In Europe, the Road Is Smooth
Inter Milan and AS Monaco scored key road victories in their first games Wednesday in the European Champions League.
For Arsenal, a 3-0 loser to Inter, it was another blow to its Champions League resume. The English team has never made the final of Europe’s most prestigious club competition and now has only one victory in its last seven tournament home games.
Inter, which reached last season’s semifinal and lost to eventual champion AC Milan, got goals from Julio Cruz of Argentina and Andy Van der Meyde of the Netherlands in the first 24 minutes. Obafemi Martins of Nigeria scored in the 41st minute to complete the scoring.
In the 33rd minute, Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo dived to his left to push away a penalty kick by Arsenal’s Thierry Henry.
AS Monaco of France was the other road team to win, taking care of Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, 2-1, on goals by Fernando Morientes and Edouard Cisse.
In other key games, Germany’s Bayern Munich and Italy’s Juventus rallied to win their openers.
At Munich, Alan Thompson gave UEFA Cup semifinalist Celtic of Scotland a one-goal lead before Roy Makaay got goals in the 73rd and 86th minutes to win it for Bayern, 2-1.
Juventus, which lost to Milan in last season’s final, broke a 1-1 tie against Galatasaray of Turkey at Turin when defender Ciro Ferrara scored in the 73rd minute for a 2-1 victory.
In other games, Lyon defeated Anderlecht, 1-0, on Juninho’s penalty kick; Dynamo Kiev upended Lokomotiv Moscow, 2-0, on goals in the last seven minutes by Diogo Rincon; AEK Athens tied Deportivo La Coruna, 1-1; and Real Sociedad defeated Olympiakos, 1-0.
Atlas Hires Bueno
Mexican club Atlas, which had gone winless in its first seven games of the Apertura championship, named Sergio Bueno to succeed fired coach Fernando Quirarte.
Bueno, a former player for Atlante, Puebla, Querereto and Celaya, will coach his first game Saturday against Irapuato, which has the overall lead with 14 points in the 20-team league
“We have to work on everything, but more than anything on morale,” Bueno said.
Kadafi Debut Delayed
Saadi Kadafi, son of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, is still waiting to make his Italian league debut for Perugia.
The much-heralded transfer from Libyan club Ittihad only recently was cleared to play but has been bothered by a back injury.
Club officials said he won’t play Sunday against AC Milan but could make his debut Sept. 28 at Chievo Verona.
Coliseum Game
An All-Star game featuring the best players from the Mexican league’s first division will be played Oct. 29 at the Coliseum.
The teams will be split into the league’s foreign stars against the top domestic players.
Fans can select the 22 players and coach for each team by voting at www.bimbostars.com, a Spanish-language Web site. Teams are scheduled to be announced Oct. 19.
Quick Passes
Cruz Azul defender Melvin Brown has been suspended for three weeks by the Mexican federation’s disciplinary commission for attacking an opponent in a game Sept. 7 against Jaguares.... Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson said he will contest two misconduct charges leveled at him by England’s Football Assn. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur Coach Glenn Hoddle has been charged by the FA with improper conduct for comments he made about a referee.... Bayern Munich midfielder Mehmet Scholl will sit out at least three weeks because of a torn right thigh muscle.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
