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Real books spot Madrid defeats Anderlecht 2-0; Roma tops Lokomotiv
Updated: Tuesday October 16, 2001 6:57 PM
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Real Madrid beat Anderlecht 2-0 in Group A of the Champions League Tuesday to secure a place in the second phase of the competition and break a Spanish jinx at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium. Until they were taken apart by first half goals by Raul and Steve McManaman, the Belgian champions had never lost to a Spanish team on their home turf and had only conceded one home goal to Spanish opposition. Hopes quickly evaporated that Amie Anthuenis' team would hold their record or repeat last year's 2-0 defeat of a weakened, and already qualified, Madrid. Real took the lead in the 19th-minute when Roberto Carlos drove a low ball into the area which Raul steered around defender Aleksandar Ilic with a deft touch that was just enough to deceive de Filip de Wilde in the Anderlecht goal. It was Real's first goal in six visits to Belgian clubs, and the visitors came close to making it 2-0 just seconds later, when the still stunned defense allowed Luis Figo to drift down the right flank forcing fullback Marc Hendrikx to bloc a blistering shot from the Portuguese star. The second goal in the 34th-minute showed some excellent teamwork from Vincente del Bosque's sparkling collection of individual talent which has struggled to find form in the Spanish league. As the "Merengues" surged from midfield, Raul slipped a neat back-heel to Michel Salgado on the edge of the area. The defender dissected a baffled Belgian defense with his cross and Steve McManaman shot first time into the back of de Wilde's net. As if things weren't bad enough for the home fans, in-form midfielder Walter Baseggio limped off injured at halftime. But in the face of adversity, Anderlecht came out fighting. The Belgians twice coming close in the first ten minutes of the second half, with Baseggio's replacement, Egyptian midfielder Tarek Said, injecting some life into what had been a lackluster team performance. Anderlecht's rediscovered vigor kept Madrid pinned down in the second half and the visitors where unable to add to their score. However, despite the being hit by injury and illness, Real's defense remained too tough for Anderlecht's increasingly desperate attacks. Real had not managed to score a single goal on their last six visits to Belgium, and the last time they had won there was 40 years ago. "We wanted the three points. We played efficiently and that's what we got," said Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque. In a fast-paced, free-flowing game, Anderlecht's best player was Croatian striker Ivica Mornar, who battled hard but found little support up front. Mornar missed several good chances in the dying minutes. "Madrid played at a tempo that was just too much for us," Anderlecht coach Aime Anthuenis said. "We played better in the second half but the question remains: Were we capable enough? "When you look at clubs like Madrid, you can always dream, but the difference between them and us is enormous." Roma freeze out Lokomotiv 1-0 in chilly MoscowMOSCOW -- Injury-hit AS Roma battled to a 1-0 win against Lokomotiv Moscow in their Champions League group A first stage match on Tuesday to move a step closer to qualifying for the second phase. Brazilian winger Cafu was credited with the 78th-minute winner after his long-range drive deflected off Lokomotiv defender Igor Cherevchenko, sending keeper Ruslan Nigmatullin the wrong way. The result, on a cold Moscow night, virtually dashed the Russians' hopes of making it into the second round. Both teams had their chances. "We played a very good game against strong opponents and I'm more than happy with the outcome," said smiling Roma coach Fabio Capello. "Both teams played to win, but in my view, a draw would have been a fairer result for both sides." The Italian champions, who were missing Vincenzo Montella, Marco Delvecchio, Brazilian Aldair and French wing back Vincent Candela through injuries, dominated the first half. Gabriel Batistuta twice tested Nigmatullin from long range, but the Russian international was equal to the task. The Argentine striker, who was closely followed by Cherevchenko throughout the match, brought another fine save from Nigmatullin from a 20-metres freekick shortly after the interval. Capello said he was particularly impressed with Batistuta, who missed Roma's 0-0 draw with Perugia last Saturday due to suspension.. Lot of credit "He gave everything he had, fought for every ball, but I don't want to praise just one player," the coach said. "The whole team deserve a lot of credit for tonight's performance." Despite conceding an unlucky goal, Nigmatullin impressed ahead of his anticipated move to Roma's archrivals Lazio at the end of the year. Lokomotiv coach Yuri Syomin said: "I'm satisfied with the way we played, but of course, not the result. We had our chances but Roma's experience paid in the end." Lokomotiv came close on several occasions. Sergei Ignashevich had the best chance in the first half, but his close-range header from Marat Izmailov's corner was saved by Francesco Antonioli. The Roma keeper also made a fine save from a Jakob Lekhetho shot just before Cafu's winner. "Obviously our young players, like Izmailov and [Ruslan] Pimenov need to mature a bit more for us to do well in such a competition as the Champions League," Syomin acknowledged. Real Madrid, who were playing Anderlecht later on Tuesday, still lead the group with a perfect three wins from three matches record. Roma improved to seven points from four games but Lokomotiv remain bottom-of-the-table with just one point from four matches. SummariesAnderlecht 0 Real Madrid 2 - result Scorers: Raul 18, Steve McManaman 35 Halftime: 0-2; Attendance: 21,900 Teams: Anderlecht: 1-Filip De Wilde, 16-Bertrand Crasson, 2-Alexsander Ilic, 34-Lamine Traore, 14-Marc Hendrikx, 4-Yves Vanderhaeghe, 15-Besnik Hasi, 10-Walter Baseggio (7-Tarek El Said 46), 22-Oleg Iachtchouk (9-Ode Thompson 78), 26-Aruna Dindane, 19-Ivica Mornar Real Madrid: 13-Cesar, 3-Roberto Carlos; 31-Francisco Pavon, 4-Fernando Hierro (33-Ruben Gonzalez 60), 2-Michel Salgado, 20-Albert Celades, 24-Claude Makelele, 8-Steve McManaman (11-Savio 69), 14-Guti (9-Fernando Morientes 76), 7-Raul, 10-Luis Figo Referee: Knud Erik Fisker (Denmark) Reut16:38 10-16-01 Lokomotiv Moscow 0 AS Roma 1 - result Scorer: Cafu 78 Halftime: 0-0, Attendance: 18,000 Lokomotiv Moscow: 1-Ruslan Nigmatullin; 4-Jakob Legheto, 5-Sergei Ignashevich, 6-Igor Chugainov, 14-Igor Cherevchenko, 18-Milan Obradovich, 7-Marat Izmailov, 8-Vladimir Maminov, 9-James Obiorah, 10-Dmitry Loskov, 25-Ruslan Pimenov AS Roma: 1-Francesco Antonioli; 3-Antonio Zago, 19-Walter Samuel, 15-Jonathan Zebina; 2-Cafu, 17-Damiano Tommasi (8-Assuncao 83), 11-Emerson, 5-Francisco Lima, 25-Gianni Guigou; 10-Francesco Totti, 20-Gabriel Batistuta Referee: Dick Jol (Netherlands).
Reuters contributed to this report.
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