Ivan Helguera scored to lead Real Madrid over Juventus 1-0 in the Champions League knockout round on Tuesday as Europe's elite club competition resumed in freezing conditions after a two-month break.
Helguera scored in the 31st minute off an inswinging David Beckham free kick as the nine-time champion claimed the advantage ahead of the return leg in Turin in two weeks.
PHOTO: AP
German and English clubs split their two head-to-head encounters. Claudio Pizzaro scored in each half as Bayern Munich trounced Arsenal 3-1, while Liverpool beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 with goals from Luis Garcia, John Arne Riise and Dietmar Hamann.
PSV Eindhoven beat last season's runner-up Monaco 1-0.
At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid also twice hit the post as coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo made his Champions League lead debut with a victory. Luxemburgo, Madrid's third coach this season, took charge of the team in December.
"We played a good game. We would have liked a second goal. The opponent was very good, very strong defensively," Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane said.
Both sides sustained injuries. Michel Salgado limped off for Madrid in the ninth minute with a knee injury after a collision with Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved, who was carried off 26 minutes later after a colliding heads with Salgado's replacement, Raul Bravo.
The match, a replay of the 1998 Champions League final, was attended by Spain's King Juan Carlos and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
In Munich, Pizarro scored in the fourth and 58th minutes, while Hasan Salihamidzic added another in the 51st. A late Arsenal goal from Kolo Toure gave the London club some hope of advancing to the quarterfinals.
The match was billed as a fight between Germany's top two goalkeepers -- current No. 1 Oliver Kahn of Bayern Munich, and his rival Jens Lehmann at Arsenal.
Four-time champion Liverpool coped with the absence of influential midfielder Steven Gerrard with a 3-1 win at Anfield.
Franca scored in injury time for Leverkusen, which hasn't won in England in six attempts.
"Shame about the end, but the problem is when you are winning 3-0 in the last minute and you concede a goal, it's a pity, but other than that it's good," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said.
Spanish league leader FC Barcelona hosts English front-runner Chelsea today as Manchester United faces AC Milan.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported £31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to