Ajax and Barça on top

AFC Ajax and FC Barcelona were the winners on an exciting first day of the Amsterdam Tournament.

Hosts victorious
Ajax, hosting the four-team competition featuring four of Europe’s top clubs, saw off English rivals Manchester United FC 2-1 while Barcelona beat Italian side Parma AC 4-2 in a six-goal thriller. Although most in the crowd were waiting for the appearance of the Dutch champions and United’s new defender Rio Ferdinand, the day’s play actually started with Barcelona taking on Parma.

Frenetic first half
All the goals came in the first half. The scoring spree started when Barcelona's Brazilian striker Geovanni converted a Gabri cross after 16 minutes. On the half-hour mark, Marco Di Vaio equalised for Parma after beating Barcelona goalkeeper Robert Enke to the ball. Three minutes later, Barca took the lead for the first time through Juan Roman Riquelme’s powerful shot. But Parma restored parity in the 37th minute when Marco Marchionni headed home.

Up a gear
Yet Barça stepped up a gear going into the interval and ultimately took an unassailable lead. Riquelme, put clear by Patrick Kulivert, restored the Catalan club's lead on 42 minutes and on the stroke of half-time Brazilian Fabio Rochemback scored from a free-kick.

Star names
In their match, Ajax looked to have their work cut out against a United side featuring Ferdinand, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooij, Roy Keane and Juan Sebastián Veron. However, the Eredivisie champions had some star names of their own including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mido, Rafael van der Vaart and new signing Victor Sikora.

Sikora strikes
Ferdinand, the €47m signing from Leeds United AFC, played for nearly an hour but, by the time he was substituted, United were a goal down to Sikora’s close-range finish six minutes before the interval. Ajax, who earlier hit the crossbar through Van Der Vaart’s header, doubled their lead through Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 75th minute.

Winners meet
Paul Scholes pulled a goal back three minutes later but it was not enough to prevent defeat. The tournament finishes on Sunday, when Ajax play Barcelona while United take Parma.