CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Europe’s big guns Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal are in pole position to shoot into the group stages, though Liverpool have work to do as the 2008/2009 Champions League began in earnest on Wednesday.
PHOTO: AFP
With 41 weeks to go to the May 27 final at Rome’s Olympic stadium, club soccer’s most prestigious and richest competition hotted up as top clubs fought it out for a ticket to the money-spinning pool stages.
Barcelona and Juventus both had 4-0 victories, over Wisla Krakow and Artmedia Bratislava, but Arsenal were far from convincing in a 2-0 victory at Dutch club FC Twente and Liverpool were simply mediocre in a 0-0 draw at Standard Liege in third qualifying round, first leg action.
William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor were on target for Arsenal, who were outplayed by FC Twente for much of the match before going ahead against the run of play.
“They imposed a very physical game on us, with man marking all over the pitch. They did that with a lot of belief and spirit,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said afterwards.
“In the first half, they had some chances, but in the second half we slowly took over,” he said. “They have given so much in the first half, they could not keep the same pace and tightness in their marking. From then on, we looked more comfortable,” he said.
Former England manager Steve McClaren, now the FC Twente boss, was thrust into the spotlight once more against glamorous opponents when the draw was made. On the night, however, his team did not have the lucky breaks when needed.
“I think we should have scored in the first half,” McClaren said. “You don’t get many chances and you have to take them. We didn’t do that. We lost concentration on two occasions and got punished.”
It was disappointment for the Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane strike duo as Liverpool stuttered to a goalless draw against Standard Liege.
Kick-off was delayed to allow groundsmen to clear toilet rolls from the pitch and, when the action got underway, Liverpool had to weather an early goal scare which would have changed the complexion of the tie.
In the sixth minute, Alvaro Arbeloa gave away a cheap free-kick from which the ever-present Marouane Fellaini rattled a header against the post. It was criminally sloppy defending that should have cost Liverpool more than it did, with many in the stadium justifiably claiming that the ball had gone over the line.
After the match Liverpool keeper Jose Reina told ITV television that he wasn’t sure if the ball had crossed the line.
“I don’t know,” Reina said. “I still don’t know. We will have to see it on TV because it’s much easier to see. The important thing is we got a result and we have to improve for the second leg.”
Barcelona, who have gone two seasons without a trophy, began their planned comeback in style by disposing of Wisla Krakow 4-0.
Two goals came from Samuel Eto’o and Xavi Hernandez and Thierry Henry got the others.
Juventus made a confident return to European action, thrashing Slovak champions Artmedia Bratislava with goals from Mauro Camoranesi, Alessandro Del Piero, Giorgio Chiellini and Nicola Legrottaglie.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care