Defending champion AC Milan was upset 1-0 by FC Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, while English powerhouse Manchester United and nine-time winner Real Madrid both won.
Another Italian team, Lazio, lost to Chelsea 2-1 after taking an early lead.
AC Milan, who beat Juventus on penalties in last year’s final, were the heavy favourites at home. But Andres Mendoza gave Brugge a 33rd-minute lead, and the red-and-black couldn’t break down the visitors’ defence.
AC Milan fell to second in Group H after four-time tournament winner Ajax downed Celta de Vigo 1-0 on a goal by Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 53rd minute. Ajax have six points, two more than Milan.
United beat Rangers 1-0 in a match dubbed the ”Battle of Britain” because both clubs won their respective leagues last season. Adding to the intrigue was that United manager Alex Ferguson is Scottish and once coached Rangers boss Alex McLeish at Aberdeen. He also played for Rangers in the late 1960s.
Phil Neville was the star, netting in the fifth minute and clearing a header off the line in the second half. United goalkeeper Tim Howard made a good save in the 89th minute off Christian Nerlinger to preserve the win.
Stuttgart beat Panathinaikos 2-0 in the other Group E game, getting goals from Imre Szabics in the 12th minute and Zvonimir Soldo in the 25th. Stuttgart and United have six points, and Rangers have four while Panathinaikos has just one.
Real Madrid controlled possession throughout but could only manage a 1-0 win over Partizan Belgrade. Raul Gonzalez, the leading goal-scorer in Champions League history, scored in the 38th minute.
Real Madrid have three wins in three games — the only other perfect team is Juventus — to lead Group F.
FC Porto gave up the first goal but then scored three on the road to beat Marseille 3-2. Didier Drogba, with his tournament leading fifth goal, gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.
Nuno Maniche (31), Derlei (36) and Dmitri Alenitchev (80) made it 3-1 before Steve Marlet cut the lead to 3-2 in the 82nd.
Porto has four points, one more than the French club.
Chelsea, who lost their last Champions League game to Besiktas, fell behind to a 39th-minute goal from Simone Inzaghi. But Frank Lampard, arguably the London team’s best player this season, and newly signed Romanian forward Adrian Mutu scored in an eight-minute span in the second half.
”In the second half I told my players to stay calm and keep going,” said Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. ”It was a very, very brilliant reaction.”
Karel Poborsky scored in the 85th minute as Sparta Prague beat Besiktas 2-1.
Chelsea top Group G with six points, two more than Prague and Lazio.
On Tuesday, Group B favourites Inter Milan and Arsenal both lost away. Inter were beaten 3-0 by Lokomotiv Moscow, and the Gunners were defeated 2-1 by Dynamo Kiev. Inter, who fired coach Hector Cuper over the weekend, and Kiev both have six points, while Moscow have four. Arsenal have one.
German powerhouse Bayern Munich lead Group A with five points following a 1-1 draw with Lyon, who have four points along with Anderlecht. Celtic has three. Anderlecht beat Celtic 1-0 at home, despite having a player sent off in the first half.
Juventus won 4-2 over Real Sociedad. In the other Group D game on Tuesday, Galatasaray collected their first points with a 1-0 win over Olympiakos. Juventus have nine points, Sociedad six, Galatasaray three and Olympiakos one.
Deportivo de La Coruna took a one-point lead in Group C after downing Monaco 1-0. PSV Eindhoven shut out AEK Athens 1-0.
Deportivo have seven points, Monaco six, PSV three and AEK one.
The fourth rotation of games is scheduled for November 4 and 5. — Sapa-AP