LONDON, 22 October 2005 — Fabien Barthez saved a penalty on his UEFA Cup return to help Olympique Marseille sink holders CSKA Moscow 2-1 in the Russian capital on Thursday.

Former European champions Steaua Bucharest crushed Racing Lens 4-0 to fire a warning to their Group C rivals. In Group A, Monaco were beaten 1-0 in Norway by Viking Stavanger, who began the competition in the first qualifying round.

French international Barthez, making his second appearance since returning from a six-month ban for spitting at a referee, kept out a 48th-minute spot-kick from CSKA captain Sergei Ignashevich as the 2004 runners-up made a winning start in Group F.

The enigmatic Barthez also made a series of fine stops before being beaten 10 minutes from time by Brazilian substitute Vagner Love. First-half goals from Sabri Lamouchi and Mamadou Niang had put Marseille in control against injury-hit CSKA.

“We just lost the game to one player. He (Barthez) made all the difference tonight,” said CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev.

Striker Nicolae Dica scored twice as Romanian champions Steaua brushed aside Lens, who ended a miserable game with 10 men after Ivorian striker Aruna Dindane’s dismissal. Headers from Victoras Iacob and Dorin Goian put Steaua two up in 17 minutes before Dica rubbed salt in the wounds. AZ Alkmaar responded to being knocked off top spot in the Dutch championship at the weekend with a battling 2-1 win at Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Group D.

Georgia striker Shota Arveladze, the Dutch League’s top scorer, gave Louis van Gaal’s side an early lead in Ukraine. Morocco midfielder Tarik Sektioui added a second soon after the restart with Serhiy Matyukhin replying. Palermo defender Christian Terlizzi continued his scoring streak with a 77th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Israel’s Maccabi Petah Tikva in Group B. Terlizzi is top scorer this season for the Sicilian side with four goals in Serie A.

AS Roma also won 2-1 away, a goal six minutes from time by Argentine defender Leandro Cufre sinking Tromso in Group E. The Italian side had midfielder Simone Perrotta dismissed late on.

VfB Stuttgart left it late to secure an opening Group G victory at Stade Rennes, goals in the last three minutes from Denmark striker Jon Dahl Tomasson and Danijel Lljuboja easing the pressure on coach Giovanni Trapattoni. On an excellent night for German sides, SV Hamburg and Hertha Berlin also won away from home.

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart continued his good form in his first season with Hamburg, netting the only goal on 58 minutes in a 1-0 triumph at CSKA Sofia in Group A. Hertha also made a winning start in Group C, a 67th-minute own goal from Dusan Djuric sinking Sweden’s Halmstad. Monaco’s first European tie under new coach Francesco Guidolin ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat by Viking, who held on for victory after South African striker Toni Nhleko netted on 18 minutes.

Twenty-four teams advance from the group stage to a knockout phase where they are joined by the eight third-placed clubs from the Champions League.

Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal Drawn

Together in Nations Cup

In Cairio, West African rivals Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal have been drawn in the same group for next year’s African Nations Cup finals, adding a new chapter to a long-standing rivalry.

The three sides, plus Zimbabwe, will play in Group D in Egypt in January.

Senegal beat Nigeria after extra-time in a bruising semifinal encounter at the 2002 finals, days after Nigeria had ousted Ghana in the last eight.

Hosts Egypt were drawn with Ivory Coast in Group A, renewing their recent World Cup qualifying rivalry during which the Ivorians finished top of the section to reach the finals for the first time.

Libya and Morocco are also in Group A.

Tunisia will begin the defense of their title against Zambia in Alexandria. Also drawn in Group C were Guinea and South Africa. Of the top seeds, Cameroon will have been the most satisfied, based in Cairo in Group B along with Democratic Republic of Congo and the two surprised World Cup finalists Angola and Togo.