Vitoria defeats Palmeiras 3-2

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vitoria hosted the first place team Palmeiras on Sunday in the 24th round of play in this year's Brazilian Championship. With an impressive score of 3-2, Vitoria snapped their three-game winless streak.

Vitoria scored first in the 19th minute. Uelliton headed the ball past Palmeiras' goalie, Marcos, on a stopped ball delivered from Ramon. Before the first half came to and end, Palmeiras tied the game in the 40th minute when Robert headed the ball into the Vitoria net off an Armero crossed ball.

Vitoria again took the lead in the 71st minute. Leandro Domingues dribbled down the left side of the field and then crossed the ball towards the center of the Palmeiras net.

The ball passed through the defense and ended up at the feet of Berola who then sent the ball into the back of the net. Scoring their third goal, Vitoria's Derlei took advantage of a loose ball to add to his team's lead.

Palmeiras desperately tried to make a comeback, but was only able to cut down on Vitoria's lead. The team scored their second goal of the match in the 88th minute when Robert headed the ball in for his second header of the game.

Despite their loss, Palmeiras remains in first place with 44 points. They were not dethroned due Internacional's loss.

Both Internacional and Sao Paulo are just one point behind Palmeiras. Vitoria's win improves the team's standing to 11th place with 33 points.

Backgrounder: Champions League winners

PARIS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Following are the last 10 winners of the Champions League ahead of the 2009/2010 competition which starts on Tuesday:

2009 - Barcelona

2008 - Manchester United

2007 - AC Milan

2006 - Barcelona

2005 - Liverpool

2004 - Porto

2003 - AC Milan

2002 - Real Madrid

2001 - Bayern Munich

2000 - Real Madrid.

Diego to miss Champions League opener

ROME, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Diego will have to sit out Juventus' Champions League opener against Bordeaux on Tuesday with a right thigh injury.

The club said that the newly-signed star will be sidelined for seven days, also ruling him out of Saturday's Serie A game with Livorno.

X-rays Monday showed no muscle lesions, ruling out a more serious injury.

Gabulov out with broken jaw

MOSCOW, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov will be sidelined for the rest of the year after breaking his jawbone during Sunday's derby against Spartak, the Russian Premier League club said on Monday.

Gabulov was injured when he collided with Spartak's Brazilian striker Welliton in the first half of the 1-1 game.

South Korea captain Park extends contract with Man Utd

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's captain Park Ji-sung has extended his contract with Manchester United until 2012, his management agency JS Limited confirmed on Tuesday.

United have yet to confirm the deal but Park's agent, Kim Jung-soo, told South Korea's Yonhap News the 28-year-old midfielder had agreed to resign his contract with the red devils.

"Park and Manchester United have reached an agreement on a three-year deal. The contract will be effective through June 2012," Kim said in a statement.

Park joined Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.

Ronaldo, Kaka eye new golden Real Euro era

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) looks at teammate Kaka before their Santiago Bernabeu trophy match against Norway's Rosenborg in the Spanish capital. The pair, who cost Real Madrid over 150 million euros, aim to lead the Spanish giants to a 10th European title this season, with their campaign starting in the humble surroundings of FC Zurich on Tuesday. (AFP/File/Pedro Armestre)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, who cost Real Madrid over 150 million euros, aim to lead the Spanish giants to a 10th European title this season, with their campaign starting in the humble surroundings of FC Zurich on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, insists the historic winning mentality at the club will be key to driving them to a place in the Champions League final which will be staged at their Santiago Bernabeu home in May next year.

"This is a club used to winning, a lot of the players here are winners, but now it's about a new team and a new squad," said Ronaldo, keen to dismiss comparisons with the Galactico era.

"That's why we have to create the right mentality for us to win the league, the Champions League and the cups. This is a club obsessed with winning and now the players here have to think the same way."

Real's last Champions League triumph came in 2002 and with bitter rivals Barcelona taking the title last season, the club's ambition has been sharpened further.

Last season Real Madrid were beaten 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the first knockout round. It was the fifth successive season they had lost out in the last 16.

"The ambition is to win the Champions League," said Kaka.

"On top of that, you have the possibility of us being at home (in the final) and it would be fantastic to play the final at the Bernabeu."

Real and FC Zurich have met once before in the competition but that was 45 years ago with the Spaniards winning 8-1 over two legs in the semi-final before losing to Inter Milan 3-1 in the final.

Defender Raul Albiol is a doubt for Real having twisted his ankle against Espanyol at the weekend while Pepe could make his first appearance this season.

The Portuguese centre-back is suspended for two more games in the Spanish league - as part of a 10-match ban imposed last season for violent conduct - but is eligible to play in Europe.

Zurich reached this stage with a play-off defeat of FK Ventspils with Johan Vonlanthen, Silvan Aegerter and Dusan Djuric securing a 3-0 win in Latvia before second-leg strikes from Vonlanthen and Almen Abdi completed a 5-1 aggregate victory.

(Agencies)

Old "friends" meet as Barcelona plays Inter Milan

MADRID, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- There will be plenty of reunions when reigning European champion FC Barcelona kicks off this season's European campaign away to Inter Milan on Wednesday night.

First of all, Barcelona sold striker Samuel Eto'o to Inter over the summer. The Cameroon international, who scored the opening goal in last season's Champions League final, went to Italy as part of the deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovich move to Barcelona in one of the most expensive transfers of the summer.

Meanwhile left back Maxwell also moved from the San Siro to join the Catalan team in a deal worth 5 million euros.

Finally Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho used to work on the Barcelona coaching staff after arriving with Sir Bobby Robson in 1996.

Mourinho became unpopular with Barcelona fans while coaching Chelsea following a game that Barcelona won in Stamford Bridge after the Chelsea defender Asier del Horno had been sent off.

Meanwhile Barcelona moved to the top of the Primera Liga in Spain last weekend with a comfortable 2-1 away win in Getafe.

That game saw coach Pep Guardiola rest Thierry Henry, who spent the entire match on the substitutes' bench, while Dani Alves and Leo Messi came on as second half substitutes and Messi scored the second goal of the match.

They will all start in Milan, while Andres Iniesta will be on the bench as he continues his return to full fitness.

"It will be very hard to beat us this season if we play the same way and repeat the things we did last season," said Messi in the magazine France Football.

Wednesday's match promises to be the most difficult of the entire group stage for Barcelona. They key for the Catalans will be stopping a highly motivated Eto'o, who has found his form quickly in Italy.