European competitions proper
started this week, with no less than eight Spanish sides involved. The veterans
got off to a good start in the Champions League, with Messi and Henry scoring
as Barcelona beat Lyon, Raúl and Van Nistelrooy on target as Real Madrid
won against Werder Bremen, and Villa getting the only goal at Schalke. Only
Sevilla missed out, their defeat at Arsenal proving that things are a bit more
difficult at this level.
Four teams from La Liga will
be vying to take over Sevilla's crown as two-time UEFA cup champions, and they
too generally did well in the first round. Nihat proved he is back to his old
form as Villarreal hit four against Borisov, and there were four goals as well
for Atlético against Erciyesspor, with Luis García getting two
late on after Mista and Forlán had opened the scoring. A late goal from
Uche gave Getafe the victory over Twente in their first ever European game, and
only Zaragoza lost, their 1-0 defeat to Aris Salonica giving them some work to
do in a fortnight's time.
Back to the league at the
weekend, and Messi proved he is the man to watch this season with two
(including a penalty) in Barcelona's victory against Sevilla. Kanouté's
late goal in the Nou Camp kept him well clear at the top of the chart, but
couldn't change the result. Rossi got two as well for Villarreal despite only
playing the last half hour, taking the "Yellow Submarine" up to second.
Agüero and Forlán both got their fourth goals of the season as
Atlético added four more to their midweek tally, and Güiza saved
the day for Mallorca with a late equaliser at Almería. (24.09.07)
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