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Higuain gives Mourinho ‘Real' joy

FOOTBALL / Ibrahimovic scores brace in Milan's win; Arsenal thumps Braga 6-0

PARIS: Jose Mourinho enjoyed a winning start to his Champions League campaign at Real Madrid as his side beat Ajax 2-0 on Wednesday, while Arsenal and Chelsea strolled to emphatic wins.

Mourinho was brought to the Bernabeu with the brief of delivering Real's 10th European crown and his team emerged with all three points from its Group G opener despite making heavy work of four-time champion Ajax.

The Spanish giant penned Martin Jol's team inside its own penalty area right from the onset, with Gonzalo Higuain curling a long-range strike against the crossbar and Angel di Maria shooting over when well-placed.

The breakthrough arrived in fortuitous fashion in the 31st minute when Higuain challenged Vurnon Anita for Xabi Alonso's corner and forced the Ajax defender to put it into his own goal.

Ajax was put under tremendous pressure in the second period and after Cristiano Ronaldo had spurned a series of chances, Higuain made the game safe with a close-range volley 17 minutes from the end.

The result gives Real a share of the Group G lead with AC Milan, who saw off an obdurate challenge from Auxerre to win 2-0 at the San Siro.

Milan too good

The French side had a number of first-half chances, with Dennis Oliech heading against the crossbar and Steven Langil blazing over the bar from a good position.

Milan's class finally told in the second period, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic touching home from close range after Kevin-Prince Boateng had flicked on Ronaldinho's cross and then adroitly placing the ball into the bottom-right corner from the Brazilian's lay-off.

Chelsea opened its Group F account with a 4-1 victory at Slovakian champion MSK Zilina, while Arsenal slipped through the gears in characteristically stylish fashion in a 6-0 demolition of debutant Braga.

A ninth-minute Cesc Fabregas penalty set Arsenal on its way at the Emirates.

Marouane Chamakh and Andrei Arshavin both found the target before Fabregas completed his brace in the 53rd minute.

Substitute Carlos Vela added two well-taken goals in the second half to give Arsene Wenger's side a perfect start in Group H.

Strikes from Michael Essien and a Nicolas Anelka brace put Chelsea 3-0 up after half an hour at Zilina before Daniel Sturridge completed the rout three minutes into the second half. Tomas Oravec claimed a consolation for the host.

Elsewhere in Group F, French champion Marseille fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Spartak Moscow thanks to an unfortunate 81st-minute own goal by right-back Cesar Azpilicueta.

Stunning strike

A stunning, outside-of-the-foot strike from German World Cup star Thomas Mueller enabled last season's beaten finalist Bayern Munich to break the deadlock in the 79th minute of its Group E encounter with Roma. Miroslav Klose claimed Bayern's second in a 2-0 win, while Romanians CFR Cluj edged Basel 2-1 in the second group game of the evening. — Agencies

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