LONDON, 27 August 2004 — Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus booked their Champions League places as Europe’s elite teams safely negotiated the third qualifying round for the continent’s leading club competition on Wednesday.
PSV Eindhoven, Bayer Leverkusen, Sparta Prague, CSKA Moscow, and Dinamo Kiev were also among sides to progress, with former European champions Red Star Belgrade and Scotland’s Rangers the highest profile losers.
Juventus, held 2-2 at home by Djurgarden in the first leg, secured a 4-1 victory in Sweden.
Italy playmaker Alessandro del Piero put the 2003 Champions League runners-up ahead with a sweet 10th-minute volley but Djurgarden continued to cause problems and equalized through midfielder Johan Arneng.
France striker Trezeguet restored the Italian team’s lead on 34 minutes and Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved’s goal following a Del Piero free kick soon after halftime settled the tie before Trezeguet struck again four minutes from time.
Brazil striker Ronaldo scored two early goals to lead Real Madrid, seeking their 10th European Cup, to a 3-1 win over Wisla Krakow of Poland which sealed a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Manchester United defeated Dinamo Bucharest 3-0 at Old Trafford to advance 5-1 on aggregate. England forward Alan Smith produced two clinical close-range finishes soon after halftime to set up a comfortable win for the injury-hit English team who have twice lifted the European Cup. Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel claimed two goals to inspire PSV Eindhoven to a 5-0 rout of 1991 European champions Red Star Belgrade and a 7-3 aggregate win. Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 at Banik Ostrava but advanced comfortably following their 5-0 victory two weeks ago in Germany.
Ukrainian clubs Dinamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk both progressed. Kiev beat Trabzonspor 2-0 in Turkey to advance 3-2 on aggregate, while Shakhtar drew 2-2 with Club Bruges to seal a 6-3 overall victory.
Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv eased through 4-0 on aggregate with a 1-0 home win over Greek side PAOK Salonika, and Sparta Prague beat Hungary’s Ferencvaros 2-0 to advance 2-1 on aggregate. Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw in Glasgow by CSKA Moscow, Vagner Love’s 62nd-minute goal putting the Russian champions through 3-2 on aggregate.
Record-Breaking Arsenal
Sweep Past Rovers
Champions Arsenal made history on Wednesday by trouncing Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at Highbury to set a 43-match unbeaten league record in English football.
Arsenal turned on the style in the second half with France striker Thierry Henry breaking the deadlock, while Spain’s Francesc Fabregas later claimed their second after the Spanish teenager touched an effort by Brazil midfielder Gilberto.
Henry then set up Spanish forward Jose Antonio Reyes for an easy third as Arsene Wenger’s side romped home.
Australia striker Mark Viduka scored on his debut as Middlesbrough beat Fulham 2-0, Newcastle United squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with promoted Norwich City and Steve Wigley’s first game in charge at Southampton ended in a 2-1 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers. Striker Francis Jeffers marked his first start for Charlton Athletic with two goals in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, while Jacques Santini’s Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion.
