Veron snatches Super Cup winner for Inter
The Argentine midfielder, on loan from Chelsea, struck in the sixth minute of extra-time at Juve’s Stade Delle Alpe after a pass from Brazilian Adriano.
Juve striker David Trezeguet had a first-half goal ruled out for offside and former Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira struck a post with a 57th-minute header.
Obafemi Martins should have scored for Inter 10 minutes after Vieira’s miss but hesitated in front of an open goal and defender Gianluca Zambrotta made a crucial tackle.
Juventus coach Fabio Capello introduced former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu and fellow forward Marcelo Zalayeta after his team fell behind but Inter held on.
In Spain’s Super Cup, Barcelona claimed the first trophy of the season with a 4-2 aggregate win over Real Betis. A weakened Betis side won Saturday’s second leg 2-1 with two goals in five minutes by Dani, but Barcelona’s 3-0 first leg win proved decisive.
Barcelona went ahead through Samuel Eto’o on 15 minutes before Dani’s double strike. There was further encouragement for Betis ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Monaco from an inspired performance from keeper Pedro Contreras.
Monaco, meanwhile, were beaten 1-0 by Bordeaux on Saturday, with a free-kick from former Liverpool man Bruno Cheyrou separating the sides.
Four-time French champions Lyon needed a late goal to go overcome bottom side Nancy but were overtaken at the top of French Ligue 1 on goal difference last night by Paris St Germain.
Lyon, with Gerard Houllier at the helm, struggled to break down Nancy and looked set for a goalless stalemate until they broke through in the third minute of stoppage time with a header from skipper and defender Claudio Cacapa.
While Lyon were going up, Marseille were slumping to their third defeat in four games, losing 3-2 at fellow strugglers Rennes having twice led. The defeat left Marseille with just one point and without a league win since March.
Lens were the biggest winners of the weekend, winning 7-0 on Saturday against Auxerre, the team coached by former France and Tottenham boss Jacques Santini. The win moved Lens to within a point of Lyon, who were knocked off top spot into second after PSG’s 1-1 draw at Troyes. Portuguese star Pauleta gave PSG the half-time lead only for the home side to hit back three minutes after the restart through Sebastien Dallet. There was a further setback for the visitors when Edouard Cisse was sent off in the 56th minute for a second bookable offence but PSG held on for a point.
VfB Stuttgart limped into the second round of the German cup needing extra-time to defeat village team TSG Hoffenheim 4-3 yesterday.
Since taking charge in the summer Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni had watched his team take just a single point from six in the Bundesliga and a rollercoaster cup tie with Hoffenheim was not what the 66-year-old wanted.
Hoffenheim, a village with just over 3000 inhabitants, twice went ahead but goals from Silvio Meissner (38) and Danish international Jon-Dahl Tomasson (54) pulled Stuttgart back into the match before Mario Carevic and Cacau then scored in extra-time to put Stuttgart through.
Holders Bayern Munich cruised into the next stage with a 4-0 demolition of minnows Neuruppin but FC Cologne were the first Bundesliga team to crash out at the first hurdle, losing 3-1 to Kickers Offenbach.
In Holland, Tottenham target Dirk Kuyt was on the scoresheet as Feyenoord made it two wins in two games by beating Sparta 3-1 in the Rotterdam derby.
Two second-half goals by Barry van Galen saw AZ Alkmaar beat FC Utrecht 2-1 to go top of the Dutch table, while Ajax opened their season with a 2-0 win at RBC Roosendaal and defending champions PSV Eindhoven came from behind to earn their first win of the season, 2-1 over Vitesse Arnhem.
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