Other Sports
Summaries of the Champions League qualifiers
By The Source
Aug 12, 2004

Bucharest, Romania (Sports Network) - Liam Miller's Manchester United debut went even better than he could have hoped for.

With basically his first touch in a competitive match, Miller, who came on a substitute in the 67th minute, sent a cross towards the goal from the wing. The ball deflected off Dinamo Bucharest defender Alistar and into the back of the net, allowing United to escape Romania with a 2-1 win in the first leg of its third round Champions League qualifying match against Dinamo.

United fell behind early in the match and needed to rally to earn the road win. Ryan Giggs recorded the equalizer toward the end of the first half to set the stage for Miller's luck.

Real Madrid also needed a late goal to emerge victorious on the road. Fernando Morientes' strike in the 72nd minute proved to be the game-winner, as Real went on to win on the road, 2-0, at Polish club Wisla Krakow.

The "Galacticos" showed a renewed defensive dedication in their first competitive match of the season. Still, the Spanish giants are reportedly on the verge of adding some more offensive talent with Liverpool striker Michael Owen and Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira on the cusp of joining the star- studded squad.

Morientes, who spent last season on loan helping Monaco to the Champions League final, scored again in the waning moments to clinch the victory and give Real a commanding lead entering the second leg in two weeks' time back in Spain.

Monaco, meanwhile, looked strong even without Morientes as it cruised to a 3-0 win at Slovakian club Nova Gorica. Newcomers Mohamed Kallon and Ernesto Chevanton recorded all three goals in the victory for the French side.

Not all the big-name clubs, however, emerged as winners in their first leg matches. Italian power Inter Milan and Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna, a semifinalist in last year's competition, each finished with a draw on the road. Inter ended tied at 1-1 with Swiss champion Basel, while Deportivo ended in a scoreless draw with Irish club Shelbourne.

Traditionally strong Dutch club PSV Eindhoven had an even more difficult time, as it lost 3-2 at Serbia and Montenegro club Red Star Belgrade.

Germany's Bayer Leverkusen had the advantage of playing at home and capitalized on it. Bayer cruised to an easy 5-0 win over Czech side Ostrava behind three goals from Brazilian Franca.

In other action: Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk scored the final three goals during a 4-1 win over Belgian side Club Brugge; Hungarian's Ferencvaros recorded a 1-0 win at home over the Czech Republic's Sparta Prague; and Norwegian side Rosenborg slipped past Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, 2-1.