UEFA trials 5 officials as Europa League takes off

The group stage of the Europa League kicks off on Thursday, with the trialling of five on-pitch match officials providing the biggest talking point prior to the start of the tournament.

In the biggest change to the game since the introduction of the back-pass rule in 1992, two extra officials will patrol the area behind each goal on the lookout for penalty area transgressions such as diving and shirt-pulling.

UEFA president Michel Platini has pioneered the idea and says it will be escalated to next season's Champions League and the 2012 European Championship if it proves effective.

"One day players will give up simulating because referees will see them," said the former France international legend. Click to read more...

Pjanic gets Lyon off to Champions League winning start

Lyon celebrated opening their tenth successive season in the Champions League with a 1-0 win over old foes Fiorentina here on Wednesday.

The Italians, knocked out of last year's first round by Lyon, had to play the entire second period with ten men after Italian World Cup winner Alberto Gilardino was rightfully sent packing for elbowing Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.

Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanic earned the former multiple French champions the three points when the Bosnia-Herzegovina international pounced in the final quarter of an hour.

Lyon's fears over the fitness of new Argentina signing Lisandro Lopez proved unfounded, with the prolific striker returning after sitting out his club's weekend win over Lorient.

But central defender Mathieu Bodmer was missing, with Toulalan teaming up with Brazilian Cris in the back. Click to read more...

Dynamo battle back to beat Kazan

Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev battled back from a goal down to beat Russian title holders Kazan 3-1 in their Champions League Group F opener here on Wednesday.

Dynamo's goals came from Nigerian midfielder Ayila Yussuf, Brazilian defender Gerson Magrao and Ukrainian international Oleg Gusev, while Argentinian forward Alejandro Dominguez was on target for Kazan.

Dynamo take top spot in Group F after Inter Milan and defending champions Barcelona fought out a drab goalless draw in Italy.

"We played well but were too slow in the first half and allowed Kazan to organise defensively," said Dynamo boss Valery Gazzayev. Click to read more...

Inter hold Barcelona in drab stalemate

Inter Milan held title-holders Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in their Champions League Group F opener at the San Siro on Wednesday in a match which failed to live up to pre-match hype.

The game was billed as a clash between Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, both playing against the team they left only two months ago, but neither they nor talents such as Lionel Messi and Xavi could break the deadlock in a turgid stalemate.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for such a big match between two European heavyweights so early in the competition it was a cagey affair dominated by defences.
But that suited Inter boss Jose Mourinho.

"It's the beginning of the competition, it's the first match. It's not an easy group, it's no joke," he said. "There are other groups that seem like a joke and one without a single national champion, in ours there are four champions. Click to read more...

Adebayor set to miss Manchester derby after City concede defeat

Big-spending Manchester City could face a striker crisis ahead of Sunday's derby with Manchester United after they accepted the violent conduct charge brought against Togo international striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

City said they 'reluctantly accepted' the charge against Adebayor for his stamp on former team-mate Robin van Persie in last Saturday's Premier League 4-2 victory over the Gunners.

That will cost 25-million-pound signing Adebayor a three match ban - if found guilty following Thursday's hearing - starting with this weekend's derby.

City will contest the second charge of improper conduct for the player's goal celebration in front of the Arsenal supporters, which saw him run the length of the pitch to taunt them. City have until September 30 to respond to that charge. Click to read more...

Liverpool seek Premier League tonic after cup scare

Liverpool will hope to make it four wins in a row when they visit West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday after limping to a 1-0 victory against Hungarian champions Debrecen in Europe.

"We're slowly getting back to where we want to be," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said after seeing his side struggle to victory over Debrecen in their opening Champions League Group E tie at Anfield on Wednesday.

"It's three wins on the spin, hopefully we can make that four at West Ham," added the England midfielder.

Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal against Debrecen, who were making their first appearance in the Champions League group stages. Click to read more...

Arsenal's great escape 'just perfect' for Wenger

Arsene Wenger expects Arsenal's dramatic Champions League fightback at Standard Liege to provide his side with a much-needed injection of confidence.

The Gunners were facing the unpalatable prospect of a third successive defeat when goals from Eliaquim Mangala and Milan Jovanovic handed Liege a shock two-goal lead within the first five minutes at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne on Wednesday.

After back to back defeats to Manchester United and then Manchester City, another loss, especially against such unheralded opposition, would have raised serious questions about Arsenal's ability to end their four-year trophy drought. Click to read more...

Liverpool seals deal with Standard Chartered

Liverpool football club announced late Sunday a major sponsorship deal with British bank Standard Chartered, the largest in the club's history, according to a statement on its website.
Liverpool said the four-year deal starting in 2010 was the "largest commercial agreement in Liverpool's history", although it did not give specific figures.

Liverpool media said the deal was worth 20 million pounds (22 million euros, 33.2 million dollars) per season but this could not be confirmed.

Under the deal, the bank's logo and name will appear on the English Premier League club's shirt.
"This partnership brings together two highly successful organisations with a really strong cultural and strategic fit," Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow said in the statement.

Peter Sands, group chief executive of Standard, said: "This is a great partnership. We are excited to be working with such a famous global brand as Liverpool Football Club for the next four years." Click to original source...

Park agrees three-year deal with Man Utd

Manchester United have agreed a contract extension with Park Ji-Sung to keep the South Korean midfielder with the English giants for another three years, his agent said Monday.

"Park and Manchester United have reached an agreement on a three-year deal. The contract will be effective through June 2012," Kim Jung-Soo told Yonhap news agency.

The agent refused to disclose details of the contract, but Yonhap said Park would earn 3.6 million pounds (5.9 million dollars) a year, some 30 percent up from 2.8 million pounds in each of the past two seasons.

Park, who moved to Old Trafford in 2005 from PSV Eindhoven for four million pounds, became the first Asian to contest a Champions League final when he played in United's 2-0 defeat to Barcelona last season. Click to read more...

Ancelotti sets final goal for Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti has told his Chelsea stars that reaching the Champions League final is the least they should achieve in Europe's elite club competition this season.

Ancelotti was hired by Blues owner Roman Abramovich partly because of his Champions League pedigree and the Italian, who won the competition twice during his reign at AC Milan, has set his new team a lofty goal before a ball has even been kicked.

The Chelsea boss gets a first chance to underline his European nous when Chelsea begin their campaign at home to Porto on Tuesday, but he has already seen enough of the west London side to know they can go all the way to next year's final in Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium.

"The first objective is to reach the final," Ancelotti said on Monday. "We want to arrive at the final before we think about winning it. Click to read more...

Maradona heads to Europe, ducks crunch meeting

Under-fire Argentina coach Diego Maradona has travelled to Europe, thereby avoiding a crucial meeting on the poor performances of the national side, his personal doctor said on Monday.

"He left yesterday (Sunday) for a spa in Italy," Alfredo Cahen told AFP.

"In order to respect his privacy, I cannot reveal the name of the town."

Reports from other media sources claimed that Maradona was actually in Spain.

Maradona, 48, has seen two-time world champions Argentina slip to fifth in the South American qualifying standings for the 2010 World Cup, a place below the automatic qualification slots, after four defeats in their last five games. Click to read more...

Ferguson dreaming of another Barca final showdown

Sir Alex Ferguson is already dreaming of another Champions League final showdown with Barcelona as Manchester United prepare to return to the European stage at Besiktas on Tuesday.

It is four months since Ferguson's team lost their grip on the Champions League trophy after losing to Barca in the final of Europe's elite club competition.

United, the 2008 winners, were comprehensively out-played as Pep Guardiola's side, displaying all the nimble footwork and mesmerising movement that has become their trademark, cruised to a 2-0 victory in Rome.

But Ferguson is driven by a burning desire to see United match the likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Ajax, who have all won more than the Old Trafford outfit's three European Cups. Click to read more...

Lampard desperate to make up for Euro heartache

Frank Lampard is determined to make amends for two of the most painful moments of his career by finally ending Chelsea's long wait to be crowned kings of Europe.

Lampard and his Chelsea team-mates return to Champions League action for the first time since their stormy semi-final exit against Barcelona last season when they face Porto at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

The Blues were just seconds away from reaching the final when Andres Iniesta scored the goal that sent Barcelona through on away goals.

Iniesta's strike triggered an out-pouring of frustration from several Chelsea players angered by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo's refusal to grant three strong penalty claims. Click to read more...

Park the hero for Monaco as PSG see red

Guy Lacombe's resurgent Monaco side threw a spanner into Paris Saint Germain's drive for league honours this season with a dramatic 2-0 win in the Principality on Sunday.

South Korean Chu Young Park opened the scoring with a fine solo effort in the 85th minute and Brazilian midfield partner Nene added a second barely three minutes later as PSG went into meltdown and finished the match a man down.

In a lively first half for both sides Ludovic Giuly first came closest to opening the score for the visitors when he headed Ceara's cross and forced Stephane Ruffier into a great diving save. Click to read more...

In-form Ibrahimovic ready for Inter return

Barcelona and record signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic go into Wednesday's Champions League group opener at Inter Milan in high spirits after collecting maximum points from the first two league outings.

Ibrahimovic joined Barca from Inter in a massive 69-million-euro deal and will be full of confidence for his return to the San Siro having scored two goals in as many games.

After heading in a debut goal against Sporting Gijon, Ibrahimovic scored the opener and set up Lionel Messi for the second goal in Barca's 2-0 win at Getafe on Saturday.

The Swedish international is still not fully fit as he recovers from surgery on a hand injury so Barca fans will hope there is much more to come.

"I have scored two goals and I am really happy," said Ibrahimovic. "I am still not 100 percent fit but the most important thing is to be getting games under my belt. Click to read more...