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On Wednesday, UEFA Champions League battles began in the remaining four groups of the first stage. For the second year in a row, "Real" club had to admit the convincing advantage of "Lyon" in away matches at the start of the tournament, the elite league returnee "Steaua" achieved an impressive victory as guests after a long break, English teams "Man Utd" and "Arsenal" won their matches in intense battles, "Milan" easily defeated their opponent, and three matches ended in a draw.
Just like in the previous season, French champions "Lyon" started their Champions League battles at home against Madrid's "Real". Although a more intense match was expected compared to last year, the hosts took the initiative from the very beginning and, after an accurate pass from Brazilian Juninho, Fred, his compatriot, scored a goal against goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
In the 31st minute, Tiago increased the French club's advantage after receiving a pass from Sidney Govou, while I. Casillas and luck saved the visitors from a bigger defeat, as Florent Malouda's shot hit the crossbar of the "Real" goal. After the break, the Royal Club players regained their composure and started threatening the opponent's goal more often, but they couldn't score, so "Lyon" celebrated a well-deserved and impressive victory.
Bucharest's "Steaua" team marked their return to the Champions League after a ten-year break with a victory, defeating the local "Dinamo" in a clash of Eastern European clubs in Kiev. The guests took the lead in the third minute, when Sorin Ghionea headed a corner kick into the net, and although Sergei Rebrov managed to equalize the score in the 16th minute, Valentinas Badea also scored with a header before halftime, restoring the Romanians' lead.
A few minutes before the break, Nicolae Dica increased "Steaua's" advantage to two goals with a great shot from 25 meters, and in the 79th minute, the same player scored his second and fourth goal for the Bucharest club, securing a surprisingly dominant 4-1 victory for the Romanians.
The most intriguing match of the day took place in Manchester, where the local team defeated Scotland's champions Glasgow "Celtic" in a battle of British clubs. The visitors even took the lead when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink sent the ball into the net following a mistake by Rio Ferdinand in the penalty area, but after an hour had passed, "Man Utd" forward Louis Saha successfully converted an 11-meter penalty awarded for a foul on Ryan Giggs by goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
The French legionary from Prance continued to terrorize the "Celtic" defense, and in the 40th minute, after a precise pass from Paul Scholes, Czech Tomas Rosicky scored a fantastic goal from about 27 meters into the top corner of the goal, doubling the lead for the home team. However, inspired by the support of the fanatical crowd at the "AOL Arena," the hosts did not give up and in the last minute, David Jarolimas rushed into the penalty area and blocked Boubacar Sanogo's shot, leaving him to send the ball into the empty net. Yet the Hamburg team wasn't enough and they had to admit defeat to their opponents, with a goal at the end of the match breaking Jens Lehmann's record of not conceding a goal in 853 minutes in the Champions League.
The easiest victory on Wednesday was achieved by "Milan," who had no major problems playing at home against Athens "AEK". In the 17th minute, Milan's Filippo Inzaghi scored a header to put the hosts ahead, and the Italian club's newcomer Yoann Gourcuff also scored with a header in the 41st minute. Kaka sealed Milan's 3-0 victory in the 76th minute with a penalty kick.
A much tougher battle took place in Belgium between Brussels' "Anderlecht" and "Lille" teams. Playing at home, "Anderlecht" took the lead after the first half of the match when Nicolas Pareja scored four minutes before halftime, but in the 80th minute, Nicolas Fauvergue managed to equalize the score and secure a draw for the French team.
Results of Wednesday's Champions League matches:
Group E:
"Steaua" 4-1 "Dinamo"
"Lyon" 2-0 "Real Madrid"
Group F:
Draw 0-0
"Man Utd" 3-2 "Celtic"
Group G:
Draw 0-0
"Arsenal" 2-1 "Hamburger"
Group H:
"Milan" 3-0 "AEK"
"Anderlecht" 1-1 "Lille"
