Morientes double puts Real in control

FERNANDO MORIENTES continued his excellent goalscoring record in the Champions League by scoring twice to give Real Madrid a 2-0 cushion over Wisla Krakow.

Morientes, who spent last campaign on loan with the losing finalists Monaco, scored in the 72nd and 89th minutes to give Real a commanding lead to take back to the Bernabeu.

Shakhtar Donetsk have one foot in the group stages following their 4-1 win over Club Brugge.

The Ukrainian outfit took a deserved 15th-minute lead through Julius Aghahowa’s overhead kick, but former Aston Villa striker Bosko Balaban scrambled an equaliser for the visitors five minutes after the interval.

However, the Belgians crumbled soon after as Cyprian Marica restored Shakhtar’s lead in the 70th minute before Andrei Vorobei (78) and Brazilian striker Brandau (90) gave the hosts a comfortable advantage ahead of the return match in two weeks’ time.

The tie between Red Star Belgrade and PSV remains wide open with the Serbia & Montenegro outfit taking a slender 3-2 lead into the second leg.

Ji-Sung Park fired PSV ahead in the ninth minute but Red Star then raced to a 3-1 lead as Milan Dudic (29), Bosko Jankovic (38) and Marko Pantelic (58) looked to have given the home side a clear advantage.

However, John de Jong’s goal on 65 minutes brought the Dutch side into the game to set up an intriguing encounter in Eindhoven on August 25.

A Mohamed Kallon double helped 10-man Monaco to a 3-0 win at Slovenian side Nova Gorica.

Kallon hit the target after eight minutes, but things looked to be turning against Monaco when Patrice Evra was dismissed for a second yellow card five minutes into the second half.

A Franca hat-trick saw Bayer Leverkusen to a 5-0 romp against Banik Ostrava, while Inter Milan have work to do after being held to a 1-1 draw away to Basle.