Last year’s Champions League winners Manchester United and the team they beat in that final, Chelsea, got off to slender but winning starts on Tuesday in their opening Champions League group matches.
United — outclassed by Barcelona in last season’s final — edged Besiktas 1-0 in the fiery cauldron of the Turkish side’s stadium in Istanbul, thanks to a second-half goal by veteran Paul Scholes.
Chelsea — whose owner Roman Abramovich is counting on his umpteenth choice of manager Carlo Ancelotti to deliver him the Champions League — also won 1-0, a Nicolas Anelka goal enough to gain them the three points, at home to 2004 champions FC Porto.
PHOTO: REUTERS
United hardly played at their best, but United boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared himself satisfied with a job well done.
“Over the years, Paul Scholes has got a lot of goals like that for us and it is a very important goal for us,” Ferguson said. “It is a fantastic atmosphere here and that’s a test of your concentration and your nerve, so this is a good result for us.”
United sealed the win despite the efforts of a fan who targeted players with a laser.
PHOTO: REUTERS
After watching Scholes head in a late winner against Turkish champions Besiktas, Ferguson confirmed that centerback Jonny Evans had been among the United players targeted.
“It was in the first half, although thankfully the police did something about it,” Ferguson said. “They managed to get the culprit, which is good because I noticed it particularly on Jonny Evans. It seemed to be on him all the time.”
Ancelotti was also more pleased to have taken the three points — especially as he had to do without suspended star striker Didier Drogba — rather than the labored style in which Chelsea won.
PHOTO: EPA
“It is impossible to play well in all the games. Sometimes we can win with other characteristics,” said Ancelotti, a two-time winning Champions League coach. “It is good for us to win and also to have difficulties because we can learn from it.”
Italian clubs experienced mixed fortunes against their two French opponents.
Ancelotti’s former club AC Milan gained a slightly fortunate 2-1 victory away in Marseille, the team who beat them in the 1993 final and coached by one of the players that night Didier Deschamps.
Milan’s 36-year-old veteran Filippo Inzaghi grabbed a double to take his total in the competition to 44 and rejoin Real Madrid’s Raul as all-time leading scorer in European competitions with 67.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani enthused at the performance after an indifferent start to their Serie A campaign.
“’Pippo’ [Inzaghi] is extraordinary, his second goal was incredible, I can’t see any other way to describe it. [Clarence] Seedorf played a great game too. When we people from Milan hear the Champions League music we change. To explain that you’d need a psychiatrist,” Galliani said.
Juventus, formerly coached by Deschamps, were held 1-1 in Turin by French champions Bordeaux, Czech international Jaroslav Plasil canceling out Italian international Vincenzo Iaquinta’s goal.
German duo VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich got their campaigns off on a victorious note with the former — surprise champions last season — relying on a hat-trick from Grafite in their 3-1 victory over CSKA Moscow, while Bayern won 3-0 in Israel over Maccabi Haifa.
Grafite, last season’s leading scorer in the Bundesliga, could hardly believe his good fortune on his Champions League debut.
“It’s a great, unbelievable feeling to score a hat-trick on your Champions League debut,” the Brazilian said. “I have to thank my team-mates for providing me with the opportunity, but it has been a great night for the club.”
The two Madrid clubs enjoyed differing fortunes as the expensively-assembled Real eased into a 3-0 lead over FC Zurich only to take their foot off the pedal and see the lead reduced to 3-2 before Cristiano Ronaldo added his second of the match to make it 4-2 and Guti added another for good measure to see them win 5-2.
Veteran Guti confessed that ‘the meringues’ would have to improve markedly if they are to be present at the final next May in their own Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
“Perhaps we thought it was over at 3-0 but it wasn’t,” Guti said. “We have to avoid that happening again if we want to go far in this competition.”
City rivals Atletico were totally toothless and were held 0-0 at home by unheralded Cypriot club Apoel Nicosia.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely