17 Sep 2008

Suprises in Champions League match day one

6:49 pm on 17 September 2008

European football heavyweights Liverpool, Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter Milan opened their Champions League campaigns with victories today.

But the most striking results on the first night of the group stage came from the competition's newcomers on the road, with CFR Cluj of Romania upsetting AS Roma 2-1 and Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus holding Werder Bremen nil-all.

Chelsea, which lost May's final on penalty kicks, crushed Bordeaux 4-nil; five-time champion Liverpool rallied to win 2-1 at Marseille; 2006 winner Barcelona overcame Sporting Lisbon 3-1 and Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan beat Panathinaikos 2-nil.

Atletico Madrid ended its 11-year absence with a 3-nil win at 1988 champion PSV Einhoven, while Shakhtar Donetsk beat FC Basel 2-1.

Tomorrow holders Manchester United play Villarreal and Arsenal play Dynamo Kiev.