Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSV win in Champions League
Ivan Helguera scored with help from David Beckham as Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 in the Champions League knockout round Tuesday as Europe's elite club competition resumed in freezing conditions after a two month break.
Ivan Helguera scored with help from David Beckham as Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 in the Champions League knockout round Tuesday as Europe's elite club competition resumed in freezing conditions after a two month break.
Helguera scored in the 31st minute off a Beckham free kick as the nine-time champions got the edge heading into the return leg in Turin in two weeks.
Teams from Germany and England split two other first-leg matches in the home-and-home series, which are determined by total goals in two games.
Claudio Pizzaro scored in each half as Bayern Munich trounced Arsenal 3-1, while Liverpool beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on goals by Luis Garcia, John Arne Riise and Dietmar Hamann.
PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands won 1-0 at home over Monaco, last season's runner-up. Alex had the game's only goal.
In Madrid, Real gave new coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo his first Champions League victory. Luxemburgo, Madrid's third coach this season, took charge of the team in December.
The match, a rerun of the 1998 Champions League final, was attended by Spain's King Juan Carlos and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
In Munich, Pizarro scored in the fourth and 58th minutes, and Hasan Salihamidzic had a goal in the 51st. A late goal by Kolo Toure gave Arsenal some hope of advancing to the quarterfinals -- if it wins 2-0 at home in the return leg.
The match was pitted as a fight between Germany's top two goalkeepers -- current No.1 Oliver Kahn of Bayern Munich, and rival Jens Lehmann of Arsenal.
"It would have been impossible to go through at 3-0, but with the goal we still have chances," Lehmann said. "Everything is possible and at least there will be a chance in two weeks."
"I just know the goals were very easy against us. In my time here we have never conceded three easy goals like that, but sometimes it happens."
Lehmann wasn't helped by Toure's two costly defensive mistakes as Arsenal missed the presence of injured defender Sol Campbell.
Four-time champion Liverpool coped with the absence of midfielder Steven Gerrard with its win at home. Leverkusen, which hasn't won in England in six attempts, got an injury-time goal from Franca, so like Arsenal, it can advance with a 2-0 home win.
"Shame about the end but the problem is when you are winning 3-0 in the last minute and you concede a goal, it's a pity, but other than that it's good," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said.
In Eindhoven, Alex scored after eight minutes. The Brazilian rose up unmarked near the middle of the box to meet captain Mark van Bommel's corner kick. It bounced up and off the hand of leaping Monaco keeper Flavio Roma and went in.
In Wednesday games, Spanish leader Barcelona hosts English front-runner Chelsea in the feature match of the round. A former assistant at Barcelona, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho won the Champions League last season with FC Porto.
Two-time champion Manchester United faces five-time winner AC Milan, Porto is at Inter Milan and Werder Bremen hosts Lyon.
The return legs are March 8-9.