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Group D Roundup Ajax sinks Lyon 2-1; Rosenborg holds Inter 1-1Posted: Tuesday September 17, 2002 5:08 PMUpdated: Tuesday September 17, 2002 7:46 PM
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Young Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Ajax Amsterdam began their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 home victory against Olympique Lyon in group D on Tuesday. The 21-year-old opened the scoring in the 11th minute and was on target again in the 34th minute to give the Dutch champions a winning comeback to a competition they have missed for the previous three years. Lyon captain Sonny Anderson clawed a goal back for his side six minutes from the end while Ajax had Ghanaian midfielder Abubakari Yakubu sent off a minute later for a second booking. "In the second half we did not play enough football," said Ajax coach Ronald Koeman said. "But all in all it was a good match and we grabbed the three points." Ajax dominated the first half but they struggled after the break and Anderson wasted two good chances to put the visitors back in the game before his late strike, his 10th in European competition, set up a nervous final few minutes. Ibrahimovic put Ajax in control with his first-half double, the first of which came with a curled shot past Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and the second a header from a cross by Victor Sikora who himself had been played in by Finn Jari Litmanen -- the only Ajax player to have played in the Champions League. "I needed some goals to boost my confidence and a little luck, tonight I had both," Ibrahimovic said. Summary Ajax Amsterdam 2 Olympique Lyon 1 - result Champions League, group D Scorers: Ajax Amsterdam: Zlatan Ibrahimovic 11, 34 Olympique Lyon: Sonny Anderson 84 Red card: Yakubu (Ajax) 85 Halftime: 2-0 Teams: Ajax - 31-Maarten Stekelenburg; 2-Hatem Trabelsi, 22-Yakubu, 5-Christian Chivu, 18-John O'Brien; 4-Tomas Galasek (14-Jan van Halst 57), 20-Jari Litmanen, 13-Maxwell; 7-Andy van der Meyde, 9-Zlatan Ibrahimovic (3-Andre Bergdolmo 81, 27-Victor Sikora (10-Steven Pienaar 68). Lyon - 1-Gregory Coupet; 3-Edmilson, 5-Claudio Cacapa, 6-Philippe Violeau (4-Florent Laville 46), 8-Juninho Pernambucano, 9-Sonny Anderson, 10-Eric Carriere, 13-Jeremie Brechet, 14-Sidney Govou (11-Tony Vairelles 41), 19-Jean-Marc Chanalet (7-Mahamadou Diarra 79), 24-Vikash Dhorasoo. Referee: Mike Riley (England) Crespo strikes twice as Inter draw at RosenborgTRONDHEIM, Norway (Reuters) -- Argentina striker Hernan Crespo made his mark as Ronaldo's successor for Inter Milan on Tuesday, scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw with Rosenborg Trondheim in Champions League group D. But Azar Karadas matched the feat by scoring twice on his European debut for the less talented but extremely hard-working Norwegian league leaders. Rosenborg had far more chances on a cool, rainy night in Trondheim but could not capitalize on a string of corners and crosses into the goalmouth. "There was a huge difference in rhythm," Inter coach Hector Cuper said, praising the match fitness of the Norwegians. The Serie A season only got underway at the weekend and many of the Italian team's players looked rusty after the summer layoff. Inter defender Fabio Cannavaro was sent off in the second half. By contrast, the Norwegians are heading to their 11th league victory in a row with the Nordic season drawing to a close. Cuper said he was impressed by Crespo, signed from Lazio this month for 26 million euros (US$25.07 million) plus striker Bernardo Corradi after Brazil's World Cup hero Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid. "He had the will, he stayed the course," Cuper said of Crespo. After an opening dominated by Rosenborg, the 27-year-old Argentina striker struck in the 33rd minute after breaking free of three defenders on the edge of the Rosenborg area. His shot was deflected off defender Christer Basma before the ball ended up in the net past Rosenborg's Icelandic goalkeeper Arni Arason. Karadas strikes Karadas, signed for only 800,000 euros from Norwegian club Brann Bergen in March, struck back in the 52nd minute with a shot from close range following a corner. The 21-year-old scored again 12 minutes later with a thumping header from a cross by Odd Inge Olsen, who had himself been unlucky not to score after hitting the crossbar with a header in the first half. In the 78th minute, Crespo equalised, cracking in a shot from about seven metres following a corner from substitute Alvaro Recoba. The Italians were down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes after Cannavaro was sent off for two yellow cards. "This was a top quality soccer game," said Rosenborg coach Nils Arne Eggen, celebrating his 61st birthday on Tuesday in his last season before retirement. "But we were a bit clumsy and unlucky in front of goal. They needed fewer chances to score than we did," he said. Eggen has said that Rosenborg, who have played in the Champions League eight seasons in a row, cannot afford to spend more than 5.0 million Norwegian crowns (US$655,300) on new signings. Summary Rosenborg Trondheim 2 Inter Milan 2 - result Champions League, group D Scorers: Rosenborg Trondheim - Azar Karadas 52, 64 Inter Milan - Hernan Crespo 33, 78 Red card: Fabio Cannavaro (Inter Milan) 69 Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 21,040 Teams: Rosenborg: 12-Arni Gautur Arason, 5-Christer Basma, 3-Erik Hoftun, 6-Roar Strand (21-Stale Stensaas 74), 13-Janne Saarinen, 2-Odd Inge Olsen, 10-Bent Skammelsrud, 7-Orjan Berg, 20-Azar Karadas, 9-Frode Johnsen, 22-Harald Martin Brattbakk Inter: 1-Francesco Toldo; 13-Fabio Cannavaro, 23-Marco Materazzi, 2-Ivan Cordoba, 77-Francesco Coco; 4-Javier Zanetti, 18-Stephane Dalmat (5-Emre Belozoglu 62), 25-Matias Jesus Almeida, 10-Domenico Morfeo (20-Alvaro Recoba 76); 9-Hernan Crespo (15-Daniel Adani 87), 32-Christian Vieri. Referee: Juan Antonio Fernandez Marin (Spain)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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