Liverpool left star striker Michael Owen on the bench, increasing speculation about a possible transfer, but still downed Austria’s Grazer AK 2-0 in a Champions League qualifying match on Tuesday.
England midfielder Steven Gerrard scored twice, beating goalkeeper Andreas Schranz in the 23rd minute and making it 2-0 in the 79th to give manager Rafa Benitez a win in his competitive debut.
But Juventus, another traditional soccer powerhouse, could only manage a 2-2 draw against Sweden’s Djurgarden — at home. Juve, a finalist four times in the past eight years, trailed 2-0.
Liverpool, who have won the competition four times, had plenty of chances at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium without Owen. Czech striker Milan Baros, who led Euro 2004 in scoring, was stopped by Schranz on a breakaway and missed a free header in the 31st minute.
Baros partnered new signing Djibril Cisse.
Owen, linked with Real Madrid in a £10-million transfer, was an unused substitute. He has been in negotiations over a contract extension for months, although talks reportedly stalled on Monday.
If Owen made an appearance, he won’t be allowed to play for any other club in European competition in 2003/04.
”I’m not sure what’s going to happen with Michael,” Gerrard said. ”No one has said anything to me.”
Owen is a free agent at the end of the season.
”We have four good forwards, and I picked two of them,” said Benitez, who led Valencia to a league and Uefa Cup double last season.
Andreas Johansson’s penalty gave Djurgarden the lead in the 45th minute, and Tobias Hysen doubled it in the 49th. French international David Trezeguet made it 2-1 a minute later before Brazilian Emerson levelled in the 59th minute.
”The 2-2 draw means that we must absolutely win in Sweden, against a tough team,” Emerson said. ”However, Juventus will be in a better form by then, and this gives us some hope.”
Djurgarden is eighth in the 14-team Swedish standings and fired its manager last month.
”We deserved more than a draw, but our defence was less than perfect on both Swedish goals,” said Juve manager Fabio Capello, who joined from Roma in the summer.
In other games, two-time winner Benfica beat Belgian champion 1-0 at home, CSKA Moscow doubled Rangers 2-1, Trabzonspor rallied to beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1 away, and Maccabi Tel-Aviv won 2-1 away, at Greece’s PAOK Salonika.
Ten games, featuring the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Inter Milan, will be played on Wednesday. The return legs are on August 24 and 25. The teams have to qualify after not finishing high enough in their respective leagues.
Sixteen clubs advance to the main draw, with defending champion FC Porto, AC Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona among 16 already in.
Before 55 000 fans at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, Slovenian international Zlatko Zahovic scored in the 12th minute. The game marked Benfica manager Giovanni Trapattoni’s debut — he was Italy’s coach at Euro 2004.
Jiri Jarosik scored the go-ahead goal early in the second half in Moscow’s home win.
The Czech international’s shot from the left side of the box went past ‘keeper Stefan Klos in the 46th minute, 10 minutes after Spaniard Nacho Novo tied the game.
Brazilian Vagner Love, who threatened throughout, gave the home team a fourth-minute lead.
”It was unbelievable that we should give ourselves an uphill struggle like that at the start of both halves,” Rangers manager Alex McLeish said.
Latvia star Maris Verpakovskis gave Kiev the lead in the 21st minute before Gokdeniz Karadeniz (34) and Ibrahima Yattara (65) scored.
Ishmael Addo (13) and Erez Mesika (43) had goals for Maccabi, with Yiassoumis Yiassoumakis responding in the 49th minute.
Real, a nine-time winner, play Wisla Krakow away. The Spanish club’s roster includes standouts Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham.
Manchester United, the 1999 champions, are at Dinamo Bucharest.
Group matches begin in mid-September and the final is scheduled for May 25 in Istanbul. — Sapa-AP