Henry off mark with Barca boost

A FRANCOIS Clerc own goal in the first half and late strikes from Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry gave Barcelona a comfortable victory over Lyon in their Group E Champions League clash at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.

It was one-way traffic for much of the contest and the Barca onslaught started early.

Messi returned to the Barcelona side after missing Sunday’s Primera Liga draw with Osasuna and the Argentina forward threw himself at Ronaldinho’s low cross on seven minutes, but was unable to make contact.

Ronaldinho then saw his improvised free-kick deflected wide by Sebastien Squillaci as the home side piled on the pressure.

At the other end, Sidney Govou almost found a way through in the Catalan penalty area, but saw his path blocked by Gabi Milito.

But Barcelona continued to dominate and Ronaldinho found space in the area on 15 minutes, firing a low shot from the left-hand side which Vercoutre did well to push wide.

Twenty minutes in following their sixth corner kick, Frank Rijkaard’s side took the lead.

Ronaldinho fed Messi, who skipped past two challenges and drilled a low angled shot towards Vercoutre’s far post which Clerc inadvertently deflected past his goalkeeper.

After the break, Rijkaard introduced Mexico forward Giovani Dos Santos and the youngster quickly made an impact.

Deco fed Giovani on the left and he found Iniesta in space after receiving the ball back from the Mexican.

Iniesta then advanced into the Lyon area before squaring for Messi, who rolled the ball precisely past Vercoutre to double the home side’s advantage.

But there was more to come as Giovani charged clear on the right and advanced into the area in the dying seconds.

The Mexican saw his shot parried by Vercoutre, but Henry was on hand to poke the ball into the empty net and score his first Barcelona goal.

Manchester United’s main rivals Roma got off to a confident start to their campaign with a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev thanks to goals from Simone Perrotta and Francesco Totti.

Italy midfielder Perrotta sneaked in behind the Dynamo defence to head in a Max Tonetto cross and put the home side in front in the ninth minute.

Totti broke free from some tight marking 25 minutes into the second half to double the advantage with a diagonal right-footed shot.

Roma’s 100th victory in European competition maintains their 100% this season and the Italians next Group F tie is at Manchester United on October 2, when the they will be out to avenge the 7-1 rout they suffered at Old Trafford at the quarter-final stage of the competition last season.

In Arsenal’s Group H, Slavia Prague were victorious on their debut in the Champions League group stages against Gheorghe Hagi’s Steaua Bucharest.

Zdenek Senkerik put Slavia in front early in the first half but Dorin Goian equalised for the Romanians after 33 minutes.

Tuani Belaid restored the lead after 63 minutes and the hosts held on for three points.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce made a glorious return to the Champions League with a hard-fought, shock one-goal victory over Inter Milan laast night in Turkey.

The Turkish champions, who did not participate in the competition last season, secured victory thanks to Deivid’s stunning first-half volley.

Alex’s cross from the right found an unmarked Deivid whose acrobatic volley found the roof of the net, much to the joy of the home fans.

Inter were determined to find the equaliser after the re-start and they almost got it, but Ibrahimovic’s close-range effort deflected off a defender for a corner.

But that is as close as Inter got as Fenerbahce began to move forward with ruthless precision.

Roberto Carlos twice had the opportunity to score against his old employers but his powerful free-kick was saved by Julio Cesar while shortly after, his left-footed strike from inside the area hit the post.

Inter continued to struggle and they almost conceded a second on 66 minutes, with Alex’s diving header being met by a stunning one-handed save by Julio Cesar.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hernan Crespo replaced Suazo as the Italians desperately tried to breach Fenerbahce’s well-marshalled defence. But despite a late rally they were unable to avoid defeat.

Elsewhere in Group G, Danko Lazovic grabbed his third goal in just four matches for PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch champions defeated CSKA Moscow 2-1 at the Philips Stadion.

First-half substitute Kenneth Perez added a second — his first goal for the club — 10 minutes from time as Ronald Koeman’s men overcame the challenge of the Russian champions despite Brazilan forward Vagner Love’s late strike.