LONDON, Sept 15, (AFP): Captain Cesc Fabregas produced an outstanding individual performance as Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a a stylish 6-0 rout of Braga on Wednesday.
The Spain midfielder, who had been blocked from moving to Barcelona in the summer, scored two goals himself.
Russia international Andrey Arshavin, Morocco forward Marouane Chamakh and substitute Carlos Vela, the Mexico international, grabbed a brace as Arsene Wenger’s men cruised to the top of Group H.
Wenger had been critical beforehand of the circumstances that had forced Abou Diaby, the France midfield player, out of the game.
Diaby had been hurt in the 4-1 Premier League victory over Bolton Wanderers at the weekend by a challenge Wenger believed should be punished retrospectively using video evidence, which would require a change of Premier League rules.
Diaby was replaced in the starting line-up by France international Samir Nasri, who returned for the first time since knee surgery last month.
Arsenal might have had a penalty in the opening minutes when Paulo Cesar’s clumsy challenge just inside the box sent Fabregas tumbling.
Referee Alain Hamer, from Luxembourg, ruled it had been accidental and also waved for play to continue when defender Moises tackled Fabregas in the box from the next attack.
But when Chamakh was brought down by goalkeeper Felipe, as he chased a Fabregas through ball, the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty.
Fabregas converted it to give Arsenal a ninth-minute lead.
Paulo Cesar forced Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia into a save via a deflected effort before the second goal arrived in the 30th minute.
Fabregas set it up with a shimmy to beat an opponent and then provided the perfect pass to find Arshavin on the left of the box and the Russian beat Felipe at his near post.
That was followed four minutes later by another from Chamakh, who chested down Arshavin’s chip and played a one-two with Jack Wilshere, whose return pass was a cheeky back-heel, before slotting past the hapless Felipe.
Fabregas headed home number four eight minutes into the second half after the Braga defence had dithered in clearing.
Arshavin crossed to the back post for the Spain international to nod home a header.
Felipe and Moises combined to deny Fabregas his hat-trick as Braga wilted.
The midfielder raced through but the goalkeeper got a touch to his lofted effort and the defender hacked it spectacularly away before it crossed the line.
Real 2, Ajax 0
In Madrid, Real Madrid’s bid to win a 10th European Cup began with a 2-0 win over Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Group G opener.
Coach Jose Mourinho won the Champions League with Inter Milan at the Bernabeu in May and his European bow with Real was a success with an own goal and a Gonzalo Higuain strike sealing a comfortable group victory.
An own goal from 21-year-old defender Vurnon Anita gave Mourinho his first European goal as Real coach on 31 minutes and Higuain scored on 73 minutes with his first goal of the campaign.
It was three points and another clean sheet for Real who have yet to concede a goal in their three games under Mourinho who believes Real are ready to win the trophy for the first time since 2002 despite failing to get past the last 16 stage for the past six seasons.
Madrid fans jeered their team in Saturday’s 1-0 league win over Osasuna and Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s most expensive player, had caused a stir saying the supporters should spend their energy supporting their team rather than whistling.
Mourinho refused to discipline Ronaldo over the outburst and the Portuguese star started on the right wing with Argentine Angel di Maria on the other flank to supply target-man Higuain.
German internationals Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil retained their places in midfield and made their Champions League debuts with Real, as did Mourinho, who is trying to become the first man to win the Champions League with three clubs having won one crown with FC Porto in 2004 and last year’s trophy with Inter Milan.
Ajax coach Martin Jol had to do without Uruguayan international striker Luis Suarez through suspension but still went for the throat starting with two strikers.
The first openings all fell to Higuain who hit the side-netting with a fierce shot and then on 17 minutes the Argentine beat two players and cracked a shot against the crossbar with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg well-beaten.
It was a warning five-time winners Ajax did not heed and on 31 minutes Real made the breakthrough.
It was more of Madrid in the second half as Higuain went on a great solo run showing a turn of pace to bear down on goal but his shot was blocked.
Ronaldo then saw a left-footed drive saved by the busy Stekelenburg and Higuain missed another golden opportunity volleying over from close range and an irate Mourinho threw his hands up in despair at another glaring miss.
Higuain made amends taking advantage of great work from Ozil and di Maria to slot home from close range on 73 minutes to wrap up the game.
Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas had been a bystander the entire match but Urby Emanuelson rattled his crossbar with a looping shot as Ajax finally created a chance.
Real had to settle for a 2-0 scoreline that did not reflect their dominance and the nine-time European champions travel to Auxerre on September 28 for their next Champions League group match.
Milan 2, Auxerre 0
In Milan, Italy, Zlatan Ibrahimovic got off the mark for AC Milan with a brace to down Auxerre 2-0 at San Siro.
The 24-million-euro signing, who missed a penalty on his debut away to Cesena on Saturday, started to pay back his big fee as he netted twice in the second half in a game that had been evenly poised until then.
Auxerre had frustrated the hosts until the mid-point of the second period and in fact come closer to scoring, but Milan’s superior class told in the end in their first Group G encounter.
In netting, Ibrahimovic matched Hernan Crespo’s record of having scored for five different clubs in the Champions League.
The hosts almost shot themselves in the foot on five minutes as Andrea Pirlo was dispossesed in the box by Valter Birsa with the ball breaking to Steeven Langil, but he didn’t really get hold of his shot from an angle and Christian Abbiati made a comfortable save.
Milan’s first chance came on 20 minutes with a Pirlo free-kick that goalkeeper Olivier Sorin strangely punched clear when it looked easy to catch the ball.
But the hosts had an escape moments later as Kenyan Dennis Oliech’s towering header from Benoit Pedretti’s corner came back off the bar.
At the other end Ronaldinho’s impudent backheel released the overlapping Luca Antonini who pulled the ball back for Kevin-Prince Boateng — on as an early substitute for injured captain Massimo Ambrosini — but his shot and Alexandre Pato’s follow-up were both blocked by sprawling bodies.
The French visitors should have gone into the break in the lead after a lightning counter-attack but Langil opted to shoot despite three team-mates waiting for a pull-back and he blazed his effort wildly over the bar.
The rossoneri were quickly on the attack after the restart, Ronaldinho playing an inviting cross into the box that Pato could only prod into Sorin’s grateful arms.
Pirlo followed that up with a daisy-cutter that Sorin tipped around the post.
Chelsea 4, Zilina 1
In Zilina, Slovakia, Nicolas Anelka scored twice for Chelsea to help the English champions breeze past MSK Zilina with a 4-1 win.
Michael Essien opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a low shot after an Anelka pass from the left wing.
In the 24th minute, Anelka beat Zilina keeper Martin Dubravka with a low shot across the box after Florent Malouda had chipped the ball superbly over the MSK defence.
Anelka silenced the home crowd four minutes later, making it 3-0 with an easy rebound after Chelsea captain John Terry had hit the crossbar with a powerful header from a Malouda corner.
Malouda then almost made it 4-0 but his shot from 10 metres out, which was heading for an empty net, was deflected wide by Zilina skipper Mario Pecalka.
Zilina, making their debut in the tournament, created few scoring chances throughout the game.
A long-range shot from their Bosnian midfielder Admir Vladavic was saved by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech shortly before half-time and Babatounde Bello then headed wide.
Daniel Sturridge scored a fourth for Chelsea in the 48th minute from a break, beating Dubravka and Pecalka after a neat pass from Yossi Benayoun.
Zilina then pushed for a consolation goal, with Vladavic missing narrowly from 16 metres in the 49th minute.
Their effort was rewarded 55 minutes into the game.
Tomas Oravec scored after Branislav Ivanovic and Cech got into a terrible tangle.
Chelsea took their foot off the gas and coach Carlo Ancelotti could afford to send on youngsters Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta and Patrick Van Aanholt for a rare taste of European action.
Bayern 2, Roma 0
In Munich, Germany, Germany stars Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose netted late goals to seal Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over Roma.
The Group E match was heading for a 0-0 draw until Mueller, the top scorer at the World Cup, lit up a dull night in Munich by curling his shot around Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio on 79 minutes.
After a drab opening hour, Bayern raised the tempo noticeably in the closing stages and second-half substitute Klose showed his experience by latching onto defender Holger Badstuber’s long free-kick for the second on 83 minutes.
Bayern coach Louis van Gaal opted to drop Klose to the bench for his starting side and played Ivica Olic as the lone striker in front of an attacking midfield including Germany’s rising stars Toni Kroos and Mueller.
French midfielder Franck Ribery served out the last game of his three-match ban, having been sent off in last season’s semi-final against Lyon.
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri had plenty of experience in his side, led by former Azzurri World Cup winners striker Francesco Totti with Daniele de Rossi in midfield, but they barely tested Bayern’s goal all night.
Roma’s best chance of the opening period fell when left-back Marco Cassetti managed to get the better of Germany defender Philipp Lahm and drove his shot across the face of Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt.
Both Lahm and Klose have commented that Bayern are still flat as their star-studded squad work their way back to full fitness after the rigours of the World Cup and that showed in the first half, with the hosts lacking sparkle.
Spartak 1, Marseille 0
In Marseille, France, a cruel own goal by Cesar Azpilicueta saw French champions Marseille slump to a 1-0 defeat at home to Spartak Moscow Group F opener.
Marseille, the only French side ever to win Europe’s top cup competition, created almost all the game’s best chances but saw Lucho Gonzalez waste their clearest opportunity when he headed wide of an unguarded goal.
The Russians took swift advantage, with Dmitri Kombarov’s low left-wing cross flicking off Azpilicueta and squirming between Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda’s legs in the 81st minute.
Andre-Pierre Gignac made his Champions League debut as a second-half substitute and he almost rescued a last-gasp equaliser with a right-footed strike that hit the inside of the left-hand post in injury time.
Marseille controlled possession in the first half, but had only a couple of long-range efforts from Benoit Cheyrou to show for their territorial dominance when Spartak began to assert themselves.
Alex shot over after Marseille midfielder Edouard Cisse was dispossessed in midfield, while Welliton, the current top scorer in the Russian Premier League, narrowly failed to connect with an Alex free-kick.
The hosts rallied again before the break and visiting goalkeeper Andriy Dykan had to push away an acrobatic scissor-kick by Cheyrou in first-half injury time.
Shakhtar 1, Partizan 0
In Donetsk, Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk shrugged off the loss of influential Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho to defeat Partizan Belgrade 1-0 Group H.
Croatian international Darijo Srna scored the only goal from a direct free-kick on 71 minutes to give the Ukraine side another home win over the Serbs, having defeated them 4-1 in the Europa Leage last season.
Fernandinho will miss the entire group stage after breaking his leg at Obolon Kyiv on Friday.
Despite that setback, Shakhtar were still too good for a Partizan side who are unbeaten in 37 Serbian Super League matches.