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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two