Epress.am News from Armenia
AC Milan and Real Madrid began the Champions League with 2-0 victories on Wednesday night as English rivals Chelsea and Arsenal opened with high-scoring wins.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first two goals for AC Milan since joining on loan from Barcelona, leading the Rossoneri over visiting Auxerre.
At Madrid, new Real coach Jose Mourinho presided as the nine-time champions beat Ajax in the stadium he won the competition with Inter Milan in May.
Real went ahead in the 31st minute, and Higuain doubled the lead in the 73rd.
In London, Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Vela each scored twice in Arsenal’s 6-0 rout of Portugal’s Braga—Fabregas’ first Arsenal goals since breaking his right leg Match 31 during a Champions League match against Barcelona.
It was a closer match in the other Group H encounter, with Shakhtar Donetsk captain Dario Srna’s 71st-minute free kick giving the Ukrainian champions a 1-0 victory over Partizan Belgrade.
Chelsea, off to a 4-0 start in the Premier League, beat newcomer Zilina 4-1 despite the absence of suspended striker Didier Drogba. The Blues raced into a 3-0 lead inside 30 minutes as Nicolas Anelka’s cross was turned in by Michael Essien before the French forward scored two goals himself.
Soon after, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech almost gifted the home side an equalizer, fumbling Robert Jez’s free kick before recovering to stop the ball going into the net.
Daniel Sturridge scored Chelsea’s fourth in the 48th after latching onto Yossi Benayoun’s through ball.
Zilina’s goal came in the 55th when an unmarked Tomas Oravec pounced on the loose ball from Branislav Ivanovic’s deflection after Cech had failed to hold a cross.
In the other Group F match, defender Cesar Azpilicueta scored a late own-goal to give Spartak Moscow a 1-0 win at Marseille, which wasted several scoring chances.
Bayern Munich, beaten by Mourinho’s Inter in last May’s final, defeated visiting AS Roma 2-0 on late goals by Thomas Mueller in the 79th minute and Miroslav Klose in the 83rd.
The goals came quicker in the group’s other match. Ionut Rada scored in the ninth minute and Lacina Traore in the 12th for Cluj, clinching a 2-1 victory over Basel, which got a goal on Valentin Stoker’s header in first-half injury time.