 |
Chelsea's striker Didier Drogba of France (C)
celebrates his team's victory over Paris St Germain in
their Champions League group H soccer match at Parc des Princes stadium
in Paris, September 14, 2004.
(Reuters) |
Chelsea coasted to a 3-0 win on Didier
Drogba's two goals, Arsenal needed an own-goal for victory and defending champion FC
Porto was held to a 0-0 draw on the opening night of the Champions
League season.
Chelsea had the most comfortable win at Paris Saint-Germain as manager
Jose Mourinho continued his European success after guiding Porto to the
title last season.
John Terry's header put the
London side ahead in the 28th minute and Drogba finished off the French
side.
"It was fantastic, the players controlled the game from the first
minute to the last," Mourinho said. "We scored goals and had a lot of
possession as well as controlling in the defense. We had a lot of the ball
and we were top class, every single player."
In the other Group H match, Porto, without half the team and the
manager that beat Monaco to win the European title last season, tied at
home with CSKA Moscow.
Arsenal beat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 when defender Alex scored into his
own net, while Ezequiel Gonzalez scored both in Panathinaikos' 2-0 win
over Rosenborg in Group E.
Italy's Inter Milan beat German champion Werder Bremen 2-0, with the
German team playing short-handed. Adriano scored twice for Inter. Defender
Valerien Ismael was shown a red card by referee Lubos Michel for
tripping Adriano inside the
penalty area in the sixth minute.
Valencia also won 2-0 over Anderlecht in Group G.
In Group F, AC Milan needed a late goal to beat Ukraine's Shakhtar
Donetsk 1-0, while Henrik Larsson came on a substitute to score against
former club Celtic as FC Barcelona won 3-1 in a match that started 30
minutes late because of crowd congestion.
Arsenal is unbeaten in 45 league matches in England, but has never
stamped its authority in Europe. Tuesday's win earned more points than its
opening three matches did at the start of last season's Champion League.
"I think we never reached our usual level of play," Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp said.
"They made it very difficult for us. In my opinion, they had no
intention to get anything out of this game."
(Agencies) |