European Soccer News

We keep you update on the latest happening on the European soccer scenes.

Barcelona humbled by penniless Numancia

IT was all going so well for Barcelona – a string of impressive victories in pre-season and £75m spent on new signings – just a shame the league had to start. New coach Pep Guardiola's team showed the same frailties that blighted last season, blowing a host of chances yesterday in a 1-0 defeat to penniless Numancia, who spent exactly £75m less than Barca in the summer.

McClaren left frustrated as Twente let lead slip

Anders Oper dashed former England coach Steve McClaren's hopes of a winning start to his first Dutch League campaign as FC Twente were held to a 1-1 draw at Roda JC. Eljero Elia had put McClaren's men ahead but Oper struck with six minutes to go.

Mourinho's 'super happy' start thwarted

Gennaro Delvecchio denied new Internazionale and former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho a winning start in Serie A on Saturday.

Moyes 'optimistic' of progress against Liège

The Uefa Cup has the seven-times Champions League winners Milan among its competitors this year, but some of the more obscure football outposts of Europe will host England's five competitors in the first round. The pick of yesterday's draw was Everton's tie against Standard Liège, the Belgian side who were within minutes of taking Liverpool to penalties in their Champions League qualifier at Anfield on Wednesday.

This weekend in La Liga...

Can Henry revive his career?

Jose Mourinho: He's back (and already it's personal)

As the new Serie A season gets under way today, all eyes in Italy are on the reigning champions, Internazionale. However, the players will not be the focus of attention at Sampdoria this evening. Instead, the spotlight will fall on a brooding, handsome figure on the sidelines.

Man Utd 1 Zenit St Petersburg 2: Scholes sees red as United fall to Zenit's superior style

It should have been one of those nights when Sir Alex Ferguson basked in the glory of his team being European champions and mopped up another early-season trophy, but it ended as a bit of a disaster. Ambushed by the daring, attacking football of Zenit St Petersburg the embarrassment was compounded when Paul Scholes was sent off for a daft handball which earns him a Champions League suspension.

Liege return to Merseyside

Everton will have the chance to add to Belgian club Standard Liege's Merseyside misery after being drawn with them in the first round of the Uefa Cup.

FC Midtjylland 0 Man City 1 <i>(aet; 1-1 on agg; MC win 4-2 on pens)</i>: Hart saves day for fortunate City

Manchester City had their goalkeeper Joe Hart to thank as they fortuitously progressed to the Uefa Cup first round with a penalty shoot-out victory here in the qualifying round yesterday. Having lost 1-0 to the Danish side in the first leg at Eastlands, City knew the size of their task at the SAS Arena here.

Torres back at Atletico as 'big four' look forward in easy draw

For Fernando Torres it promises to be emotional. For Celtic it is a chance, once again, to tweak the tail of Manchester United, the champions of Europe. For the rest of us the Champions League group stages draw looks set nicely for the English contingent as the "big four" were once again given the kind of group games that should see them all safely through to the business end of the competition.

Ferguson 'less optimistic' over Berbatov deal as deadline looms

Winning the European Super Cup tonight would be a good way for Sir Alex Ferguson to end the month but he would much prefer to sign Dimitar Berbatov before the transfer window closes next week, a prospect which seems ever more distant after he admitted that "communication" with Tottenham had broken down.

Aston Villa 1 FH Hafnarfjordur 1 <i>(Villa win 5-2 on agg)</i>: Gardner gives experimental Villa smooth passage

Aston Villa cruised into the first round proper of the Uefa Cup last night, the hard work having being done a fortnight ago in Iceland. Craig Gardner did give the hosts a first-half lead but Hafnarfjordur drew some comfort by salvaging a draw on the night with Atli Vldar Bjornsson's strike before the game petered out. Villa's manager, Martin O'Neill, decided to hand a first start to the former Tottenham midfielder Wayne Routledge, who joined the club during the January transfer window.

Man United 1 Zenit St Petersburg 2: Russians win cup as Scholes sees red

Paul Scholes was sent off as Manchester United squandered a chance of lifting a trophy only two weeks into the season as they went down to defeat by Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup.

Ronaldo named European Club Footballer of Year

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named Uefa's European Club Footballer of the Year today after scoring 42 goals last season including eight in the Champions League.

FC Midtjylland 0 Manchester City 1 <i>(after extra-time, Man City win 4-2 on penalties)</i>: A lucky escape for Hughes' men

Manchester City had goalkeeper Joe Hart to thank as they fortuitously progressed to the Uefa Cup first round with a penalty shoot-out victory over FC Midtjylland.

Battle of Britain looms after draw

Holders Manchester United will face Celtic in the Champions League group stages following the draw in Monaco.

Chelsea top seeds in draw for Champions League

Chelsea may not have won the Champions League yet but if football had a rankings system, like golf or tennis, they would be acclaimed as the continent's best. The Uefa coefficients, which determine the seedings for today's Champions League draw, place Chelsea at No 1.

Hughes expects Olympian effort from Jo in Uefa Cup

The Manchester City manager, Mark Hughes, has identified Jo, his returning Brazilian Olympian, as the side's possible saviour when they attempt to avoid an early Uefa Cup exit tonight. City face the Danish side FC Midtjylland in the second leg of their second qualifying round tie in Herning, trailing 1-0 after a defeat at home.

Arsenal 4 FC Twente 0 <i>(Ars. win 6-0 on agg)</i>: Arsenal give McClaren's men a goal masterclass

The last time Steve McClaren brought a team to north London to face Arsenal he was on the wrong end of a seven-goal thrashing so on this occasion the new manager of FC Twente could at least give thanks for small mercies. For once in his recent career the embattled, lampooned anti-hero of English football found himself in a game in which he had nothing to lose. But lose he did nonetheless.

Liverpool 1 Standard Liege 0 <i>(aet. Liv. win 1-0 on agg)</i>: Gerrard injury overshadows Liverpool's extra-time escape

Steven Gerrard is a patriot, but his heart belongs to Liverpool. That was underlined last night as he put his club's European ambitions ahead of his country's World Cup hopes.

Villa commits to Valencia

Valencia striker David Villa has ended speculation over his future by signing a new long-term contract with the Primera Liga club.

Wenger remains calm as Arsenal seek European progress

Despite appearances to the contrary on Saturday, when Arsenal lost to Fulham, Arsène Wenger yesterday insisted that his squad was strong enough to challenge for major honours.

Benitez taking no risks as Champions League riches hinge on Li&egrave;ge

Standard Liege have never been one of European football's feted clubs. The Jupiler League champions remain as anonymous as when they met Leeds United in the European Cup in 1970. "Where's this place Standard?" a Leeds director is said to have asked, presumably assuming Liège translated as "United" or "Rovers".

Neville and Hargreaves to reappear for United in Monaco

The England duo Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves will both be in Manchester United's Uefa Super Cup line-up in Monaco on Friday. Sir Alex Ferguson has pledged to take the encounter with Uefa Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg seriously after losing out to Lazio the last time United played in the game following their Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich in 1999.

Benitez confident Reds can raise game

Rafael Benitez has promised that Liverpool's Champions League form will be "much, much better" when they aim this week to reach the group stages for the fifth successive time. The Liverpool manager is acutely aware that his side's third qualifying round first-leg display away to Standard Liège earlier in the month was unacceptable and they were fortunate to cling on to a 0-0 draw.

Queen of the South facing Uefa battle

Queen of the South manager Gordon Chisholm has urged his men to believe they can overturn their Uefa Cup deficit against the Danish side Nordsjaelland. Queens lost 2-1 in the home leg after conceding two soft goals, the first in the second minute.

<a href="http://blogs.independent.co.uk/extratime/football/index.html" target="new">Extra Time - Football: What's Schteve McClaren playing at?</a>

Adebayor tells Arsenal to start 'winning ugly'

Their Premier League season has not even begun yet, but already Arsenal are posing themselves the question whether or not their commitment to a brilliant but fragile style of football will be enough to win trophies this season. Emmanuel Adebayor said that Arsenal would have to be prepared to win "dirty" after they struggled to victory against FC Twente in the Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.

Disjointed Liverpool a worry for Benitez

You can't say they're not trying. Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane even took up seats together on Liverpool's flight home from Liege on Wednesday night, attempting perhaps to develop some of the telepathy which will be fundamental to their side's hopes of progress this season.

Manchester City 0 FC Midtjylland 1: Olsen leaves Hughes facing humiliating exit

Danny Olsen made sure a difficult week for Manchester City became an embarrassing one as well. With manager Mark Hughes obliged to state publicly he would be staying amid talk of financial constraints and internal conflict he needed a victory in the first leg of this Uefa Cup qualifier to lighten his load.

FH Hafnarfjordur 1 Aston Villa 4: Barry casts doubt over Liverpool move

Aston Villa took a commanding first-leg lead in front of the watching England manager, Fabio Capello, in their Uefa Cup second qualifying round tie in Reykjavik last night. But the evening's most significant development took place in the changing room before the match, with the Villa manager, Martin O'Neill, selecting Gareth Barry in his starting line-up. The Irishman insisted Barry wanted to play even though it leaves him cup-tied for the Champions League should his summer-long transfer saga end with a move to Liverpool. Barry is now ineligible for the Champions League group stages.

FC Twente 0 Arsenal 2: Gallas sets Arsenal on way after early storm

Steve McClaren's road to redemption will be long and it will be hard but the first few steps along it last night were as purposeful as he could have hoped. The erstwhile wally with the brolly now aspires to be the football cognoscente from FC Twente –and who knows what he might achieve if his young Dutch team continue to play with the verve they showed against Arsenal?

Champions' League round-up: Camoranesi gives Juventus flying start to European campaign

Three goals before the half-time whistle gave Juventus a flying start against FC Artmedia Petrzalka in their Champions League third qualifying round first leg in Turin last night, paving the way for a 4-0 victory.

Standard Liege 0 Liverpool 0: Reina to rescue as Liverpool founder on Belgian industry

When the fans' favourite anthem is AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and the penalty-taker answers to the name of Dante, the omens do not seem terribly good for quiet progress towards the Champions League group stage and so it was for Liverpool in Belgium last night

Benitez puts faith in new-look strike duo

In a Belgian city famous for its gunsmiths, Rafael Benitez will learn a little more tonight about whether the two strikers he has brought together can fire Liverpool to the place where every elite European side wants to be: Rome's Stadio Olimpico, eight and half months from now.

Wenger turns to Ramsey as injury woes continue

Arsène Wenger has always been an advocate of throwing his youngsters in as early as possible but with the season not even started he no longer has a choice. The Arsenal manager admitted yesterday that he could start the teenager Aaron Ramsey in tonight's Champions League qualifier first leg against FC Twente after Cesc Fabregas succumbed to injury on Monday.

Liverpool wait on Gerrard fitness for Li&egrave;ge tie

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez remains hopeful that captain Steven Gerrard will shake off his thigh injury and face Standard Liège in Wednesday's Champions League qualifier. The England midfielder will travel to Belgium tomorrow ahead of the first leg of the third qualifying round match. Gerrard sustained his injury in last Tuesday's friendly against Valerenga but Liverpool are eager to have their most influential player for an important early game in their season.