/ 1 October 2003

Juventus, Inter Milan improve in Champions League

Juventus and Inter Milan scored late goals as Italian clubs stayed perfect, while Bayern Munich and Arsenal held on for draws in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Monaco also collected its second win, matching Spain’s Real Sociedad in the competition’s second rotation.

Juventus, with two Pavel Nedved goals, won 2-1 at Olympiakos.

Juve, last year’s finalist, fell behind through Ieroklis Stoltidis’s 11th-minute effort. Nedved tied the game in the 21st, then scored the winner with a fierce right-footed shot in the 79th.

Despite Nedved’s heroics, Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said the entire team contributed.

”It’s not just one player,” said Lippi. ”The entire team played well, and we also have to compliment Olympiakos because they really pushed us. We did a lot in the second half to deserve the victory.”

Juventus have six points in Group D, the same as Sociedad, who beat Galatasaray 2-1 away. Darko Kovacevic gave the Spanish runner-up a third-minute lead before former Inter striker Hakan Sukur made it 1-1 in the 60th. Xabi Alonso scored the winner in the 71st.

Galatasaray and Olympiakos have lost their first two games.

Inter, who humbled Arsenal 3-0 away two weeks ago, won 2-1 against Dynamo Kiev thanks to a second-half injury-time winner from Christian Vieri. Inter got off to a solid start, taking the lead when Daniele Adani put in a rebound in the 23rd minute. A rare mistake by Italian number two goalkeeper Francesco Toldo allowed Kiev to equalize in the 34th — he spilled a low cross, giving Sergei Fedorov a tap in.

Vieri, making his first appearance since injuring his knee for Italy on September 10, headed home a Kily Gonzalez cross.

”After 20 days I had a real desire,” to score, Vieri said.

”We’ve played two great matches, and now we just have to continue on this road.”

Inter has six points in Group B. The two other Italian teams in the competition, defending champion AC Milan and Lazio, won their opening matches.

Arsenal and Lokomotiv Moscow played to a 0-0 draw.

Lokomotiv, which hasn’t scored in its last five Champions League matches, controlled most of the first half playing at home. Mikhail Ashvetia’s header was saved by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in the 31st minute, and Ashvetia barely failed to control a breakaway pass five minutes later. In between, Dmitri Loskov’s free kick sailed just wide.

Arsenal, without injured midfielders Patrick Vieira and Freddie Ljungberg, and defender Sol Campbell — still out following the death of his father two weeks ago — had a good chance in the ninth minute. French forward Thierry Henry took a pass from Brazilian Edu and shot just over the bar.

The Gunners, who have won only two of their last 12 Champions League games, put on the pressure in the second half. Robert Pires shot straight at goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov in the 56th minute, and Ovchinnikov stopped Ashley Cole’s shot after a scramble in the box in the 68th.

”The spirit in the whole squad was fantastic,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. ”The boys gave everything, and I can’t fault their commitment, desire or spirit.

”But of course they were like me in the dressing room as they are frustrated because they wanted to win the game. That’s part of our philosophy. It’s not a failure, but the performance can be good, and you can still be frustrated.”

Both teams have a single point through two games, two less than Kiev.

Bayern were reduced to 10 men when Claudio Pizarro was sent off in the 35th minute — but rallied to tie Anderlecht 1-1. Ivica Mornar took advantage of the 10 men in the 52nd minute, scoring after Aruna Dindane broke open the defence with a good run. Roque Santa Cruz leveled in the 73rd, converting Hasan Salihamidzic’s cross.

In the other Group A game, Liam Miller and Chris Sutton scored second-half goals as Celtic overcame a missed penalty to beat Lyon 2-0. Miller and Sutton beat French international Gregory Coupet with headers. Coupet stopped Alan Thompson’s penalty in the 39th minute.

”We got that important first goal, and that put a little bit of extra pressure on Lyon,” said Larsson. ”Then we managed to get the second goal, and the tie was over.”

Bayern have four points, while Celtic and Lyon three. Anderlecht have two losses.

Monaco, who lead the French standings, took the lead in Group C with a 4-0 win over AEK Athens. Ludovic Giuly opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and former Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes scored the first of two in the 27th minute. Morientes, with three goals in two games, put in a rebound after an initial shot went off the post. He made it 3-0 in the 57th minute. Dado Prso completed the rout in the 86th.

”We were slow to start and had difficulties early on,” Monaco coach Didier Deschamps told Canal Plus TV. ”But with guys like [Ludovic] Giuly and Morientes in the team, we are always capable of scoring goals.”

Monaco have six points. Deportivo La Coruna, second in Spain, downed PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at home. Sergio Gonzalez scored in the 19th minute, and Walter Pandiani added the second on a penalty in the 51st. Deportivo has four points, AEK — who drew their previous seven matches — have one, and PSV none. — Sapa-AP