One upset in domestic competition this week:
34 Scunthorpe - Preston North End 2:1
European League, Matchday One
Group A
Olympique Marseille - Besiktas 2:0 (35)
Porto - Liverpool 1:1
Group B
Chelsea - Rosenborg BK 1:1 (19)
Schalke 04 - Valencia 0:1
Group C
Real Madrid - Werder Bremen 2:1
Olympiakos - Lazio 1:1
Group D
Milan AC - Benfica 2:1
Shakhtar Donetsk - Celtic 2:0
Group E
Rangers - Stuttgart 2:1 (34)
Barcelona - Olympique Lyonnais 3:0
Group F
Roma - Dinamo Kyiv 2:0
Sporting Lisbon - Manchester Buccaneers 0:1
Group G
PSV Eindhoven - CSKA Moskow 2:1
Fenerbahçe - Internazionale 1:0 (34)
Group H
Arsenal - Seville 3:0 (30)
Slavia Prague - Steaua Bucharest 2:1
Marseille's win was a surprise in a technical sense: the Turkish opposition picked up a lot of points last year, and Marseille was best of a bad bunch to finish second in France. Rosenborg's draw proves they'll be no pushover, and accounted for Chelsea manager Jose Mourino. It was a bad week for the German sides. Olympiakos were playing only their second competitive match of the season: the team qualified directly for the group stage, and found their first domestic match at the end of August postponed from the forest fires. Match 2 went ahead just before the internationals, but match 3 last week-end was also delayed, allowing for the general election.
Shakhtar are good at home, rubbish away. Celtic are rubbish away and good at home, so the Glaswegians need to hit three in the return fixture in November to make the UEFA Cup. Rangers have one of their finer wins, and it was enough to lift them ahead of Celtic in our Scottish standings for the first time since 2004. Barcelona and Arsenal have taken good steps to topping their groups, it's difficult for the opposition to come back from 3:0 down. The only other surprise comes in group G, where the bottom team after one match is Inter Milan.
UEFA Cup, Final Qualifying Round, First Leg
Midtjylland -v- LOKOMOTIV MOSKVA 1:3
Groningen -v- FIORENTINA 1:1
Rabotnicki -v- BOLTON 1:1
AEK ATHENS -v- Salzburg 3:0
NÜRNBERG -v- RAPID BUCURESTI 0:0
EVERTON -v- Metalist 1:1
TOTTENHAM -v- Anorthosis 6:1
LENS -v- KØBENHAVN 1:1
GETAFE -v- Twente 1:0
Groclin -v- CRVENA ZVEZDA 0:1
LITEX -v- HAMBURG 0:1
Sarajevo -v- BASEL 1:2
AUSTRIA WIEN -v- VÅLERENGA 2:0
H. Tel-Aviv -v- AIK Solna 0:0
ARIS SALONIKA -v- ZARAGOZA 1:0 (37)
DINAMO BUCURESTI -v- Elfsborg 1:2
LOKO SOFIA -v- RENNES 1:3
Brann -v- CLUB BRUGGE 0:1
BAYERN -v- Belenenses 1:0
ABERDEEN -v- DNIPRO 0:0
HEERENVEEN -v- Helsingborg 5:3
TOULOUSE -v- CSKA SOFIA 0:0
SAMPDORIA -v- AaB Aalborg 2:2
SPARTAK MOSKVA -v- Häcken 5:0
Hammarby -v- BRAGA 2:1
Larissa -v- BLACKBURN 2:0
MLADÁ BOLESLAV -v- PALERMO 0:1
DINAMO ZAGREB -v- AJAX 0:1
ARTMEDIA -v- PANATHINAIKOS 1:2
SPARTA PRAGUE -v- OB ODENSE 0:0
EMPOLI -v- Zürich 2:1
SOCHAUX -v- PANIONIOS 0:2 (38)
ANDERLECHT -v- RAPID WIEN 1:1
Paços de Ferreira -v- AZ ALKMAAR 0:1
ZENIT -v- STANDARD LIEGE 3:0
LEVERKUSEN -v- Leiria 3:1
VILLARREAL -v- BATE Borisov 4:1
Sion -v- GALATASARAY 3:2
ATLÉTICO MADRID -v- Erciyesspor 4:0
Tampere -v- BORDEAUX 2:3
Just four sides can book their place in the next round with confidence: Spurs, Zenit, Villarreal, and Athletico Madrid.
Football for cable viewers and people with raisins on their telly:
Fr 1930 SET1/DE Bochum -v- Eintracht Frankfurt Sa 1030 SET2/AU Geelong -v- Collingwood Sa 1300 BBC1/WC England -v- FARCE Other QFs on Eurosport, 10am Sat and Sun. Sa 1715 SET1/EN Fulham -v- Manchester City Su 1300 SET1/SC Hibernian -v- Celtic Su 1400 C5/IT Game tbc Su 1500 SET2/AU Port Adelaide -v- Kangaroos Su 1700 SET1/FR Rennes -v- Sochaux Su 1900 SET1/DE Werder Bremen -v- Stuttgard (highlights) Su 2000 SET2/PT Game tbc Mo 1125 SET2/NL Az Alkmaar -v- Ajax (recorded) Mo 1325 SET2/NL PSV -v- Feyenoord (recorded) Mo 2000 SET2/FR Lyon -v- Lille (highlights) Tu 1700 SET2/FR Auxerre -v- Marseille (recorded) Tu 1930 SET2/DE Karlsruher -v- Bayern Munich Tu 1945 SET1/E5 Gravesend and Northfleet -v- Crawley We 1245 BBC2/WC Semi-final live Th 1245 BBC2/WC Semi-final live Th 1945 SET1/E5 York -v- Halifax
