Ambitious San Marino champions Murata suffered a reality check when they lost 5-0 at home to IFK Gothenburg in their Champions League first qualifying round first leg on Tuesday.
Murata, who boasted 42-year-old Brazilian World Cup-winning defender Aldair in their ranks, had failed in attempts to get Romario and Michael Schumacher to play in the match.
The Swedes, semi-finalists in 1986, raced into a 3-0 first-half lead thanks to Robin Soder, Ragnar Sigurdsson and Pontus Wernblom with Hjalmar Jonsson and Stefan Selakovic also scoring.
Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava, who made the group stage in 2005, won 2-0 against Valletta in Malta and Slovenian club Domzale grabbed a 1-0 victory at Luxembourg’s Dudelange.
Less than two months after Manchester United lifted the trophy in Moscow after beating Chelsea on penalties, Tampere United forward Jari Niemi scored the first goal of this season’s tournament.
His strike midway through the first half helped the Finns take a 2-1 first leg advantage over Montenegro’s Champions League newcomers Buducnost Podgorica in an early kick off.
Cyprus champions Anorthosis Famagusta beat Armenia’s Pyunik Yerevan 1-0 in a match which was switched from Larnaca to the GSP Stadium in Nicosia after a drought sapped water reserves.
Belarus side BATE Borisov edged toward the second round with a 2-0 home win over Iceland’s Valur Reykjavik while Azerbaijan champions FC Baku drew 0-0 with Macedonia’s Rabotnicki.
Welsh champions Llanelli beat Latvia’s Ventspils 1-0 at home while Baltic rivals Kaunas of Lithuania triumphed 4-1 at Andorra’s Santa Coloma. Bosnian champions Modrica were also away winners, beating Dinamo Tirana 2-0.
Dinamo Zagreb were due to start their bid to reach next May’s final in Rome with a trip to Linfield yesterday, when the three other remaining first round first leg matches were also to be played.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
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