Champions League - Home sides rule matchday 1
Published 9/20/2007 3:06:06 AM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul
Matchday 1 of the 2007-8 UEFA Champions League was ruled by the home sides as only two visiting teams were able to claim full points. Only Valencia and Manchester United won away from friendly confines while the home sides claimed 11 wins. Barcelona and Arsenal opened in fine fashion as both claimed 3-0 wins, but the shock of the day came when Chelsea were held to a home draw by minnows Rosenborg and celebrated coach Jose Mourinho left the club.
Group A --
Marseille jumped to the top of the group defeating Beziktas 2-0 as Liverpool and Porto tied in Portugal.
Group B --
Valencia earned a valuable three points on the road as they won at Schalke in Germany while Chelsea were only able to get a draw at home with Rosenborg. The shock of the draw was only overshadowed by confirmation that manafer Jose Mourinho has left the club after three years in charge.
Group C --
Real Madrid takes the top spot with a home win over German side Werder Bremen. Lazio were able to earn a draw on the road at Olympiacos.
Group D --
Celtic opened Champions League play with a disappointing 209 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. In the other game group powers AC Milan and Benfica met in Italy where Milan claimed a 2-1 win.
Group E --
Barcelona opened in impressive fashion overwhelming French side Lyon 3-0 as Lionel Messi ran wild. In the other group game Rangers won at home defeating German side Stuttgart 2-1.
Group F --
Roma took full points at home over Dtnamo Kiev 2-0 while Manchester United defeated Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner.
Group G --
One of the surprises of matchday 1 took place in Turkey as Fenerbache downed Italian giants Inter Milan 1-0. The other game saw home side PSV Eindhoven drop CSKA Moscow 2-1 in Holland.
Group H --
Arsenal opened in grand fashion overwhelming FC Sevilla 3-0 while Slava Prague earned a home win over Steaua Bucharest.
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