Champion League 2007/08

[RedWine]

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UEFA Champions League holders AC Milan will begin their trophy defence against fellow European title-winners SL Benfica and Celtic FC as well as FC Shakhtar Donetsk after the group stage draw was made the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Slavia bow

The 32 teams were split into eight sections of four and while Milan, Benfica, Celtic and are in Group D, last season's runners-up Liverpool FC also play two former European champions, meeting FC Porto and Olympique de Marseille along with Beşiktaş JK in Group A. PFC CSKA Moskva, hoping to reach the final in their home city, take on Group G rivals FC Internazionale Milano, PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahçe SK.

Postponed game

One place in the group stage is yet to be filled, as the second leg of AEK Athens FC's third qualifying round tie with Sevilla FC was postponed to Monday 3 September due to the death of the Spanish club's defender Antonio Puerta on Tuesday. The eventual winners will play in Group H against Arsenal FC, FC Steaua Bucureşti and SK Slavia Praha, newcomers to this stage.

Fixture schedule

The group stage fixtures will be confirmed shortly and will be played on 18/19 September, 2/3 October, 23/24 October, 6/7 November, 27/28 November and 11/12 December, though Milan's last game will be on 4 December due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. The winners and runners-up from each pool will progress to the first knockout round in the spring, with the final set for Moscow on 21 May. Teams finishing third in each section will have the consolation of going into the UEFA Cup Round of 32.





Group A

Liverpool FC (ENG)

FC Porto (POR)

Olympique de Marseille (FRA)

Beşiktaş JK (TUR)


Group B

Chelsea FC (ENG)

Valencia CF (ESP)

FC Schalke 04 (GER)

Rosenborg BK (NOR)


Group C

Real Madrid CF (ESP)

Werder Bremen (GER)

S.S. Lazio (ITA)

Olympiacos CFP (GRE)


Group D

AC Milan (ITA, holders)

SL Benfica (POR)

Celtic FC (SCO)

FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)


Group E

FC Barcelona (ESP)

Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)

VfB Stuttgart (GER)

Rangers FC (SCO)


Group F

Manchester United FC (ENG)

AS Roma (ITA)

Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)


Group G

FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)

Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)


Group H

Arsenal FC (ENG)

Sevilla FC (ESP)

FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)

SK Slavia Praha (CZE)

[abadani69]

UEFA president Michel Platini wants to give domestic cup winners a place in the Champions League.

Confirming a Reuters report, Platini said he would seek approval from the executive committee of European soccer's governing body in October to award cup winners across Europe a place in the lucrative competition.

Under the proposed shake-up discussed by UEFA's new Professional Football Strategy Council, England, Spain and Italy would be given an extra automatic spot in the group stage.

"This is not a revolution, but evolution," Platini told a briefing on Thursday.

"Of course there is some disagreement but I am just delivering on the promise I made... which was to revamp the Champions League and open it up to lesser teams and smaller countries."

Thursday was the first meeting of the ground-breaking committee, comprising of representatives from the national associations, leagues, clubs and players and Platini accepted he faced some opposition from the leagues and bigger clubs.

"We have decided to give the leagues and clubs an extra month to mull over the plans, so we have postponed the decision by the executive until the end of October," Platini said.

LEAGUE OPPOSITION

The former French international said he would like to see countries such as England, Spain and Italy with only three clubs in the competition. Currently they have up to four places.

Under the new system, these countries would transfer their fourth league place to their cup winners. As a way of compensation their third team, which normally enters at the qualification stage, would go straight into the last 32.

The 16 cup winners would enter a separate qualifying system which would run parallel with the traditional qualifying rounds for the Champions League group stage and when reduced to four teams, they would be given automatic spots among the final 32.

Last month the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) -- representing the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga and Spain's La Liga, among others -- rejected the plans on the grounds it would devalue their competitions.

"We have to protect the position of the leagues which are the heart of the game in Europe," EPFL general manager Emanuel Macedo de Madeiros told Reuters.

However, sources within UEFA and the EPFL said Germany and Italy, who expressed a wish to boost their cup competitions, were set to back Platini's plans in principle.

[abadani69]

A.C. Milan again ;)

[RedWine]

گروه بندی لیگ قهرمانان اروپا قرعه کشی شد


32 تیم برتر قاره در هشت گروه چهار تیمی قرار گرفتند
گروه بندی مر حله گروهی مسابقات لیگ قهرمانان اروپا روز پنجشنبه قرعه کشی شد و 32 تیم برتر قاره در 8 گروه جای گرفتند.
بازیهای مرحله گروهی از روز سه شنبه 18 سپتامبر (27 شهریور) آغاز می شود و تا روز چهارشنبه 12 دسامبر (21 آذر) ادامه خواهد داشت.

آث میلان ایتالیا، قهرمان دور قبل این بازیها، در گروه چهارم با تیمهای بنفیکا پرتغال، سلتیک اسکاتلند و شاختار دونتسک اوکراین همگروه است.

بارسلونا اسپانیا، از بختهای اصلی قهرمانی این دوره نیز در گروه پنج و در کنار لیون فرانسه، اشتوتگارت آلمان و رنجرز اسکاتلند قرار دارد.

گروه بندی این رقابتها به شرح زیر است:

گروه اول:
لیورپول انگلستان، پورتو پرتغال، مارسی فرانسه، بشیکتاش ترکیه

گروه دوم:
چلسی انگلستان، والنسیا اسپانیا، شالکه آلمان، روزنبرگ نروژ

گروه سوم:
رئال مادرید اسپانیا، وردربرمن آلمان، لاتزیو ایتالیا، المپیاکوس یونان

گروه چهارم:
آث میلان ایتالیا، بنفیکا پرتغال، سلتیک اسکاتلند، شاختار دونتسک اوکراین

گروه پنجم:
بارسلونا اسپانیا، لیون فرانسه، اشتوتگارت آلمان، رنجرز اسکاتلند

گروه ششم:
منچستریونایتد انگلستان، آاس رم ایتالیا، اسپورتینگ لیسبون پرتغال، دینامو کیف اوکراین

گروه هفتم:
اینترمیلان ایتالیا، آیندهوون هلند، زسکا مسکو روسیه، فنرباغچه ترکیه

گروه هشتم
آرسنال انگلستان، سویا اسپانیا یا آاک آتن یونان، استوا بخارست رومانی، اسلاویا پراگ جمهوری چک

[RedWine]

Juande Ramos couldn’t hide his excitement after Sevilla progressed to the group stage of Champions League with a second victory over AEK at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

"We are in the competition where we belong to be," said Ramos in the post-match press conference.

"The game was easy, because my players made it easy. AEK were dangerous during the opening fifteen minutes but we managed to respond in their first attacking efforts.

"Tonight, Sevilla took a great step towards even bigger European success. We must not forget that we are one of the top European clubs and we have proved that in UEFA Cup," he explained.

Ramos also thanked AEK for the clips that were shown on the video-walls of the Olympic Stadium, dedicated to Antonio Puerta.

"We have to thank AEK," he said. "They proved that they are real gentlemen. In our turn we want to express our condolences to the families of the people that died in the fires in Greece."

On the other hand, AEK’s boss Lorenzo Serra Ferrer admitted that Sevilla were superior but supported his players despite the heavy defeat.

"When a team makes eight good chances against Sevilla it means that they have played well.

"Sevilla are a very big and well-organized club."

Asked about AEK’s priorities, he didn’t hesitate to point out that what AEK actually want is to succeed in the Greek Championship.

"We are not ready yet for a European success. We must win the Super League so as to return to Champions League again next season," he concluded.

[RedWine]

The Dutchman came on as a second half substitute, and despite lacking match fitness, showed some positive signs during the 2-1 win over Werder.

"I felt great," he told RealmadridTV after the game. "I've waited a long time to make my debut and I am tremendously happy.

"I expected to play tonight because the coach told me I would have some minutes during the second half.

"I didn't take my eyes off him while I was warming up! We've had a great start to the Champions League, but I need to play more in order to do better."

"I'm adapting well because there are other Dutch players on the team.

"I enjoyed the welcome the fans gave me and the minutes I was on the pitch. I wasn't anxious to play, but I'm happy I finally did.

"I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome they gave me."

[RedWine]

Porto - Liverpool 1 - 1 18/09/2007
Marseille - Besiktas 2 - 0 18/09/2007

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Schalke 04 - Valencia 0 - 1 18/09/2007
Chelsea - Rosenborg 1 - 1 18/09/2007

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Olympiakos - Lazio 1 - 1 18/09/2007
Real Madrid - Werder 2 - 1 18/09/2007

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Shakhtar - Celtic 2 - 0 18/09/2007
Milan - Benfica 2 - 1 18/09/2007

[RedWine]

رئال مادرید پیروز شب اول جام قهرمانان


رود ون نیستلروی پنجاهمین گل خود در جام قهرمانان را مقابل وردربرمن به ثمر رساند.
در شب آغازین رقابتهای گروهی جام قهرمانان فوتبال اروپا، رئال مادرید وردربرمن را دو بر یک شکست داد تا سیصدمین حضور خود در تاریخ این رقابتها را با پیروزی جشن گرفته باشد.
در این مسابقه که به عنوان جزئی از مسابقات گروه سه و در استادیوم سانتیاگو برنابئو شهر مادرید برگزار شد، رائول گونزالز، کاپیتان و مهاجم رئال مادرید در دقیقه 16 گل اول مسابقه را به ثمر رساند.

اما وردربرمن به فاصله تنها یک دقیقه بازی را به تساوی کشاند.

با این حال ون نیستلروی، در حالیکه تنها 16 دقیقه به پایان مسابقه باقی مانده بود، گل پیروزی بخش را برای رئال مادرید، قهرمان نه دوره این مسابقات، وارد دروازه وردربرمن کرد.

بنا بر گزارش رسمی سایت اتحادیه فوتبال اروپا، برند شوستر مربی رئال مادرید تیم خود را با تغییراتی عمده به زمین فرستاده بود.

او مارچلو را در سمت چپ و نزدیک خط دفاع به کار گرفت، از روبینیو استفاده نکرد و خاویر ساویولا را نیز که در تازه ترین بازی رئال مادرید در جام باشگاه های اسپانیا گل زده بود، به کار نگرفت.

شروع موفق مدافع عنوان قهرمانی

در گروه 4 آث میلان، قهرمان فصل پیش این مسابقات نیز در مسابقه اول، بنفیکا را با نتیجه مشابه دو بر یک مغلوب کرد.

آث میلان که در استادیوم خانگی خود، سن سیرو بازی می کرد، از ابتدا جریان مسابقه را در اختیار گرفت و بسیار زود، در دقیقه نهم مسابقه، با ضربه آزاد آندره پیرلو به گل رسید.

آندره پیرلو حدود پانزده دقیقه بعد هم با ارسال پاس، شرایط را برای گلزنی فیلیپه اینزاگی فراهم کرد تا حریف پرتغالی عملا تسلیم حریف ایتالیایی خود شده باشد.

هرچند بنفیکا در نیمه دوم شرایط بهتری داشت، اما در این نیمه هم دروازه این تیم چند بار توسط بازیکنان آث میلان، از جمله کاکا مورد تهدید قرار گرفت.

در پاسخ در نهایت نونو گومژ، مهاجم این تیم با آخرین شوت بازی، تنها توانست یک گل را جبران کند.

شب بد بریتانیایی ها

در گروه 2 چلسی، نایب قهرمان فصل قبل باشگاه های برتر انگلستان، از سوی تیم نروژی روزنبورگ غافلگیر شد.


ژوزه مورینیو مربی چلسی از اینکه تیمش نمی تواند موقعیتهای بدست آمده را به گل تبدیل کند به وضوح ناخشنود بود

چلسی که در زمین خود بازی می کرد، در اواسط نیمه اول، روی یک حرکت ایستگاهی و ضربه آزاد، از حریف یک گل دریافت کرد و عقب افتاد.

این تیم هرچند در دقیقه 53 توسط آندری شوچنکو، مهاجم سرشناس اوکراینی خود، بازی را به تساوی کشاند و دوبار هم تیر دروازه میهمان نه چندان سرشناس خود را هدف قرار داد، اما نتوانست از امتیاز بازی خانگی خود حداکثر استفاده را ببرد و حتی وقتی سوت پایان بازی به صدا درآمد، برخی تماشاگران انگلیسی تیم خود را "هو" کردند.

در ترکیب تیم چلسی غیبت فرنک لمپارد و دیدیه دراگبا واضح بود.

در گروه یک هم، لیورپول صدر نشین فعلی باشگاه های برتر انگلستان، در برابر پورتو و در زمین این تیم، با نتیجه مساوی یک بر یک متوقف شد.

قهرمان پنج دوره جام قهرمانان اروپا که در آماج حملات پورتو قرار داشت، در دقایق اولیه بازی تا آنجا تحت فشار قرار گرفت که پپه رینا، دروازه بان این تیم، مجبور شد یک حمله تیم پورتو را درون منطقه 18 قدم با خطا متوقف کند.

پورتو در دقیقه 8 بازی دروازه لیورپول را با یک پنالتی باز کرد. اما درک کویت، مهاجم لیورپول، نه دقیقه بعد با ضربه سر، بازی را به تساوی کشاند.

هرچند تهاجم تیم پورتو ادامه یافت، اما این تیم نتوانست از موقعیتهای ایجاد شده، از جمله اخراج جرمین پنانت بخاطر دریافت کارت زرد دوم، استفاده کند.

در گروه 4، سلتیک، قهرمان باشگاه های اسکاتلند هم در شهر دونتسک اوکراین، دربرابر تیم شاختار دونتسک، دو بر صفر شکست خورد.

سلتیک که در 12 بازی از 13 بازی خارج از خانه خود در دوره های مختلف جام قهرمانان اروپا شکست خورده، در هشت دقیقه آغاز بازی دو گل دریافت کرد و دیگر امکان جبران هیچکدام از این دو گل را بدست نیاورد.

[RedWine]

Rangers - VfB Stuttgart 2 - 1 19/09/2007
Barcelona - O. Lyon 3 - 0 19/09/2007

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Sporting - Man Utd. 0 - 1 19/09/2007
Roma - Dynamo 2 - 0 19/09/2007

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Fenerbahce - Inter 1 - 0 19/09/2007
PSV - CSKA 2 - 1 19/09/2007

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Slavia Praha - Steaua 2 - 1 19/09/2007
Arsenal - Sevilla 3 - 0 19/09/2007

[abadani69]

Chelsea skipper John Terry is a serious injury doubt ahead of Wednesday's Champions League match with Valencia - while England midfielder Frank Lampard is definitely out with a thigh injury.

Terry suffered a broken cheekbone during Saturday's draw with Fulham, but could still start against the Spanish side, even if he has to wear a face mask to protect his injury.

New Chelsea manager Avram Grant will assess Terry's fitness during training on Tuesday. Midfielders Michael Essien (calf) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (hamstring) are also doubtful.

Grant has had a rocky start to his career as Blues boss after replacing Jose Mourinho last month and will be keen to impress in his first Champions League game in charge of the London club.

Chelsea's recent form has been poor. They have gone four Premier League matches without scoring a goal during which time they suffered two losses and two draws.

They also played out a lacklustre 1-1 draw against home to Rosenborg in the Champions League, while a flattering 4-0 win at lower-league side Hull City in the Carling Cup could not disguise the fact that September was a dire month for the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Valencia, meanwhile, have made a great start to their season, having won eight of its nine league and cup games, including a 1-0 win over German team Schalke in its first Champions League group match.

Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares is doubtful with a leg problem, while winger Vicente Gonzalez, midfielder Manuel Fernandes and defender Carlos Marchena are also injury concerns.

[abadani69]

Wayne Rooney scored his first goal of the season to earn Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Roma the Champions League at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

The result leaves United three points clear at the top of Group F, having won their opening two matches.

England striker Rooney struck with 20 minutes left on the clock when he latched on to a neat pass from Nani and hit a low first-time shot into the net from 15 yards.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said after the match that he was pleased with his team's performance, even though the game was a much tighter affair than last April's quarter-final clash in which United hammered Roma 7-1.

"I'm pleased because they're a good team, it was a good game and a good European night," Ferguson told ITV1. "A bit tactical at times but a good result for us."

Ferguson also praised Rooney's match-winning goal.

"Marvellous. Similar to the one he scored against AC Milan," said the Red Devils boss. "Great passing and a great finish."

Rooney might have given United the lead in the first half when Nani got in behind the Roma defence but saw his cross ballooned over the bar by the England international.

Substitute Carlos Tevez almost made it 2-0 with a piledriver from just outside the box, while at the other end United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak - deputizing for the injured Edwin Van der Sar - did well to gather a long-range Simone Perrotta effort.

The Italian side created most of the chances throughout the game and should have scored with just three minutes left on the clock when Francesco Totti put over a good cross only for Mauro Esposito to smash his effort hopelessly wide.

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti claimed his side were unlucky to lose and should have had a penalty when United midfielder Michael Carrick challenged Amantino Mancini in the area.

"It is difficult to analyse this game any other way. The team did well and had the best chances at the end, but were unable to make the most of them," said Spalletti. "The important thing is that the squad showed character and reacted to recent unfortunate results. I expected this as I know what these lads can do, but tonight they deserved more.

"As for the penalty, these incidents can be added on to the opportunities we wasted. Carrick threw himself on the player, Mancini had already put the ball past him, it was a blatant penalty. I think it is an easy incident to read.

"It was 0-0 at the time, so it certainly would have been an important chance," added the Roma boss.

[abadani69]

American midfielder DaMarcus Beasley became the first American to score for different teams in the European Champions League and assisted on another goal, helping Glasgow Rangers to a 3-0 upset victory at Lyon on Wednesday night in the first round of the European Champions League.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Internazionale of Milan also won in their second games of the opening round.


Beasley's corner kick was headed in by Lee McCulloch in the 23rd minute and Daniel Cousin added a goal in the 48th for Rangers (2-0). Beasley scored in the 53rd minute, outpacing defender Cleber Anderson to beat an offside trap and slip the ball past goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre from close range.

Beasley scored three goals for PSV Eindhoven during the 2004-5 Champions League.

In the other Group E game, Barcelona (2-0) won 2-0 at Stuttgart (0-2) on second-half goals by Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi. Lyon also is 0-2.

Manchester United (2-0) won 1-0 against visiting AS Roma (1-1) on a 70th-minute goal by Wayne Rooney in Group F. Sporting Lisbon (1-1) won 2-1 at Dynamo Kiev (0-2) on first-half goals by Tonel and Anderson Polga. Vladyslav Vashchuk scoring a tying goal for the home team.

At Milan, Internazionale (1-1) fielded a lineup with no Italians and won 2-0 against PSV Eindhoven (1-1) in Group G as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice. Fenerbahce (1-0-1) got an 85th-minute equalizer from Deivid De Souza in a 2-2 tie at CSKA Moscow (0-1-1).

In Group H, Arsenal (2-0) won 1-0 at Steaua Bucharest (0-2) as Robin Van Persie scored in the 76th minute. Sevilla won 4-2 against visiting Slavia Prague 4-2 on goals by Frederic Kanoute, Luis Fabiano, Julien Escude and Arouna Kone.

Wednesday's schedule has Porto (0-0-1) at Besiktas (0-1) and Olympique Marseille (1-0) at Liverpool (0-0-1) in Group A; Schalke (0-1) at Rosenborg (0-0-1) and Chelsea (0-0-1) at Valencia (1-0) in Group B; Real Madrid (1-0) at Lazio (0-0-1) and Olympiakos (0-0-1) at Werder Bremen (0-1) in Group C; and Shakhtar Donetsk (1-0) at Benfica (0-1) and AC Milan (1-0) at Glasgow Celtic (0-1) in Group D.

[abadani69]

Barcelona took a step closer to the Champions League's first knock-out round on Tuesday night with a convincing 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart to claim their second consecutive group stage win.

Despite the home side having four clear first-half chances to take the lead, Stuttgart's defence finally cracked as substitute Carles Puyol and Argentinian super-star Lionel Messi fired second-half goals.

The win leaves the Spaniards unbeaten in Group E after last month's 3-0 win at home to Lyon as they join Rangers on six points, while Stuttgart stay pointless.

"We met an opponent who are in great form at the moment and, unfortunately, we were not equipped with the appropriate self-confidence to deal with that," said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh.

"Without the confidence, we needed a fair bit of luck and, again unfortunately, we haven't got that at the moment either.

"You only needed to look at the goals they scored to see where we went wrong."

But despite his side's comfortable win, Barcelona's Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard was far from satisfied with the performance. "I was not impressed with the first-half," he said.

"We started well, but we were thoughtless with our chances. Those are problems which we must address, because you can't afford to waste them in a competition like this."

With Rangers also unbeaten after Tuesday night's 3-0 win in Lyon, Stuttgart now have a mountain to climb to make the competition's next stage after last month's opening 2-1 defeat in Glasgow.

Although the Germans came into the game on the back of a shock 2-1 away defeat to Bundesliga minnows Hansa Rostock at the weekend, the atmosphere at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was electric as the home fans got behind their side.

But the classy Spaniards showed why they are highly-fancied to win Europe's top football competition and regain then title they won in 2006.

Of Barcelona's 'Cuatro Fantasticos' only Cameroon's Samual Eto'o was missing with injury as Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry made up a world-class forward line.

With his side going top of La Liga at the weekend with a 4-1 win at Levante, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard named Brazilian Ronaldinho as captain despite missing the last three games with a calf strain.

Barcelona gave Stuttgart an early warning of the danger when Ronaldinho combined with Messi who clattered his shot against the post after only five minutes.

Germany's footballer of the year Mario Gomez fired back for Stuttgart moments later, but his effort troubled the side netting more than Barcelona's 'keeper Victor Valdez.

Valdez then kept his side in the game with four top-class saves as he denied Gomez from two headers at point-blank range on 32 minutes and blocked two shots from wing Arthur Boka just before half-time.

But Stuttgart's bitter pill came in the 53rd minute when Puyol, who was an early replacement for defender Rafael Marquez, stabbed his shot home after Ronaldinho had broken the defence.

And Messi, who picked up a yellow card late in the first half, grabbed the second when his shot passed under Stuttgart's 'keeper Raphael Schaefer and trickled over the line on 67 minutes.

It could so easily have finished 3-0 as Eric Abidal pushed his shot wide in injury tine despite a posse of Barcelona attackers screaming for the ball with the home defence nowhere to be seen.

[RedWine]

اینترمیلان بالا آمد، بریتانیایی*ها بردند.



در ادامه مسابقات فوتبال جام قهرمانان باشگاه های اروپا، اینترمیلان کابوس مسابقه اول در مقابل فنرباغچه را به فراموشی سپرد تا پی اس وی آیندهوون را دو بر صفر شکست دهد.
زلاتان ابراهیموویچ، فوروارد سوئدی اینترمیلان نقشی عمده در پیروزی این تیم داشت؛ این بازیکن در دقیقه پانزده با خطایی در منطقه جریمه آیندهوون متوقف شد تا خود با کسب یک ضربه پنالتی و فزیب دادن دروازه بان، اولین گل این فصل اینترمیلان در جام قهرمانان باشگاه های اروپا را به ثمر برساند.

او وقتی ساعت مسابقه از دقیقه 30 گذشت، با یک ضربه سر گل دوم را نیز به ثمر رساند.

اما مهمترین مسئولیت او، از آن زمان آغاز شد که کریستیان شیوو بازیکن اینترمیلان، با گرفتن کارت زرد دوم، از زمین اخراج شد و ابراهیموویچ، مهاجم تیم 10 نفره، نه تنها مجبور شد با کمک به دفاع، خود از حاصل زحماتش محافظت کند، بلکه در حملات نیز با بازگشت به خط میانی، عملکرد خوبی را نیز از خود به نمایش گذاشت.

از سوی دیگر، فنر باغچه هم در مسکو، به لطف اشتباه دروازه بان زسکا، توانست باز دو بر یک باخته را در دقایق پایانی بازی به تساوی بکشاند، تا کماکان با یک امتیاز بیشتر نسبت به اینترمیلان، در صدر گروه هفت باقی بماند.

آرسنال، میهمان قدرنشناس

آرسنال، صدر نشین کنونی لیگ برتر انگلستان، با پیروزی یک بر صفر مقابل استوا بخارست، جای خود در صدر گروه هشت را محکم کرد.

این تیم که در مسابقه اول خود، سویل را در استادیوم امارات شهر لندن شکست داده بود، در اولین سفر به بخارست پایتخت رومانی، کاملا مسلط بر بازی بود و حتی به ثمر رساندن یک گل، تا اندازه ای باعث ناامیدی اعضاء آرسنال شد.

آرسنال تا دقیقه 76 مسابقه منتظر ماند، تا در نهایت رابین ون پرسی، پاس امانوئل آده*بایور را به گل تبدیل کند.

آرسن ونگر، مربی آرسنال پس از مسابقه گفت که نگران ضد حملات بوده و اذعان کرد که استوا بخارست، با از دست دادن بخت خود در یکی از خطرناک ترین ضد حملات، باعث شد جریان بازی به سود آرسنال تغییر کند.

او گفت: "مسئله، هوش و صبر بود که ما نشان دادیم [آنرا در اختیار داریم]"

سویل، دیگر تیم گروه هشت هم چهار بر دو اسلاویا را شکست داد تا در مکان دوم این گروه قرار گیرد.

باخت شرافتمندانه رم



در اولدترافورد، ورزشگاه منچستریونایتد، آث رم، شاید نتوان گفت که میهمان "مانند" شش ماه قبل شکست خورد.

رم که در ماه آوریل سال جاری و در مرحله یک چهارم نهایی همین مسابقات، با نتیجه هفت بر یک از منچستریونایتد باخته بود، این بار بخت را در کنار خود داشت؛ میزبان از هفت بازی گذشته اش، در پنج بازی یک بر صفر پیروز شده بود.

این بار هم به نظر رسید که همین نتیجه برای منچستر یونایتد کافی باشد: وین رونی 20 دقیقه به پایان مسابقه، پاس نانی را با یک شوت به گل تبدیل کرد.

فراچسکو توتی، بهترین بازیکن رم، و حتی شاید بتوان گفت بهترین بازیکن میدان بود و رم مسلط بازی می کرد.

اما تلاش این تیم به نتیجه ای نرسید تا علی رغم پیروزی دو بریک اسپورتینگ لیسبون بر دینامو کیف، رم با سه امتیاز از دو بازی، پس از منچستر یونایتد در مکان دوم جدول گروه هفت جای گیرد.

بازگشت رونالدینیو

بارسلونا که در مسابقه اول با قدرت لیون را سه بر صفر شکست داده بود، در اشتوتگارت با مانع بزرگتری مواجه شد.

آنری، مسی و رونالینیو هر چه کردند حاصلی نداشت.

بالاخره پویول که در دقیقه هفت بازی بجای رافائل مارکز مصدوم وارد زمین شده بود، در دقیقه 53 گل اول را زد و لیونل مسی، کمتر از پانزده دقیقه بعد، با گل دوم ضربه نهایی را وارد ساخت.

از دقیقه پنج بازی فوتبای تهاجمی در زمین به نمایش گذاشته شد و در مجموع تنها در نیمه اول 25 شوت به سمت دروازه ها شلیک شد

بارسلونا دقتی بالا در حملات داشت و از اینرو به پایان رسیدن بازی با تنها دو گل، مسئله ای "عجیب" بود.

در دیگر بازی گروه شش، رنجرز سه بر صفر لیون، صدر نشین لیگ فرانسه را شکست داد.

[abadani69]

Chelsea came from a goal down to beat Valencia 2-1 in the Champions League at the Mestalla stadium on Wednesday.

David Villa gave the home side an early lead before England midfielder Joe Cole scored the equaliser and then set up Didier Drogba to fire home a second-half winner.

Blues skipper John Terry - who as expected played with a face mask to protect a fractured cheekbone - then marshalled his fellow defenders brilliantly as the English Premier League club withstood a late flurry of attacks from Valencia to secure a hard-earned but deserved victory for new manager Avram Grant.

"We came here to win the game, the players and staff did a great job before the game. We felt that we wanted to do it and we did it in the right way," Grant told Sky Sports after the match. "To come back from 1-0, the second half was very good, we dominated the game, scored one goal, missed two chances so I'm happy."

The result sees Chelsea top Group B on four points after successfully kick-starting their Champions League campaign following last month's disappointing 1-1 home draw against Rosenborg and the subsequent departure of former manager Jose Mourinho.

England defender Terry was also delighted with his side's performance.

"We had a great team spirit tonight," the Chelsea captain told Sky Sports: "We haven't been performing as well as we'd have liked.

"We had many great performances and needed a collective performance like that tonight.

"Maybe a little bit's been missing but it's back and hopefully we can kick on from here."

Valencia started brightly in front of their own fans and could have taken the lead in the first minute when midfielder David Silva fired a chance just over the Chelsea goal.

The La Liga side did break the deadlock on nine minutes when a loose ball fell to Villa and Spanish striker hit a low right-footed shot beyond the reach of Petr Cech.

But the Chelsea goalkeeper then made a crucial save on 20 minutes from Spanish midfielder Joaquin and within seconds the visitors drew level.

France winger Florent Malouda played a neat one-two with Drogba before sending over a low cross from the left flank for Cole to scramble the ball home.

Joaquin should have restored Valencia's lead before the break but sent his shot over Cech's bar.

After the persistent Villa had a goal ruled out for off-side in the 56th minute, Chelsea took control of the match and went ahead with less than 20 minutes left on the clock.

Cole laid a superb pass into the path of Drogba, who outpaced his marker before smashing home a left foot drive past Timo Hildebrand in the Valencia goal.

The home side pressed hard for a late equaliser but the Chelsea back line held out to claim maximum points.

[abadani69]

AC Milan was upset 2-1 at Glasgow Celtic in the European Champions League on Wednesday night, and Liverpool was beaten at home 1-0 by Olympique Marseille.

Stephan McManus gave Celtic the lead in the 62nd minute, but Kaka converted a penalty kick in the 68th. Scott McDonald scored the winner in the 90th minute.

After McDonald's goal, a fan ran onto the field and made contact with Milan goalkeeper Dida. The Brazilian turned to chase the fan but soon fell to the ground clutching his face. Dida was taken off the field on a stretcher and replaced Zeljko Kalac for the remaining minutes of injury time.

"The fan hit him in the cheek," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. "It's tough to say how serious it is."

Galliani said Milan was not going to protest the fan's actions.

"It's a decision that I've agreed on with president Silvio Berlusconi," Galliani said, referring to the team's owner, Italy's former premier.

Shakhtar Donetsk won 1-0 at Benfica (0-2) in the other Group D game on Jadson's goal in the 42nd minute. American Freddy Adu didn't play for the Portuguese team. Shakhtar (2-0) leads the group with six points, three ahead of Celtic and Milan (both 1-1).

At Liverpool, Mathieu Valbuena scored in the 77th minute for Olympique Marseille. Liverpool (0-1-1) is third in Group A behind Marseille and Porto (1-0-1), which won 1-0 at Besiktas (0-2) on Ricardo Quaresma's goal in second-half injury time.

Chelsea, in its first European match since Avram Grant replaced Jose Mourinho as manager, rallied for a 2-1 win at Valencia. After David Villa spun around John Terry and beat goalkeeper Petr Cech in the ninth minute, Joe Cole tied it off a cross from Florent Malouda in the 21st. Didier Drogba got the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute, taking a pass from Cole at the edge of the penalty area and sending a shot over goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand.

"We hope it's the kick start we need after we've had a few iffy performances," said Terry, who played with a clear plastic face mask following surgery to repair a broken cheekbone sustained in a Premier League game Sunday.

Schalke won 2-0 at Rosenborg (0-2) on goals by Jermaine Jones in the 62nd minute and Kevin Kuranyi in the 89th. Chelsea (1-0-1) leads Group B with four points, one ahead of Valencia and Schalke (each 1-1).

In Group C, Lazio (0-0-2) held nine-time champion Real Madrid (1-0-1) to a 2-2 tie in its first Champions League game at home in four years. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the eighth and 61st minutes for Real Madrid to give him 56 goals in 75 European matches. Gordan Pandev tied it in the 32nd and 75th minutes for Lazio.

Olympiakos (1-0-1) rallied for a 3-1 win at Werder Bremen (0-2) on goals by Ieroklis Stoltidis in the 73rd minute, Christos Patsatzoglou in the 82th and Darko Kovacevic in the 87th. Hugo Almeida had put Bremen ahead in the 32nd minute.

[abadani69]

Celtic striker Scott McDonald gave his side a sweet taste of Champions League revenge as his last minute goal clinched a 2-1 win against AC Milan on Wednesday.

Gordon Strachan's side looked set to be denied a famous victory over the European champions when Kaka converted a controversial penalty just minutes after Stephen McManus had scrambled Celtic into the lead at Parkhead.

But McDonald ensured the Scottish champions exacted a measure of retribution for their exit from the competition against the Italians last season when he pounced on a mistake by Milan goalkeeper Dida to seal a priceless Group D victory in dramatic fashion.

The drama wasn't finished there as a Celtic fan ran on to celebrate the goal and appeared to brush into Dida, who responded by chasing the supporter before falling over and being carried off in a farcical end in Glasgow.

Strachan claimed Celtic's sense of injustice at Markus Merk's decision to hand Milan such a soft penalty for Lee Naylor's challenge on Massimo Ambrosini had spurred them on win.

"I don't think the ball was anyway near the lad, it was up high," Strachan said. "We were aggrieved at that and I think the lads were shocked for a couple of minutes.

"Then the anger came into their play and it gave them the energy to go on.

"It could only happen here. But it's excellent, we have beaten the European champions."

Celtic will launch a full investigation into the Dida incident, but Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti played it down, saying: "I didn't see it at the time, I just saw Dida on the pitch.

"I don't think the game should be played again. I don't know if we will complain but I don't think so. This has nothing to do with the final result anyway."

The thrilling climax was in total contrast to a match that was stuck in a midfield war of attrition for long periods. With Shunsuke Nakamura only fit enough to make the bench, Celtic were missing their one genuine playmaker.

But while they might have lacked the guile of the Italians, Strachan's side have such a ferocious work ethic that they are never overawed by any opponent.

Milan had found it impossible to breach Celtic's tenacious defence on their previous two visits to Glasgow and the hosts were determined not to let them find any rhythm again.

McManus had the first sight of goal when he controlled Paul Hartley's free-kick at the far post, but the Celtic captain's scuffed effort drifted harmlessly wide.

Milan have made a stuttering start to the Serie A campaign, winning only one of their first six matches, and that lack of form was evident as the Rossoneri struggled to get going.

But a team including Kaka in their ranks will never be totally subdued, as Celtic knew from bitter experience.

The Brazil midfielder had scored a superb goal to eliminate Strachan's side from the competition last season. So it was inevitable that Kaka's first incisive run sent a ripple of panic through the Celtic defence, although Artur Boruc dealt with his low shot easily enough.

This was the third time these teams had been drawn together since 2004 and that familiarity was beginning to breed contempt.

Milan reacted to Celtic's physical approach with exaggerated tumbles and the temperature reached boiling point when Massimo Donati clashed with Gennaro Gattuso.

It was a complete shock when Celtic took the lead after 62 minutes with a scrappy goal befitting the nature of the contest.

Paul Hartley's corner flashed across goal to the far-post, where McManus scrambled it home via a deflection off Yoann Gourcuff.

Parkhead went wild, as much in disbelief as triumph, but Celtic's joy was short-lived as Milan drew level moments later.

Carlo Ancelotti's side had offered so little attacking threat that it was no surprise they had to be handed their equaliser on a plate.

There appeared little wrong with Naylor's challenge in the 68th minute, but Merk saw what no-one else in the 60,000 crowd did and awarded Milan a penalty.

Kaka, playing his 50th Champions League game, wasn't going to refuse the gift and he calmly sent Boruc the wrong way from the spot.

Milan weren't content with that and pushed for a winner, but that adventure was to prove their undoing.

Nakamura set up Gary Caldwell on the edge of the area and the Celtic defender drove in a low shot that Dida weakly parried out to McDonald, who got the benefit of a borderline offside decision to side-foot home the winner.

[abadani69]

AC Milan goalkeeper Dida was suspended for two Champions League matches Thursday for pretending to be injured after being touched by a Celtic fan who ran onto the field.

The incident occurred last week when the Scottish team beat Milan 2-1 in Glasgow. A fan ran onto the field late in the 90th minute and made what appeared to be minimal contact with Dida.

The Milan goalkeeper then turned to chase the fan before dropping to the ground. He was then carried off the field on a stretcher and replaced.

Celtic was fined $25,400 for the incident and will have to pay an additional $25,400 if it fails to control its fans again in the next two years.

"It's a suspension that is absolutely excessive," Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency. "It seems to us a very, very unbalanced sentence. It turns Dida into the protagonist of the incident, whereas the protagonist was someone else, and that's not right from a logical point of view."

Cantamessa said Dida was substituted after telling Milan's doctor that his head was spinning.

Milan also was investigated by UEFA, but was not sanctioned. The defending European club champion pleaded with UEFA for leniency on behalf of its Brazilian goalkeeper.

"I think he made a mistake and realizes he made a mistake, but our confidence in him absolutely will not change," Milan captain Paolo Maldini said before the verdict. "He remains a great goalkeeper. He's our top choice."

The 27-year-old fan who invaded the field was later arrested and banned for life from games by Celtic.

[abadani69]

Arsenal demolished Slavia Prague 7-0 in Champions League Group H on Wednesday with one of the most brilliant displays of attacking football since the Champions League began 15 years ago.

The English league leaders equalled the record Champions League victory, matching Juventus's rout of Greece's Olympiakos in 2003.

Arsenal were breathtaking to watch at times, especially in a 13-minute spell just after halftime when they scored three times to double their lead from 3-0 to 6-0 with less than an hour played.

Two goals from Cesc Febregas, two from Theo Walcott, one from Alexandr Hleb, an own goal and a late tap in from substitute Nicklas Bendtner secured Arsenal their 12th successive win in all competitions and their third successive win in the group.

"We wanted three points and to play well but you can't predict that," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "Everything went for us."

Arsenal's romp against Slavia matched their biggest ever European win, a 7-0 victory over Standard Liege in the old European Cup Winners' Cup in 1993. It was the perfect birthday present for manager Arsene Wenger who was 58 on Monday.

They crushed Slavia with such style, pace, panache and lethal finishing it is hard to see them failing to advance from the group which they lead with nine points.

Three of their goals, including the pick of the night from Hleb, and a stunning sweeping move that saw Fabregas net his second of the game, came at the start of the second half.

Arsenal either scored or threatened to do so with almost every attack and on the rare occasions Slavia threatened goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was never seriously troubled.

EARLY GRIP

Arsenal took a firm grip on the game after only five minutes when Fabregas scored with a brilliantly executed curling right-footed shot from 12 metres out for his eighth goal of the season and his fourth in this competition including the qualifying round.

Fabregas and Matthieu Flamini, who have been outstanding in Arsenal's midfield all season, were far too quick and inventive for the Czechs and the home side only had to wait another 19 minutes to double their lead.

Slavia failed to clear a 24th minute corner from Fabregas and the ball eventually bounced out to Hleb whose goalbound shot was sent flying past goalkeeper Martin Vaniak after defender David Hubacek conceded an own goal with a sliced clearance.

Arsenal put the issue beyond doubt when Slavia made another terrible defensive error four minutes before the break. Daniel Pudil played a long back-pass almost from the halfway line to Vaniak whose weak clearance went straight to Walcott.

The 18-year-old skipped past the keeper's ineffective challenge to reclaim the ball and fired into the empty net for only the second goal of his fledgling Arsenal career.

After Hleb made it 4-0 in the 51st minute, Walcott scored again to make it 5-0 four minutes later before Fabregas struck with a goal that involved Hleb, Emmanuel Adebayor and Walcott in the build-up.

Bendtner made it 7-0 a minute from time, but Arsenal's win could have been even greater as Czech substitute Tomas Rosicky hit the bar.

Still, there were no complaints from the home crowd, and the large contingent of away fans won the respect of their hosts by cheering their team on when all was lost.

[abadani69]

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Manchester United cruised to a 4-2 victory at Dynamo Kiev in a Champions League Group F clash on Tuesday.

England stars Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney were also on target for United, while Diogo Rincon and Ismael Bangoura both scored for the home side.

The Red Devils now have three wins from three Champions League matches and are clear favourites to make it through to the knockout stage of the tournament.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for his players after the match.

"The attacking play was excellent," Ferguson told ITV. "You can't ask for better than that.

"We could have scored a lot of goals, but all in all I've got to be pleased with that result.

"What's pleasing is that, no matter which side we're playing, they're adapting, they're getting on with it.

"They're not worrying about what formation we're playing or what team we're playing because they've all got the ability and there's a great team spirit about the place, and I think that's important in the situation we're in at the moment."

Central defender Ferdinand opened the scoring on 10 minutes when he powered home a free-kick from the left wing by United skipper Ryan Giggs, before Rooney added a second eight minutes later when he was on hand to tap home a cross from Wes Brown.

United were totally at this stage and it was against the run of play that Kiev made it 2-1 when the unmarked Diogo Roncon headed home Carlos Correa's right-wing corner. Roncon's goal was the first to be conceded by United in this season's Champions league tournament.

Ronaldo restored the current Premier League champions two-goal advantage just before the break when he headed another left-wing cross from Giggs high into the roof of the net.

Brazilian playmaker Anderson had an superb game for United and was unlucky not to add his name to the score sheet minutes into the second half when he turned a cross from the hard-working Carlos Tevez against the foot of the post.

Ronaldo stretched United's lead to three goals when he smashed home a penalty on 68 minutes after Goran Gavrancic was adjudged to have handled Tevez's cross.

Rooney and Ronaldo both wasted good chances late in the game but it was Kiev who notched the sixth and final goal of the match when Ismael Bangoura beat United keeper Edwin van der Sar with a low, skidding drive from 25 yards.

Despite missing several chances during the match England striker Rooney always looked dangerous up front for United and confirmed he is enjoying his new partnership with Argentina international Tevez.

"Carlos, I thought, was brilliant. His work-rate and his touches were great. We're gelling really well, and I hope that can continue," Rooney said.

"There were some really good goals tonight, and we didn't want to be complacent and give them lots of possession," Rooney said.

"We've got a few injuries at the moment - a lot of key players missing - but we have a good squad and we know we're capable of winning this competition," he said.

"We play Kiev again in a couple of weeks - and if we win we'll be through (to the next round).

"I hope there's a lot more to come - because after a poor start to the season, we're doing really well."

[abadani69]

Olympique Lyon breathed new life into their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart in Group E on Tuesday.

Fabio Santos made the breakthrough with a deflected shot in the 56th minute after the French side twice let their opponents off the hook with bad misses at the end of the first half.

Karim Benzema clinched a deserved win 11 minutes from time when he strolled through the defence to finish from close range.

Stuttgart, who like Lyon had lost their first two matches, threw everything forward but the closest they came to a goal was a shot dragged wide by Mario Gomez with 15 minutes to go.

The result leaves Lyon in third place with three points, four points behind leaders Barcelona and Rangers after their goalless draw in Glasgow.

Stuttgart are bottom without a point and coach Armin Veh accepted they were almost certainly out of the competition.

"Our goal was the quarter-finals but sadly we didn't have the strength," Veh said. "We have to be level-headed about it."

With both teams in such desperate need of points it was no surprise that they started nervously.

Several times in the first 10 minutes Stuttgart played themselves into good positions on the edge of the Lyon area only for the final pass to go astray.

PATIENT LYON

Lyon bided their time and came close to an opening goal with their first serious attack in the 20th minute when Kim Kallstrom showed great control before cracking in a shot that Rafael Schaefer did well to keep out to his right.

Stuttgart kept pressing, and kept making a mess of the final ball, until two Lyon counter-attacks in the final five minutes of the first half almost brought the visitors success.

In the 40th minute Benzema looked certain to score after playing a one-two to the edge of the area but he scuffed a casual shot wide.

Five minutes later Sidney Govou also found himself through on goal only for Schaefer to save well with his feet.

Lyon continued to look the most likely scorers and they duly moved ahead when Stuttgart failed to clear a corner and the ball dropped nicely for Santos to sweep in off a defender.

As Stuttgart poured forward Lyon hit them with a second on the counter. Kader Keita crossed from the right for Govou, who flicked the ball on beautifully for Benzema to finish.

"It was a very good night for us," said Lyon coach Alain Perrin. "This win will give us impetus. I think we deserved it."

[abadani69]

AS Roma substitute Mirko Vucinic scored a splendid second-half goal to earn a 2-1 win over Group F rivals Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Montenegro forward, on for injured captain Francesco Totti, powered past Sporting's Marat Izmailov and stepped inside Tonel before firing into the far corner in the 70th minute.

Roma, who fluffed a penalty just after the break, had taken the lead in the 15th minute thanks to Brazilian defender Juan, but they surrendered it almost immediately to a Liedson goal.

The Italian side are now second in the group with six points, three behind leaders Manchester United who won 4-2 at Dynamo Kiev, while Sporting are third with three points.

Roma, who had conceded eight goals in their last two Serie A games at home, almost scored in the 13th minute with a strike by French centre back Philippe Mexes that skimmed the bar.

Two minutes later a David Pizarro corner found Juan unmarked in the area and the defender had no trouble heading past Sporting goalkeeper Tiago.

The visitors equalised through Brazilian striker Liedson, who nodded home an inviting cross served up by right back Abel after 18 minutes.

The hosts nearly hit back right away with a diagonal shot by Totti that went narrowly wide.

The Roma skipper then made way for match-winner Vucinic in the 35th minute because an ankle problem from an earlier clash with Liedson.

Vucinic went down in the area to earn the Italian side a penalty two minutes after the break, but Tiago saved Mancini's spot-kick with the help of the left post.

The visitors continued to push forward after Vucinic's strike, although Roma keeper Doni saved their best effort, a Miguel Veloso freekick in the 90th minute.

[abadani69]

Sevilla 2 Steaua Bucharest 1 - Champions League Group H result

At the Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville

Scorers:

Sevilla: Frederic Kanoute 5, Luis Fabiano 17

Steaua Bucharest: Ovidiu Petre 63

Halftime: 2-0; Attendance 35,000

Teams:

Sevilla: 1-Andres Palop; 4-Daniel Alves, 15-Aquivaldo Mosquera, 3-Ivica Dragutinovic, 6-Adriano Correia; 7-Jesus Navas, 8-Christian Poulsen, 21-Seydou Keita, 17-Diego Capel (18-Jose Luis Marti 84); 10-Luis Fabiano, 12-Frederic Kanoute (11-Renato 71)

Steaua Bucharest: 1-Robinson Zapata; 13-Ifeanyi Emeghara, 3-Dorin Goian, 5-Ionut Rada, 18-Petre Marin; 16-Banel Nicolita, 26-Marius Croitoru, 8-Ovidiu Petre, 84-Romeo Surdu (25-Adrian Neaga 46); 10-Nicolae Dica (9-Valentin Badea 46), 19-Victoras Iacob (30-Dorel Zaharia 71)

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

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PSV Eindhoven were held to a goalless draw at home by 10-man Fenerbahce in their Champions League Group G match on Tuesday.

Until the dismissal of Deivid, who was shown a straight red card in the 64th minute for kicking an opponent, Fenerbahce had dominated the match but could not fashion a goal.

The draw saw the Turkish side slip to second place in the group a point behind Inter Milan, who moved top on six points after a 2-1 win at CSKA Moscow in Tuesday's early match.

PSV stay in third place with four points from their three matches above the Russian side who have just a point.

"It was a fair result after an irritating match that never had any tempo because there were too many freekicks," PSV coach Ronald Koeman told reporters.

"We played well for spells but were also very sloppy in our build up. Our final pass and cross were not good enough."

ZICO SATISFIED

PSV also looked shaky in defence but Fenerbahce nevertheless found it hard to translate pressure into clear chances although their manager Zico was happy with a share of the spoils.

"I'm satisfied with a point today," said the Brazilian. "We played well and eliminated their dangerous players. We defended well and also created chances but to win you have to score.

"Our chances in this group are good. We still have two home matches to play and have to make sure we stay in control."

Deivid came closest to scoring for the visitors in the first half when he fired just wide and shortly after the interval Semih Senturk wasted two more chances within a minute.

The striker had a close range effort blocked by Eric Addo after goalkeeper Gomes dropped the ball and seconds later was a whisker away from connecting with a fine cross by Ali Bilgin, who had replaced injured playmaker Alex after 34 minutes.

PSV's best opportunity to snatch all three points came 13 minutes from time when substitute Danny Koevermans headed a Jan Kromkamp cross just wide.

"It is obvious we are not in control (of the group) and the return (on Nov. 7) will be crucial," added Koeman. We now have to try to turn that result to our advantage."

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Rangers 0 Barcelona 0 - Champions League Group E result

At Ibrox, Glasgow

Attendance: 49,957

Teams

Rangers: 1-Allan McGregor; 2-Alan Hutton, 24-Carlos Cuellar, 3-David Weir, 5-Sasa Papac; 10-Nacho Novo (20-DaMarcus Beasley 72), 11-Charlie Adam, 6-Barry Ferguson, 8-Kevin Thomson, 27-Lee McCulloch; 29-Daniel Cousin.

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 21-Lilian Thuram, 3-Gabriel Milito, 5-Carles Puyol, 22-Eric Abidal; 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta, 7-Eidur Gudjohnsen; 19-Lionel Messi, 14-Thierry Henry (Giovani dos Santos 82), 10-Ronaldinho

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)

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Chelsea consolidated top spot in Champions League Group B with a 2-0 win over Schalke 04 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Florent Malouda opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer allowed the French winger's tame left-foot drive to slip through his hands and legs into the net.

The home team made sure of victory two minutes into the second half when Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba nodded in a right-wing cross from Paolo Ferreira.

Chelsea now have seven points from three games while Schalke are bottom on three points.

"We can play better but overall it was a positive performance," coach Avram Grant told reporters.

"We scored two goals and could have scored a few more. This puts us first in the group with seven points and that's a good situation for us."

Although the Londoners thoroughly deserved their victory, Schalke could consider themselves unlucky on two counts.

The Germans seemed to have a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside in the first half when Carlos Grossmueller slid the ball in from close range despite being level with the last defender.

ESCAPE AGAIN

Chelsea were then fortunate to escape again in the closing stages when Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt ignored a blatant shirt-pulling offence just outside the box from Brazilian defender Alex as Soren Larsen was running clean through on goal.

The victory was the perfect gift for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on his 41st birthday but Schalke coach Mirko Slomka bemoaned his team's misfortune.

"I felt we could have achieved more tonight but both goals came at very bad moments," he said. "The second one particularly was a bitter blow.

"I thought we were a bit unlucky at times and if a second-half header (by Larsen) hadn't hit the post it could have changed the game."

Larsen had been brought into the team as a last-minute replacement for Kevin Kuranyi.

Kuranyi was named in the original starting lineup but pulled out after tweaking the knee injury he sustained in training on Tuesday during the warmup.

Slomka was critical of keeper Neuer, saying: "The last two games he has made important mistakes and unfortunately today's came right at the start".

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Liverpool extended its winless streak in this season's Champions League, losing at Besiktas 2-1 Wednesday and hurting its chances of advancing.

The five-time champions are last in Group A with one point from three games.

"It is the worst possible result," said Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who helped the team win the title in 2005 and reach the final last season. "We had a mountain to climb but we have got an even bigger one to climb now."

Defending champion AC Milan had a comfortable 4-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Alberto Gilardino and Clarence Seedorf scored two goals each.

Robinho scored two goals in Real Madrid's 4-2 win over 10-man Olympiakos, and Rosenborg upset Valencia 2-0. Also, it was: Chelsea 2, Schalke 0; Werder Bremen 2, Lazio 1; Benfica 1, Celtic 0; and Marseille 1, FC Porto 1.

Besiktas took the lead on a Liverpool defensive error. Jamie Carragher blocked an attempt from Bobo, and the ball went to Serdar Ozkan, whose shot went in off the leg of Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia in the 13th minute for an own-goal.

The Turkish team doubled its lead in the 81st when Bobo met Ibrahim Uzulmez's through ball outside the box, drove in and beat Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

Gerrard scored in the 85th on a diving header.

Marseille leads the group with seven points, followed by Porto with five and Besiktas with three.

Lucho Gonzalez converted a late penalty kick to earn Porto the draw after goalkeeper Steve Mandanda fouled Lisandro Lopez inside the area. Mamadou Niang put Marseille ahead in the 69th minute, deflecting in a cross from Djibril Cisse.

Milan went to the top of Group D to get its Champions League defense back on track after an early loss.

Gilardino headed in goals in the sixth and 14th minutes off corners, and Seedorf volleyed in his goals in the 62nd and 69th. Cristiano Lucarelli pulled one back for Shakhtar in the 51st.

Benfica beat Celtic 1-0 off a goal from Oscar Cardozo in the 87th minute in the other Group D game.

Milan has six points, leading Shakhtar on goal difference. Benfica and Celtic have three points each.

Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez scored his 58th goal in the Champions League in the second minute, turning in a rebound after Ruud van Nistelrooy's initial effort was pushed away.

Olympiakos equalized in the seventh through Luciano Galletti, but the Greek team was reduced to 10 men in the 13th when Vassilis Torosidis was sent off for a tackle on Van Nistelrooy.

Olympiakos took the lead when Julio Cesar volleyed a free kick from Predrag Djordjevic into the net in the 47th. Madrid leveled with a header from Robinho in the 68th and Van Nistelrooy missed a penalty kick 10 minutes later.

Robinho put Madrid ahead in the 83rd and substitute Javier Balboa sealed Madrid's win in injury time.

Real Madrid leads Group C with seven points .Olympiakos has four and Werder Bremen beat Lazio 2-1 for its first points, leaving Lazio last with two points.

Bremen got the opening goal from Boubacar Sanogo, who chested down a pass from Diego to score in the 28th minute.

Hugo Almeida made it 2-0 in the 54th after taking a cross from Clemens Fritz.

Lazio's goal came from Christian Manfredini in the 82nd minute, a low shot taken after Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese pushed away Aleksandar Kolarov's free kick.

Bremen will try to repeat the feat from two years ago when the Germans also opened with two losses and still advanced to the knockout stage.

Didier Drogba scored one goal and set up another for Chelsea.

Florent Malouda scored in the fourth minute at Stamford Bridge, taking a header from Drogba and sending it through the legs of goalkeeper Manuel Meuer. Drogba made it 2-0 in the 47th when he scored from a diving header after taking a cross from Paulo Ferreira.

Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi aggravated a leg injury before the match and was replaced by Soren Larsen.

Chelsea leads Group B with seven points, followed by Rosenborg with four and Valencia and Schalke with three each. Rosenborg beat Valencia 2-0 in the other Group B game.

Yssouf Kone forced the ball past Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares in the 53rd minute, taking a pass from Mikael Dorsin. Vidar Riseth added a second in the 61st on a header after a corner.

On Tuesday, it was: Stuttgart 0, Lyon 2; Rangers 0, FC Barcelona 0; Dynamo Kiev 2, Manchester United 4; AS Roma 2, Sporting Lisbon 1; CSKA Moscow 1, Inter Milan 2; PSV Eindhoven 0, Fenerbahce 0; Sevilla 2, Steaua Bucharest 1; and Arsenal 7, Slavia Prague 0.

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Liverpool struck for the biggest victory in Champions League history, beating the Turkish club Besiktas 8-0 Tuesday to revive the English team's hopes of the reaching the next round.

Liverpool needed a victory after gaining just one point from its first three Group A matches, and Yossi Benayoun scored a hat trick to lead the five-time European champions. The biggest previous rout was a 7-0 victory by Juventus in 2003 that was matched by Arsenal two weeks ago.

Two-time runner-up Valencia lost to Norway's Rosenborg 2-0; defending champion AC Milan won at Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0; and 2004 winner FC Porto downed Marseille 2-1.

Also, Lazio beat Werder Bremen 2-1; Celtic stopped Benfica 1-0; Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 tie at Olympiakos; and Chelsea tied 0-0 at Schalke.

Benayoun, a midfielder from Israel, had the first hat trick this season in the Champions League.

"I am happy to score but what was important was the way we won," Benayoun said. "We just need to continue to improve all the time."

Liverpool, which lost last year's final to Milan, improved to four points in Group A, three fewer than Marseille and four fewer than first-place Porto. That means it has to beat both teams above it in its remaining two games.

Rosenborg strengthened its hold on second place through two goals by Steffen Iversen at Valencia. The Norwegian team was expected to finish last in the group. Rosenborg moved up to seven points, one fewer than Chelsea. Schalke is next with four, with Valencia last with three.

Lazio moved up from last to share second place in Group C with Olympiakos after striker Tommaso Rocchi scored two goals against Bremen.

Chelsea kept the lead of Group B despite its seven-match winning streak coming to an end with its scoreless draw at Schalke.

Lazio has five points, the same as Olympiakos, and three fewer than record nine-time champion Real Madrid.

Milan leads Group D with nine points after substitute Filippo Inzaghi scored two second-half goals and set up another in Ukraine. Celtic took a share of second place with six points after a deflected 45th-minute goal by Aiden McGeady gave the Scottish champions victory over Benfica.

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Striker Filippo Inzaghi came off the bench to score a two goals and line up the other as holders AC Milan beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 on Tuesday to stay on course for the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Italian's two goals bring his European club football score to 62 goals, putting him level with record-holder Gerd Mueller, Germany's veteran 1970s footballer.

Inzaghi provided his trademark poacher's finish to a through ball from Andrea Pirlo in the 66th minute and then laid the ball off for Brazil playmaker Kaka to drive home the second in the 72nd minute.

Kaka returned the favour deep in stoppage time, bearing down on goal on the break and slipping the ball to Inzaghi for a simple finish from close range.

The victory put the defending champions top of Group D, with a three-point lead.

Milan beat Shakhtar 4-1 at home two weeks ago but are having a tough time domestically and have not won in Serie A at San Siro this season.

"7-1 (over two games) against Shakhtar, who are top of their league, is superb," AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani told Sky television.

"Pippo (Inzaghi) was great and on the counter-attack we are a very strong team. I'm just sorry our fans only see us win on television," he joked.

Some 25,000 mostly Ukrainian fans braved temperatures of -3 degrees celsius in the eastern industrial town.

Shakhtar kept up the pressure throughout the match, with several Brandao headers on target, shots from Jadson which were a touch too soft for Milan's keeper and both Willian and Fernandinho creating chances inside the box.

But they failed to take their chances and were made to pay by 63rd minute substitute Inzaghi, whose brace in last May's final against Liverpool secured the trophy for Milan.

"It all changed when Inzaghi came off the bench. Our defence made a mistake by trying to catch Inzaghi offside. Filippo is a great master so it wasn't a big problem for him to score a goal," Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu told a news conference. "Milan created goals from nothing," he said, adding that he still had hopes for qualifying for the last 16.

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A late header by Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez gave Porto a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille and sent them top of Champions League Group A on Tuesday.

The Portuguese league leaders have eight points from four matches, one point more than Marseille.

Moroccan winger Tarik Sektioui put Porto in front with a brilliant individual effort in the 27th minute, taking the ball from beyond the halfway line, dribbling and accelerating past three defenders and rounding the goalkeeper to slot calmly home.

Marseille looked sharper after the break and on 47 minutes levelled the score through Mamadou Niang, who headed in from a cross by Laurent Bonnart.

Marseille striker Djibril Cisse, who substituted Niang in the 62nd minute, had a goal ruled offside by German referee Wolfgang Stark.

Lopez clinched victory for Porto 12 minutes from time with a glancing header after a neat cross from the right by Ricardo Quaresma.

"We did not have a very good first half. Marseille deserved their equaliser but afterwards we got stronger and we managed to score again," Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira said. "We need three points. We have a game in Liverpool to play next and we will do all we can to win it," Ferreira added.

Marseille coach Eric Gerets said his side had made defensive errors to concede the goals.

"If they had stopped Tarik at the start of his run we might have avoided the goal," he said, adding: "mistakes in the details by young players cost us dear."

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Group B leaders Chelsea rode their luck to escape with a goalless draw away to Schalke 04 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Schalke, who had dominated throughout, came within a whisker of taking all three points when Peter Lovenkrands raced clear on the left and smacked a shot against the left-hand post of substitute keeper Carlo Cudicini in the dying moments.

The result meant Chelsea stayed top with eight points, one ahead of Rosenborg Trondheim who beat Valencia 2-0. Schalke climbed to third on four points, still with hopes of qualifying.

"It was not a bad result but not our best game," Chelsea coach Avram Grant told a news conference. "We are in first place and everything is in our hands. I am very happy and confident about that."

Chelsea went into the game on a run of seven successive victories but they needed two fine saves from Petr Cech in the first half and Schalke came even closer after the Czech had been replaced at halftime with a calf injury.

They almost went ahead when Rafinha hit the top of the bar in the 73rd minute and had Lovenkrands scored with his heart-stopping late chance it would have been well deserved.

"Luck was not on our side," Schalke coach Mirko Slomka said. "We were a constant threat to Chelsea, we didn't let them get forward and we had a lot of chances."

CHELSEA TROUBLE

The best of the bunch was the Schalke full back Westermann, who caused Chelsea no end of problems down the left.

In the 19th minute he tested Petr Cech for the first time, sending a shot that bounced awkwardly in front of the keeper, who could only turn the ball round the post.

Four minutes later Westermann was at it again. This time he broke forward like Franz Beckenbauer, beat two challenges and cracked in a shot that Cech had to push over the bar.

Chelsea looked anything but comfortable but they still gave the home side a couple of nervous moments.

In the sixth minute a bad mistake from Bordon led to Drogba finding space in the penalty area and his shot brought a sharp save, low to his right, from Manuel Neuer.

Three minutes before the break Drogba had an even better chance when Frank Lampard played him through on goal, forcing Neuer to come out and block again.

A short corner at the start of the second half almost gave Schalke the breakthrough as Ivan Rakitic looked to surprise Cudicini at his near post.

Rafinha should have brought them an opening goal when Cudicini was unable to reach a cross. The Brazilian took his time but a deft finish just took too long to come down.

The English side did create a couple of late chances on the break but Schalke continued to look far more dangerous and they were almost rewarded at the death.

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Two goals from Steffen Iversen spoiled Ronald Koeman's debut on the bench for Valencia and earned Rosenborg Trondheim a well-deserved 2-0 away win in Champions League Group B on Tuesday.

Koeman took charge of the team for the first time only on Monday, following last week's sacking of Quique Sanchez Flores and watched his side fall behind to a 31st-minute strike from Iversen.

The Norwegians, who beat Valencia by the same margin two weeks ago in Trondheim, were always threatening and Iversen headed a second early in the second half.

Rosenborg's victory, only their second success in 21 games on the road in the competition, put them in a strong position to qualify from the group where they trail leaders Chelsea by one point.

Valencia are bottom with three points, one behind Schalke 04 and four adrift of Rosenborg.

"Rosenborg played very well and deserved to win," said new coach Trond Henriksen, who replaced Knut Torum after the team's previous win over Valencia.

"I'm very proud to be Rosenborg coach. We showed that we are a Champions League team."

"I wasn't impressed with Valencia, they were rather timid. They needed to be more courageous." The visitors comfortably contained Valencia in an opening period short on chances and showed plenty of threat breaking forward when the home side's attacks broke down.

Iversen had already struck the outside of the post with a volley from a tight angle, when he stole the opener on a counter-attack.

FIRING HOME

After a swift passing move through midfield, Marek Sapara played Iversen into the area, where he turned his marker to fire in off the near post.

After the goal, Rosenborg keeper Lars Hirschfeld twice denied David Villa before the break, but the visitors did not sit on their lead.

Striker Yssouf Kone went close with a far post header in the 33rd minute and in the 58th, Valencia's problems with the high ball were exposed again.

Timo Hildrebrand missed his punch at a corner and Iversen was able to head into an empty net.

When Kone hit the post in the 72nd minute, after a knockdown from Iversen was palmed into his path by Hildebrand, the home fans whistled their disapproval.

That grew to a crescendo at the end after Hildebrand just managed to prevent Kone adding a third with a fingertip save.

"I can understand why the crowd were angry," said Koeman. "With this result, qualification for the next round is going to be very difficult for us although anything is possible in football.

"We've got a lot to improve."

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Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 21 years in charge at Old Trafford by leading Manchester United into the knockout stages of the Champions' League quicker than ever before after beating Dynamo Kiev 4-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

United's easy win over Kiev, who they had already beaten away, took them safely through with two qualifying matches still to be played.

With Sporting Lisbon drawing 2-2 with Roma, there were celebrations at the final whistle in Manchester when it became clear that future league matches against both sides were now irrelevant.

Jubilant Ferguson said: "I am very pleased with that. Kiev adopted a man-marking system and that caused us some problems in the first half because they did it efficiently.

"We got a break with the first goal and that opened it up for us. We got a terrific second goal and were able to relax a bit more after that.

"We had some great chances and could have scored more. We may have qualified already but it is important that we go on and win the group."

Having already disposed of the Ukranians 4-2 on their own pitch, there was never much doubt United would complete the double. It was just a question of by how many.

United had to wait until the 31st minute before the deadlock was broken and there was an element of luck about the first senior goal of Gerard Pique's career.

The 20-year-old Spaniard got the benefit of a ricochet off the back of Carlos Tevez's head but by then United were already in control.

Tevez and Wayne Rooney were again in irresistible form, carving open the bemused Kiev defence almost at will so that it was a surprise that United scored only once more before the break.

Tevez, beginning the move from his own half, raced on to Rooney's return pass to score the second in the 37th minute.

Kiev did their best to stem the tide but there was no stopping United as they surged to their eighth successive Champions' League match. It was February 2005 when they last lost in the competition at Old Trafford.

Shots rained in from all angles as Rooney, Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo took command but somehow Kiev held out until the 76th minute before being breached again.

This time it was the precocious young talent of Nani who set up the goal and Rooney made a difficult volley look easy when he converted the Brazilian's cross from ten yards.

The statistics showed that United fired in 25 shots at the beleagured Ukranians and almost the last of those provided Ronaldo with his seventh Champions' League goal of the season.

Kiev were as clearly pleased as United to hear the final whistle but for different reasons. They had been heavily beaten despite playing some attractive football.

United gave chances to youngsters Pique, Danny Simpson and Jonny Evans and Ferguson felt they had all contributed.

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Arsene Wenger celebrated his 100th match as a manager in the Champions League by qualifying for the knock-out stages after his side played out a goalless draw at Slavia Prague on Wednesday.

Arsenal were second best throughout the match and were lucky to draw with the team they put seven past at the Emirates two weeks ago.

Wenger said: " We were solid at the back and we were good in such difficult conditions with the wind and rain.

"It is hard because they were humiliated in the first game so they made it very hard for us and battled all night.

"We can create more going forward and it was disappointing to not create so many chances as we usually do but I am happy we have qualified for the next stage so early.

"Almunia got over a difficult week and kept us in the game with a fine save which was good for his confidence.

"We are learning as a team all the time and getting better and more experienced."

Mickael Tavares headed over when he should have hit the target and the lively Zdenek Senkerik was unlucky when he cut inside and forced Manuel Almunia to tip over.

Senkerik was again denied by the impressive Almunia late on as Arsenal ensured progression.

The Gunners went into the game needing they only needed a draw to go through and boss Wenger clearly thought the job was already done by picking a much-changed line-up.

He made eight changes from the team that drew 2-2 with Manchester United on Saturday.

They played like a side with little to worry about, as they gave the ball away and looked content to let Slavia play at their own pace.

The hosts lacked the quality to punish them and more often than not their final ball let them down. Slavia's first chance came when Daniel Pudil swung over a corner and Tavares was left unmarked six yards out, the Frenchman wastefully heading over.

Lone striker Senkerik looked a threat with his pace and he accelerated sharply to cut in from the right and fire a shot goalwards but Almunia did well to tip over.

The interval brought with it a rainstorm in Prague and the game sprang to life after the break.

Senkerik fell in the box with Lassana Diarra, but referee Bertrand Layec waved Slavia's appeals away, before Nicklas Bendtner had a shot blocked by Erich Brabec.

Suddenly the tackles were flying in and the crowd were lifted as Slavia attacked sensing a famous victory in their first year in the Champions League.

Brabec latched onto a free-kick only to head straight at Almunia, before David Hubacek slammed over from nearly 30 yards. When a ball over the top caught out the Arsenal defence and sent Senkerik clean through, it seemed certain that the deadlock would be broken.

But as the striker coolly lifted the ball goalwards from 18 yards Almunia raced from his line to deny Slavia once more and put his team in the last 16.

The match was Arsenal's 26th without defeat, but the first time they failed to score this season.

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Olympique Lyon kept alive their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout phase by eliminating VfB Stuttgart with a 4-2 home victory on Wednesday.

Lyon, who had lost their two opening games, are third in Group E with six points from four games, one point behind second-placed Rangers after the Scottish side lost 2-0 at leaders Barcelona. Stuttgart have no points.

"We knew that it would be difficult against such a side, who attack a lot," said Lyon coach Alain Perrin.

"When we were at 3-2, we did not really know what to do, we did not know wether we had to keep pushing or sit back."

The home side made a bright start with Hatem Ben Arfa, perfectly set up by Kim Kallstrom, opening the scoring in the sixth minute at the conclusion of a swift movement.

Swedish midfielder Kallstrom doubled the tally on 15 minutes when he fired home a Sidney Govou cross from the right.

Stuttgart, who have won their last two Bundesliga games after a poor start to the season, reacted strongly a minute later.

PENALTY SAVE

Lyon goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre parried away a Thomas Hitzlsperger shot only for striker Mario Gomez, following up, to poke the ball into the empty net.

Perrin's side, however, maintained control and made it 3-1 eight minutes before the interval. France midfielder Ben Arfa sold the Stuttgart defence a dummy before firing past Raphael Schaefer. The German champions stepped up a gear in the second half and narrowed the gap on 56 minutes when Gomez connected with an Andreas Beck cross to score his second.

Four minutes later, Russian referee Yuri Baskakov awarded the visitors a penalty following an Anthony Reveillere challenge on Gomez but Vercoutre dived to his left to save Hitzlsperger's spot kick.

"That was the turning point of the game," said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh. "But the most disappointing thing is that we did not defend well."

Lyon were dominated in the final minutes but Juninho wrapped up the victory with a goal from close range three minutes into stoppage time.

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Manchester United and Arsenal became the first teams to reach the second round of the Champions League on Wednesday.

United overpowered Dynamo Kiev 4-0 at Old Trafford and then advanced because AS Roma tied Sporting Lisbon 2-2 in another Group F game. United scored four goals against Dynamo for the second straight game.

Before a crowd of 75,000, Man United had goals from Gerard Pique in the 31st minute, Carlos Tevez in the 37th, Wayne