There were mixed results over the weekend for the 32 teams who begin their quest for UEFA Champions League glory on Tuesday and Wednesday, with five clubs suffering defeats and another five being held to draws.
Setbacks
Beşiktaş JK were the biggest losers, succumbing 3-0 at city rivals Galatasaray AŞ, while Arsenal FC tasted defeat for the second Premier League fixture in succession, losing 4-2 to Manchester City FC. Two of Germany's representatives, VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart, also ended the weekend point-less, as did Eredivisie champions AZ Alkmaar, beaten by ADO Den Haag. AZ's opponents on Wednesday, Olympiacos FC, were one of four teams held to a goalless draw.
Winning start
Elsewhere, Juande Ramos won his first match in charge of PFC CSKA Moskva, while FC Bayern München were one of two sides to register the biggest victory of the weekend, 5-1. CSKA's Russian rivals FC Rubin Kazan prepared for their first match among Europe's élite by replicating the same scoreline to consolidate their position at the Premier-Liga summit.
| Group A | S.S. Lazio 0-2 Juventus
(Cáceres 72, Trezeguet 90)
Ciro Ferrara: "We knew we had a tough game against Lazio because they play at a high tempo, pressing a lot in midfield. We played better in the second half compared to the first when we suffered from their pressing. I'm very happy for Cáceres, scoring on his debut must be of great satisfaction."
| FC Girondins de Bordeaux 1-0 Grenoble Foot 38
(Gouffran 18)
Laurent Blanc: "We were not good. Those periods [after international games] are not easy. Players unconsciously relax and struggle to get back into competition mode. Grenoble played well and caused us many problems. We'll have to raise our game if we want to get something in Turin."
| Maccabi Haifa FC 3-1 Hapoel Ramat-Gan FC
(Golasa 30, Dvalishvili 45, Arbeitman 81; Kovacević 17)
Elisha Levi: "It's a good start to our season and the fact we managed to cancel out a deficit on the way to a victory for the third successive league match shows we have character and confidence. We will do everything we can to be prepared for Bayern Munich. We watch them every weekend on TV and their victory over Borussia Dortmund just shows their strength." | BV Borussia Dortmund 1-5 FC Bayern München
(Hummels 10; Gómez 36, Schweinsteiger 50, Ribéry 65, Müller 78 88)
Louis van Gaal: "We started the match badly and despite everything I said to the team, they were poor in the opening period. In the second half, the individual quality of our team proved the difference and it was nice to see some great goals at the end of a difficult week."
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| Group B | VfL Wolfsburg 2-3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
(Misimović 76, Grafite 80(pen); Rolfes 38 51(pen), Kiessling 58)
Armin Veh: "Until we lost a man [Diego Benaglio was sent off after 32 minutes] we kept our opponents under control pretty well. The red card decided the match. Despite the defeat, I don't think my team performed badly and there are several positives to be taken from the match."
| PFC CSKA Moskva 3-0 PFC Krylya Sovetov Samara
(Necid 57, Guilherme 59 80)
Juande Ramos: "I did not really like what I saw in the first half so I made two half-time substitutions – they helped us to improve the flow of the game. I knew something about CSKA before coming to Russia but now I have made another big step in the process of getting acquainted with the team."
| Galatasaray AŞ 3-0 Beşiktaş JK
(Mustafa 4, Baros 65 82)
Mustafa Denizli: "The game should not have ended with this scoreline. Unfortunately, the second goal we conceded ended the game for us. Serdar Özkan had four clear chances to score but he missed. If we had equalised Galatasaray wouldn't have won the game."
| Tottenham Hotspur FC 1-3 Manchester United FC
(Defoe 1; Giggs 25, Anderson 41, Rooney 78)
Sir Alex Ferguson: "It was always going to be a hard game, Tottenham are in great form at the moment and got off to a fantastic start. We had to gather ourselves but we played some great football at times. With ten men we had to defend well but we had some good counterattacking play and the third goal killed the game off."
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| Group C | FC Zürich 4-3 Grasshopper-Club
(Alphonse 14, Aegerter 41, Vonlanthen 70, Margairaz 73; Zárate 7 81, Ben Khalifa 75)
Bernard Challandes: "It was a crazy match, entertaining with lots of goals. It was a nice match for all the fans but, as a coach, I have to confess that there were lots of mistakes. To lead 4-1 was a bit lucky. After our fourth goal Grasshoppers played very well and we had some problems because we stopped playing football. On Tuesday a new story is going to start." | RCD Espanyol0-3 Real Madrid CF
(Granero 39, Guti 77, Ronaldo 90)
Manuel Pellegrini: "The first half was quite even. We managed to score and had another chance that [Carlos] Kameni saved. We struck twice more in the second period and in the end I think we were just winners; we certainly deserved to win by more than one and I wouldn't say it was excessive punishment for Espanyol. Those that weren't on international duty knew they would form the base of the team today. I have huge confidence in this squad."
| Le Mans UC 72 1-2 Olympique de Marseille
(Maïga 62; Niang 14, Brandão 70)
Didier Deschamps: "Three points tonight are a very positive outcome. We were so dominant in the first 30 minutes that we became complacent. After their leveller, we reacted well to retake the lead. The system was new and Lucho made his first appearance. It's all new things but in the first half an hour we were clearly above them."
| AS Livorno Calcio 0-0 AC Milan
Leonardo: "During the first half we struggled to control the game and reach our forwards. However, in the second half we managed to create several opportunities to score and I think we would have deserved the victory. [Andrea] Pirlo did well when he came on but I'm satisfied with the performance of the whole team in the second half after a bad start."
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| Group D | Stoke City FC 1-2 Chelsea FC
(Faye 32; Drogba 48, Malouda 90)
Carlo Ancelotti: "We got what we deserved. We tried to attack all the time and in the end we won the game so I'm very happy. It was a difficult game after Stoke scored first but at the end of the game we did very well. We had good pressure and good play so we deserved it. This victory is very important because we have started a very important period with the Champions League and now we're at the top of the league."
| FC Porto 4-1 Leixões SC
(Varela 20, Hulk 23(pen), Rolando 33, Falcao 42; Pouga 76)
Jesualdo Ferreira: "Being 4-0 ahead at half-time we hoped that the team could maintain their consistency. We managed that for 25 minutes but there were no goals. We were focused on winning and playing well. It was important that we got the confidence that the team needs after our work had been interrupted by international matches. We begin this difficult cycle with an important win."
| Club Atlético de Madrid 1-1Real Racing Club
(Jurado 43; Serrano 46)
Abel Resino: "The team tried but it wasn't a brilliant performance in front of our own fans. We had chances but I felt there was some freshness missing. They were solid at the back and we couldn't open them up but that's football and you don't always win; the game doesn't always go the way you want it to."
| APOEL FC 0-0 AEP Paphos FC
Ivan Jovanović: "My players were very determined to get a result especially after the defeat on the opening day of the season. The only positive from this game was our pressure and the fact that we kept the traffic in their half. I'm not pleased with the way we finished off our chances."
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| Group E | Liverpool FC 4-0 Burnley FC
(Benayoun 27 61 82, Kuyt 41)
Rafael Benítez: "We know Yossi is a player with quality. We have seen how good he is coming from the bench and we were talking about whether he could start or not. Today he was very, very good and his movement was fantastic for the team. Yossi is someone with experience and he knows the best way to fight for your position is doing something well on the pitch."
| Paksi FC 0-1 Debreceni VSC
(Szakály 33)
András Herczeg: "We did not want to think about the forthcoming UEFA Champions League match against Liverpool but only focus on a good result at Paks. I must say that the home team were very hard to beat and they did not make it simple for us at all. Maybe because of Pantić's early injury we did not concentrate well during the first half an hour but finally we converted one of our chances and took an important three points."
| Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 FC Lorient
(Bastos 72)
Claude Puel: "It was a tight game against a team that created trouble for us at times in the first half. We had to change the system to take the upper hand in the last quarter of the first half and in the second and I think our goal was deserved."
| ACF Fiorentina 1-0 Cagliari Calcio
(Gilardino 55)
Cesare Prandelli: "I think we played well considering Cagliari had just a couple of shots on goal. We did not take any risks and scored a beautiful goal. Vargas produced a beautiful cross and 'Gila' was great with his header. I think we are ready for the UEFA Champions League, we want to spring a few surprises in Europe this year. I want a brave team even against the most important European sides."
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| Group F | FC Internazionale Milano 2-0 Parma FC
(Eto'o 71, Milito 88)
José Mourinho: "I'm satisfied with the performance. We had at least ten good chances to score against a well organised Parma. I could not ask for more especially considering we are about to face the European champions. Barcelona are a team who have had the same structure for years while we have a few new players but we start from 0-0 and we will surely try to win."
| Getafe CF 0-2 FC Barcelona
(Ibrahimović 66, Messi 80)
Josep Guardiola: "We were fortunate to get to the break all square but in the second half we were better. Ibrahimović was extraordinary; he was always looking for space. We can work our offensive game around him and the early feelings with him in the side are good."
| FC Metalist Kharkiv0-1 FC Dynamo Kyiv (Ukrainian Cup round of 16)
(Zozulya 17)
Valeri Gazzaev: "We decided to rest the players who returned from international duty. On one hand they had a chance to take a breather before a very important UEFA Champions League game against Rubin, and on the other our young players were given a chance to impress."
| FC Rubin Kazan 5-1 FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast
(Bukharov 5 66, Domínguez 35(pen), Ryazantsev 38 47; Topić 51)
Kurban Berdyev: "After the score became 4-0 we relaxed and produced a poor performance in the second half. It is obvious we have certain problems. We were more reliable in the first half against Spartak [in the previous league fixture] while today we started making mistakes. The score started to affect the lads." |
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| Group G | Hamburger SV 3-1 VfB Stuttgart
(Petrić 30, Elia 58, Zé Roberto 90; Pogrebnyak 62)
Thomas Hitzlsperger, Stuttgart midfielder: "We started well in the first half an hour. After Petrić's dream goal we lost our rhythm and played poorly from then on. Now we have the chance to make amends in the UEFA Champions League. It is up to us to prove that we belong in the competition."
| Motherwell FC 0-0 Rangers FC
Walter Smith: "Performance-wise, it was not our best. The result overall, with Allan McGregor saving a penalty, was a decent one for us. From our point of view, we are just a little bit disappointed with the way that we played but we can't complain about the result."
| Sevilla FC 4-1 Real Zaragoza
(Konko 8, Fabiano 46 86, Perotti 57; Arizmendi 33)
Manuel Jiménez: "This was the type of performance we wanted last week. This is the result of the hard work of all the players. I am very angry about the goal we conceded. It should never have occurred. There are still things we need to improve on. We were superior, and could have scored more than four."
| FC Unirea Urziceni 1-0 FC Unirea Alba Iulia
(Marinescu 33)
Dan Petrescu: "It was a very difficult match because it came after a two-week break, which did not help us. I made plenty of changes to the starting XI and I told my players that Unirea Alba Iulia would be hard to beat. After the first half we should have led by two or three, while in the second half we showed our character."
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| Group H | Olympiacos CFP 0-0 FC Kavala
Temuri Ketsbaia: "It's only natural that the fans are not satisfied but it's just our second match in the league, it's not one that we needed to win no matter what. We have important encounters ahead and we have had several injuries to deal with. I am concerned with our performance but I can't blame the players because they really tried on the pitch." | ADO Den Haag 2-1 AZ Alkmaar
(Verhoek 4, Immers 54; Lens 86)
Ronald Koeman: "It's tough to be victorious when you fall behind after three minutes. We tried everything after that and put a lot of pressure on, but we created only a few chances. ADO played out the match cleverly and deserved their victory."
| R. Standard de Liège 3-0 KV Mechelen
(Carcela-González 54 57, Mangala 68)
László Bölöni: "I am very satisfied with the result. This is going to boost our morale. During the first half the tempo was a bit too low, but then we also had a lot of chances to score. On the other hand we have paid a high price for this victory (Steven Defour, Igor De Camargo and Wilfried Dalmat all suffered injuries). I just hope that I can count on my lads to give Arsenal a hard time on Wednesday."
| Manchester City FC 4-2 Arsenal FC
(Almunia 20og, Bellamy 74, Adebayor 80, Wright-Phillips 84; Van Persie 62, Rosický 88)
Arsène Wenger: "Unfortunately, we are going home with the same feeling. Considering the way the two teams played and the number of shots we both had, we should have done much better. In the second half, I felt we were in control, so the result is a bit difficult to take."
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