Football Dispatch

Wednesday Football
17 September 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Home field advantage is supposed to mean something in the intimidating, uber-competitive world of European soccer. And it usually does. When the 2008-09 UEFA Champions’ League opened yesterday in eight cities, however, six of the visiting teams emerged with a positive result.

AS Roma were dealt a particularly shocking defeat. After taking an early lead through Christian Panucci, the Giallorossi were meticulously dissected by CFR Cluj. Emmanuel Culio tied the match with a deft left-footed shot in the 28th minute before popping the game-winner with an almost identical effort in the 49th. The Romanian champions, tipped for a last-place finish in Group A, proceeded to survive a Roman barrage before escaping the Italian capital with all three points at the whistle.

Slightly less surprising was Liverpool’s 2-1 win against Marseille at Stade Velodrome. Buoyed by an inspiring victory over archrivals Manchester United on Saturday, the Reds stormed back after Benoit Cheyrou put the ball on a platter for teammate Lorik Cana in the 23rd minute. Just moments later, Spanish striker Fernando Torres won the ball and passed it over to Dirk Kuyt who teed it up for Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool captain was spot on with his blast from 22 yards. Six minutes later, he had struck the winner as well. After Ryan Babbel was tripped inside the 18-yard box by Marseille defender Ronald Zubar in the 32nd minute, Gerrard stepped up to the penalty spot and calmly slotted the ball past Steve Mandananda.

The three points have Liverpool on level terms in Group Dwith Atletico Madrid, who won 3-0 at PSV Eindhoven through a pair of goals from Sergio Aguero. Barcelona claimed a second triumph for Spain by beating Sporting Lisbon 3-1 at the Nou Camp while Shakhtar Donetsk won 2-1 at FC Basel in Group C.

In Group B, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho earned his first Champions’ League win with Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri won 2-0 at Panathinaikos with goals from Alessandro Mancini and Adriano. Cyprus side Anothosis Famagusta also snuck a point. They escaped the Weserstadion with a 0-0 draw against Werder Bremen. Chelsea, meanwhile, joins CFR Cluj atop Group A after thrashing Bordeaux 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The remaining pair of English sides in the competition, Arsenal and Manchester United, will get their Champions’ League campaigns underway tonight. Arsenal will by tasked with a difficult trip to Ukraine for a match against Dynamo Kiev while United will host Spanish runners-up Villarreal at Old Trafford.

Christiano Ronaldo, after earning the European Golden Shoe as last season’s top goalscorer on the continent to go with his Premier League Golden Boot, UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award, and Premier League Player of the Year award, will make his first appearance of the season against Villarreal. The 23-year-old underwent an ankle operation in the offseason and will likely come off the bench against the Yellow Submarine. He scored 42 goals in 2007-2008, including eight in the Champions’ League.

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.