was replaced two minutes later by Tony Hackworth, the young striker walking free from Hull Crown Court - where he had also been on trial with Woodgate and Bowyer - last Wednesday.

Robinson then produced a stunning 73rd-minute save to tip away a Mihajlovic free-kick which had bounced off the head of Bowyer standing in the wall, before relievedly gathering a Salas drive which had cannoned off the post and back into his arms.

But in the third minute of injury time Mihajlovic struck a stunning free-kick after Wilcox had fouled Nedved - even though the Czech international had first produced a knee-high, studs-first challenge on the unfortunate Maybury, who was forced to hobble off in agony.

Teams

Leeds: Robinson, Kelly, Harte, Mills, Matteo, Bowyer, Burns, Maybury (Batty 90), Wilcox, Viduka (Hackworth 64), Kewell.

Subs Not Used: Dacourt, Woodgate, Hay, Milosevic.

Booked: Matteo.

Goals: Bowyer 28, Wilcox 43, Viduka 62.

Lazio: Marchegiani, Colonnese, Mihajlovic, Couto, Stankovic, Castroman (Ruggiu 88), Baronio, Pesaresi, Nedved,Lopez (Salas 74), Ravanelli.

Subs Not Used: Orlandoni, Negro, Crespo, Pancaro, Luciani.

Booked: Colonnese, Castroman, Stankovic.

Goals: Ravanelli 21, Mihajlovic 29 pen, 90.

Att: 36,741

Ref: Konrad Plautz (Austria).