Eurosport - Tue, 30 Sep 23:27:00 2008

All the reaction from the men in charge following Tuesday’s Champions League action, with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson purring over Dimitar Berbatov’s first two goals for his new club.

AaB Aalborg 0-3 Manchester United

Bruce Rioch: “The second goal was the one that really damaged us. The ball bounced off our skipper’s ankle and Berbatov finished it with a fantastic goal.”

Alex Ferguson: “He’s joined the club for the money he’s joined, so it’s always an issue getting that first goal. Now that he’s got it, he’s on his way. His second goal was taken very well, a real goalscorer’s goal.”

Arsenal 4-0 Porto

Arsene Wenger: “I didn’t want to punish the players after the Hull defeat. Sometimes you give a team the chance to respond. It was what I expected, we could have scored more but we responded in a convincing way. I expect us to win the group from here.”

Jesualdo Ferreira: “We were the more dangerous side when it was 0-0 but we had two great chances and couldn’t score. After they scored we lost confidence.”

Villarreal 1-0 Celtic

Manuel Pellegrini: “I am satisfied to have overcome a good team. We suffered a little more than expected, but they are a fast and dangerous side.”

Gordon Strachan: “We have given them a right good game. I think that was the best we have played away from home since I have been here.”

Zenit St Petersburg 1-2 Real Madrid

Dick Advocaat: “It’s another very disappointing result. We were nervous, giving them too much space in midfield and two easy goals. At half-time we changed things tactically, did well and deserved at least a draw. We had 14 or 15 chances to score.”

Bernd Schuster: “It’s an important victory. It was tough and they were pushing for a draw at the end, but we got the three points and that’s the most important thing.”

Fiorentina 0-0 Steaua Bucharest

Cesare Prandelli: “We had some difficulties, but we kept a clean sheet. The team showed spirit, which is important for a team to grow. [On the whistles that greeted his team at the final whistle] In three years we have achieved a lot: the club weren’t in the Champions League for eight years, so I believe this team should always be applauded.”

Marius Lacatus: “It was a good result which maintained our chances of qualifying. I leave Florence with the regret that we failed to win, because we deserved it.”

Bayern Munich 1-1 Lyon

Juergen Klinsmann: “We had enough chances to win the game. We would have loved three points instead of one but I think we’re still well placed in Europe.”

Claude Puel: “A draw at Bayern is a fine result. This group is very tough and we have to be happy with how we played. My players were courageous.”

Fenerbahce 0-0 Dynamo Kiev

Luis Aragones: “Fenerbahce created some scoring opportunities on the pitch today. We were definitely the better team and deserved to win. We were in control of the game while they played on the counter attack. What is important now is that we beat Arsenal.”

Yuri Syomi: “Today we played a good game and succeeded in securing a point. Fenerbahce played very well. But our players created problems for them and were very successful in defence.”

Bate Borisov 2-2 Juventus

Claudio Ranieri: “They surprised us. We couldn’t hold them in any area of the field. It was a nightmare first half hour. We did well not to give up. We have to compliment these lads from Belarus. They ran like there were 22 of them, not 11.”

Eurosport

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Eurosport - Tue, 30 Sep 22:58:00 2008

Spanish champions Real Madrid beat UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 in a thrilling Champions League Group D clash in Russia, while BATE Borisov drew 2-2 at home to Italian giants Juventus in their match.

Zenit St Petersburg 1-2 Real Madrid

An end-to-end match was by the hosts, but Real rebuffed them with an admirable rearguard action and several excellent saves by Iker Casillas.

The second half in particular saw Dick Advocaat’s men pile the pressure on Madrid. Andriy Arshavin hit the woodwork and his team-mates spurned countless chances, but a backs-against-the-wall performance from Bernd Schuster’s men saw them hold on for the three points.

Real took the lead in the fourth minute after Tomas Hubocan turned Rafael van der Vaart’s low cross into his own net.

The early phase of the match had Zenit committing basic defensive errors while not getting their usual attacking rhythm going. Real could have been three up before the hosts got their act together, with Gonzalo Higuain, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Sergio Ramos all going close.

But Zenit woke up and tore Madrid apart in every way apart from the result. Arshavin twice and Pavel Pogrebniak both had opportunities before Portuguese midfielder Danny Alves turned home a superb Arshavin cross on 24 minutes.

Czech wide-man Radek Sirl gave Sergio Ramos a torrid time with his running, crossing and shooting, while Arshavin’s guile and Pogrebniak’s directness tested Fabio Cannavaro and Pepe to the maximum.

It was Real, however, who scored next. Just after the half hour, Van der Vaart tried to drill a low ball into the Zenit box. It took a deflection and landed in the path of Van Nistelrooy, who scuffed a low shot past Vyacheslav Malafeev and into the bottom right.

It proved to be an unlikely, lucky winner.

Pogrebniak, Danny, Hubocan and - on several occasions - Arshavin had great chances to level, but for all their pressure and exciting play the Russian side could not force another goal. Madrid had their chances, usually one for every three Zenit attempts and always on the break.

The introduction of Fatih Tekke and Alejandro Dominguez stretched Los Merengues even further. Both had great opportunities to score, but Madrid somehow held on for a win that put them top of the group.

BATE Borisov 2-2 Juventus

Vincenzo Iaquinta scored a first-half double to help Juventus salvage a 2-2 draw at Belarusian minnows BATE Borisov.

Italy forward Iaquinta saved the Serie A side’s blushes by nodding in a Sebastian Giovinco cross in the 29th minute and firing through the legs of BATE keeper Sergei Veremko on the stroke of half time.

The hosts had taken control with goals by Sergei Kryvets and Igor Stasevich on 17 and 23 minutes.

After two matches Juventus, who beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 in their opener, are second in Group H with four points, two behind leaders Real Madrid.

BATE made a fearsome start and Kryvets gave them a deserved lead when he ran on to a long pass, rounded Alexander Manninger and slipped the ball into an empty net.

Stasevich headed past an immobile Manninger, standing in for Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon, after Pavel Nedved failed to cut out a Pavel Nekhaychik cross to double the lead.

Both sides pressed forward after Iaquinta’s double, which made for a lively, albeit goalless second half, with twice European champions Juve having the better chances.

The draw lifts BATE, in the Champions League proper for the first time, off the bottom of Group H, giving them a one-point advantage over Zenit.

Reda Maher and Reuters / Eurosport

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Eurosport - Tue, 30 Sep 22:02:00 2008

Celtic’s dismal away record in Europe continued as they were beaten 1-0 by Villarreal in El Madrigal to leave their Group E Champions League qualification hopes hanging in the balance.

Marcos Senna curled home a contentious second-half free-kick for the only goal of the game, and Celtic now have just one point from their opening two games, with a double header against defending champions Manchester United coming up next.

The result was Celtic’s 16th away defeat out of 17 in the Champions League group stage.

The Scottish champions paid the price for an overly conservative game-plan which allowed Villarreal to dominate possession throughout.

However, things could have been different if Georgios Samaras had converted Celtic’s best chance of the match just before the break.

Celtic tried to stifle their opponents by packing the midfield and playing Samaras as a lone striker and the plan seemed to work in the first-half.

Villarreal struggled to break down a well-drilled Celtic outfit and Joseba Llorente scuffed the hosts’ best early chance after the ball fell to him on the edge of the area when Artur Boruc saved Giuseppe Rossi’s initial effort.

Boruc also tipped over another Rossi chance but it should have really been Celtic in front at the break when Samaras was presented with a gift of a chance.

His man Diego Godin made a mess of a clearance and that left the in-form striker clear one-on-one with Diego Lopez.

However, the Greek tried a somewhat elaborate effort with the outside of his boot which Lopez saved when a powerful blast would have been more effective.

In the second-half, Celtic gradually started defending deeper and deeper and they were inviting shots on their goal.

They had one moment at the other end when Stephen McManus nearly turned in a Gary Caldwell header, but it was the hosts who were looking more and more dangerous and it was no surprise when they finally took the lead in the 67th minute.

Gordon Strachan will be furious with the referee after Llorente made a meal of a little trip from Paul Hartley but the free kick just outside the box was awarded.

There was still plenty for Senna to do though, but he dipped the ball over the wall superbly and into the corner of the net for a fine goal.

After the goal, Celtic brought on Scott McDonald and then later Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in a bid to change things, but other than a McDonald half-volley from the edge of the area that flew just over, that never looked likely.

Instead it was Villarreal who continued to dominate and Celtic needed a couple of smart saves from Boruc to keep the score down.

Next up for Celtic is a trip to Old Trafford, and another defeat there could leave them in a battle with Aalborg for a UEFA Cup place.

Seán Fay / Eurosport

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Eurosport - Tue, 30 Sep 22:24:00 2008

Arsenal survived a couple of early scares at home to Porto in Champions League Group G to run out comfortable 4-0 winners.

Robin Van Persie scored the first from close range following a good move down the right and Emmanuel Adebayor added a second before half-time with a header from a corner.

Van Persie finished a third immediately after the restart and Adebayor made it four from the penalty spot when substitute Nicklas Bendtner was fouled in the box.

It could have been very different as the 2004 European champions missed a glorious chance on 13 minutes.

Porto cleared an Arsenal corner and Raul Meireles combined with Lisandro Lopez to send Tomas Costa galloping down the right. His cross was between Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal goal and the retreating defence, where Cristian Rodriguez dived to head downwards.

The ball flew up off the ground and bounced off the crossbar, giving Arsenal a nightmarish remainder of their home Premier league loss to Hull at the weekend.

The Gunners had enjoyed space on the right and gone close themselves but were again undone on 26 minutes, Lisandro poking towards goal following an excellent header down from Rolando. The ball beat Spaniard Almunia, but France left-back Gael Clichy was on the line to block.

Five minutes later the supporters were relieved to see Arsenal take the lead. Fabregas slid in Adebayor down the right side of the box - where Theo Walcott was repeatedly causing mayhem - and the big striker pulled back to the arriving Van Persie, who got in front of the defender to finish at the near post.

Porto, despite their chances, had not looked likely to create much and the game was more or less put beyond them when Adebayor rose to nod down a Van Persie corner. The ball looped back up and over the despairing defenders on the line to double the lead five minutes before the break.

Arsenal were elegant in the second half after receiving a further boost in its earliest moments. Shocking defending by Porto, and Bruno Alves in particular, allowed Walcott to pass inside and Netherlands man Van Persie scored his second inside the far post.

They were his first European goals in a year and he was denied the chance of a hat-trick when Bendtner replaced him on 65 minutes, with Samir Nasri also making way for Emmanuel Eboue.

Cesc Fabregas had been at the heart of Arsenal’s best work, pulling the strings in midfield, but it was Walcott who grabbed the eye in front of watching England manager Fabio Capello.

The hat-trick hero from Croatia could not apply the finishing touch to any of his speedy forages behind Porto’s defence however and caused the Italian boss to chuckle when on 53 minutes he missed from inside the six-yard box with the goal gaping.

It was far from the only chance of its ilk as Arsenal attacked the flanks with gusto; Walcott’s evening though was ended prematurely when Arsene Wenger - smiling on the touchline again after the ‘physically sickening’ loss to Hull - replaced him with Carlos Vela.

The Gunners’ enthusiasm was rewarded in the moments before that change when Freddy Guarin clattered unceremoniously into Dane Bendtner and Adebayor sent Helton the wrong way from the spot.

Vela, who bagged a hat-trick against Sheffield United in the League Cup a week before, dazzled with a pair of runs into the box but there were no more goals for a rampant Arsenal side.

Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira will think back to those early misses and wonder what might have been as Wenger delights in the ability of his young charges to bounce back from crushing defeat.

It was Arsenal’s first win in this season’s competition after they drew their opening match against Dynamo Kiev, while Porto tasted defeat for the first time following their opening win over Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce 0-0 Dynamo Kiev

Fenerbahce and Dynamo Kiev shared a lacklustre goalless draw in Istanbul.

Fener playmaker Alex worked to create chances up front with Daniel Guiza but the home side gave the ball away easily and Dynamo comfortably absorbed the pressure.

The result piled fresh pressure on Fenerbahce’s Spanish coach Luis Aragones. Last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists are 10th in the domestic league.

Fenerbahce, losers at Porto in their opening match, burst into life after half-time when Alex fired a shot just wide from the edge of the box in the 48th minute.

A minute later Dynamo keeper Stanislav Bogush saved efforts from Guiza and former Newcastle man Emre, who worked hard in midfield for the home side.

Fenerbahce pressed hard for a goal in the final stages. Selcuk Sahin fired straight at the goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area and Kazim Kazim shot wide with a long-range effort.

But the Ukrainian side, who drew with Arsenal in their opening match, held firm in defence.

Jonathan Symcox / Reuters

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