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Eight matches in four groups started on Tuesday in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League main tournament group stage. In the first matches, the stars of Madrid's "Real" experienced a crushing defeat, while other favorites, including defending champions "Liverpool," managed to secure hard-fought victories. It is interesting to note that on the first day, there were no drawn matches recorded.
Champions League Tuesday results
Group E
"PSV" 1 - 0 "Schalke" 33' [1 - 0] Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
The "Schalke" club, returning to the Champions League after a few years' break, suffered a setback, while last year's semi-finalists "PSV" showed that their excellent result was no coincidence. The home team's players worked hard throughout the match and deserved to win these games and start the tournament positively. The best chance for the German club to equalize came after a mistake by Dutch club defender Michael Reiziger, but "Schalke" forward from Denmark Ebbe Sand failed to take advantage of this gift, and his shot missed the goal.
"Milan 3 - 1 "Fenerbahce" 18' [1 - 0] Kaka 63' [1 - 1] Alex (pen.) 87' [2 - 1] Kaka 89' [3 - 1] Andriy Shevchenko
In these matches, both teams had several opportunities to score, but only the Italian club managed to find the back of the net in the first half. However, after the break, the Turkish team managed to equalize when "Fenerbahce" defender Alex successfully converted a penalty kick. But "Milan" midfielder Kaka saved his team - just when it seemed that the match would end in favor of the Turkish club, Kaka dribbled past three defenders from the halfway line and scored a precise goal to defeat the Turkish goalkeeper. Andriy Shevchenko scored the final goal past "Fenerbahce" after two minutes, easily pushing the ball past the goalkeeper.
Group F
"Olympiakos" 1 - 3 "Rosenborg" 19' [1 - 0] Alejandro Lago (own goal) 42' [1 - 1] Per Ciljan Skjelbred 48' [1 - 2] Dimitrios Mavrogenidis (own goal) 90' [1 - 3] Oyvind Storflor
Although "Rosenborg" had suffered four consecutive defeats in the Norwegian league before this match, the club surprised by beating the Greek champions in front of their fans. When the hosts took the lead in the 12th minute, it seemed like another setback was on the cards for them, but the Trondheim club showed their resilience and managed to score three goals for a crucial away victory.
"Lyon" 3 - 0 "Real" 21' [1 - 0] John Carew 26' [2 - 0] Juninho 31' [3 - 0] Sylvaine Wiltord
The star-studded "Real" club suffered a humiliating defeat in France. "Lyon" simply outclassed their opponents, leaving no hope for them to snatch even a point in the match. In the first half, "Lyon" solved all their problems by scoring three goals - first J.Carew directed the ball into the net with his head, then Juninho scored from long range, and S.Wiltord completed the rout with a third goal after a team combination. "Real" tried to change the result in the second half, but their efforts were in vain. Interestingly, in last year's opening match, "Real" also lost 0-3, falling to Bayer Leverkusen.
Group G
"Betis" 1 - 2 "Liverpool" 2' [0 - 1] Florent-Sinama Pongolle 14' [0 - 2] Luis Garcia 51' [1 - 2] Arzu
The defending champions started this year's Champions League campaign on a positive note. In the second minute, the English team took the lead when F.S.Pongolle neatly lobbed the ball over the onrushing A.Doblas. L.Garcia managed to silence the Spanish club's fans a second time with a precise strike into the goal in the 14th minute. The debutant "Betis" team gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 51st minute when Arzu reduced the gap, but despite significant pressure in the second half, the Spaniards failed to equalize the score. The debut in the tournament did not go well for the Seville club, led by the experienced Champions League player M.Assunca. They will try to rebound in the next round.
"Chelsea" 1 - 0 "Anderlecht" 19' [1 - 0] Frank Lampard
Under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, the English champions started their European season successfully, defeating the visitors from Belgium by a narrow margin. The match was decided in the 19th minute when "Chelsea" defender F.Lampard scored after a penalty kick. "Chelsea" dominated the entire match, but the defensive tactics of the Belgian club prevented them from increasing their lead. "Anderlecht" had only one real chance towards the end of the second half when A.Van den Borre's shot hit the goalpost.
Group H
"Artmedia" 0 - 1 "Inter" 17' [0 - 1] Julio Ricardo Cruz
"Inter" managed to slightly redeem themselves in the eyes of their fans after being defeated by the "Palermo" club in the Italian league over the weekend. The only goal of the match was scored by Inter's striker from Argentina, J.R.Cruz. The Italian club successfully controlled the game in the first half, and at the beginning of the second half, it seemed that the match would not see any changes. However, in the 55th minute, Inter's defender J.S.Verona received a second yellow card for a penalty foul, as he did not wait for the referee's whistle while taking a shot. The Argentine, speaking after the match, expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee's actions and claimed not to feel guilty in that episode. Playing with a numerical advantage, the players of the "Artmedia" team had several opportunities to equalize the score, but they failed to do so, and "Inter" from Slovakia took home three points.
"Rangers" 3 - 2 "Porto" 35' [1 - 0] Peter Lovenkrands 47' [1 - 1] Pepe 59' [2 - 1] Dado Prso 71' [2 - 2] Pepe 85' [3 - 2] Sotirios Kyrgiakos
The Scottish club managed to snatch a victory from the 2004 Champions League winners "Porto" in a very tough match. The match started better for the Portuguese team than the hosts, but it was the "Rangers" players who found the back of the net first - P.Lovenkrands scored, and the first half ended with a minimal Scottish lead. Just at the beginning of the second half, "Porto" defender Pepe equalized after a corner kick, and 12 minutes later, "Rangers" forward from Croatia D.P also put the Scots ahead again. However, the Portuguese did not give up, and Pepe scored again to level the score. As the match neared its end, "Rangers" defender S.K. scored a header, securing a third goal and the victory. "Porto" did not have enough time to respond, so the team will have to return to Portugal empty-handed.
