LONDON, 15 August 2004 — Liverpool found a new goalscorer on the day Michael Owen was unveiled as a Real Madrid player when France striker Djibril Cisse scored in a 1-1 season-opening draw at Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.
Cisse, who smashed Liverpool’s transfer record with last month’s 14 million pound ($25.63 million) move from AJ Auxerre, showed the poaching instinct that made him a top scorer in Ligue 1 with a 38th minute strike from close range.
Promising Spurs striker Jermain Defoe leveled in the 71st minute of a game in which both managers, Liverpool’s Spanish boss Rafael Benitez and former France coach Jacques Santini, made their Premier League debuts at White Hart Lane.
It proved to be one of five 1-1 draws, while the northeast derby ended 2-2 between Middlesbrough and Newcastle United after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink grabbed a controversial stoppage-time equalizer on his Boro debut.
Craig Bellamy opened the scoring for the Tynesiders, Boro substitute Stewart Downing made it 1-1 and Newcastle skipper Alan Shearer, playing his 500th league game a day after his 34th birthday, looked to have won it with an 83rd minute penalty.
But Hasselbaink levelled at the far post, despite appeals by Newcastle defenders that the Dutchman had used his hand.
Bolton Wanderers got the result of the day, beating Charlton Athletic 4-1 with Nigeria midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha scoring two and making another on his 31st birthday, while Aston Villa beat Southampton 2-0.
Doubles All Round as Rangers Hit Winning Form
In Glasgow, Rangers hammered Livingston 4-0 at Ibrox to pick up their first three points of the new season yesterday.
A brace from Stephen Hughes and a goal each for Dado Prso and Shota Arveladze gave Alex McLeish’s side a deserved win against a disappointing Livingston team.
Celtic, meanwhile, ran out winners in a six-goal thriller at Kilmarnock with doubles for John Hartson and Alan Thompson giving Martin O’Neill’s side a 4-2 victory.
Rangers took only five minutes to open the scoring through Prso. Gregory Vignal’s free-kick into the box found Georgian striker Shota Arveladze and his header was cleared off the line by Burton O’Brien. Livingston were not out of danger however, and when the ball broke to Alex Rae he found Prso still lurking on the six-yard box with a crisp pass. The big Croatian striker took a touch before sliding the ball past Livingston keeper Roddy McKenzie for his first competitive goal for Rangers.
Livingston were finding it hard to find a way through the Rangers defense with French international defender Jean Alain Boumsong and Trinidadian Marvin Andrews in fine form and on 31 minutes they fell two behind.
Novo broke to the goaline and again found Lovenkrands at the back post, but this time he drove the ball back across goal for Hughes to tap in from close range.
Hughes grabbed his second on 77 minutes when following good work by Arveladze on the left flank. The Georgian international drove inside the 18-yard box before cutting the ball back for substitute Steven Thompson, who had replaced Prso on 67 minutes.
Makaay Rescues Bayern, Four-Midable Bremen Go Top
In Berlin, Dutch international Roy Makaay scored his first goal of the 2004 05 Bundesliga season to save ten-man Bayern Munich from an early season defeat in a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin yesterday.
Makaay, who scored 23 Bundesliga goals in his debut season, struck in the 46th minute to open his account for the campaign and cancel out Marcelinho’s opener at the Olympic Stadium. While Bayern stumbled champions Werder Bremen made light work of dismissing Hansa Rostock at the Ostseestadion in a 4-0 win. Hansa defeated Bremen 3-1 in the corresponding fixture last term but three goals in nine second half minutes saw Bremen coast to victory and to the top of the table.
Football Kicks Off in Firstnet
Firstnet — the Premium International Entertainment Television bouquet will exclusively telecast the matches of the English Premier League this year. The matches will be shown only on Art Sports 1 and 2 on Firstnet, Al Awael and Pehla Gold. In keeping with their commitment to show premium events, Firstnet brings to Middle East audiences the excitement of the English Premier League for the fourth successive year with the start of the new season yesterday with Tottenham Hotspur taking on Liverpool.
From then on, the action is non-stop with 20 teams comprising the world’s finest football talent battling it out for the honor of the Premier League title.
