Champions League - qualifying round

Rosenborg 0 - Deportivo La Coruña 0

Spain are well on the way to having four representatives in the Champions League after Deportivo came away from Norway with a valuable draw. It was not an easy game though, and only some excellent goalkeeping from Molina stopped Rosenborg front man Karadas from scoring on more than one occasion. It was Deportivo's first official outing without Roy Makaay, but his replacement Diego Tristán had a quiet game and was replaced by a more active Pandiani midway through the second half. In the end though Molina had to save the day from a long effort by Hoftun in the dying moments, leaving his side needing a victory in the second leg to take their place once again in the league stage of the competition. (13.08.03)

Celta 3 - Slavia Prague 0

Celta took a big step towards the league stage of the top European competition by defeating Slavia Prague 3-0 in the first leg of their tie. The Gallicians were more than a match for their opponents, and led the game from the seventeenth minute when Mostovoi beat Cerny with a looping free kick. New boy Savo Milosevic missed a couple of chances to increase the lead before the break, and Cavallero saved well from Adauto in a rare attack from the visitors. But two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half wrapped things up, Jesuli catching the keeper off guard with a magnificent shot from outside of the area, and then Edu scoring on the follow up after José Ignacio's effort was blocked. Nothing short of a disaster will see Lotina's side through in the second leg in the Czech Republic two weeks from now. (12.08.03)