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Updated: September 16, 2010, 3:10 AM ET

Helmes notched his first Europa League goal in the fourth minute and watched team-mate Stefan Reinartz make it 2-0 in the 38th minute.

Germany striker Helmes struck a second time in the 58th minute and finished off his hat-trick three minutes.

Leverkusen were playing without injured midfielders Michael Ballack and Renato Augusto but that did not stop the Germans from grabbing an early lead.

Sami Hyypia's long diagonal ball from deep in Leverkusen territory found a sprinting Sidney Sam on the right side. Rosenborg defender Mikael Dorsin misjudged the ball, which Sam chested down and crossed into the path of Helmes, who…

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The 43-year-old applauded a brace from new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Devils beat French visitors Auxerre 2-0, but did not forget a bad 2-0 defeat against promoted Cesena in the Serie A last weekend.

\'We have work to do. We are just at the beginning,\' the new Devils\' coach said after his first-ever Champions League match. \'We have two new players (Ibra and Brazilian Robinho), but tonight (Wednesday) I saw a very good spirit of sacrifice.\'

Ibra savoured his brace in his first appearance with the Devils at the Giuseppe Meazza, where he played for three seasons with Inter Milan.

The Swede breezed over a remark earlier this week …

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Artjoms Rudnevs completed his hat trick in injury time Thursday to give Lech Poznan a 3-3 draw with Juventus in the Europa League.

Lech Poznan led 2-0 in the Group A match through Rudnevs' two goals inside the opening half hour — from the penalty spot in the 14th minute and in the 30th.

But Juventus hit back with a goal either side of halftime by defender Giorgio Chiellini and another by Alessandro Del Piero.

Chiellini's first came in first-half injury time before he equalized in the 50th minute. Del Piero put Juventus ahead in the 68th with a shot from outside the area.

Lech Poznan started confidently as Rudnevs tested goalkeeper Al…

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Updated: September 16, 2010, 3:14 AM ET

Ante Rukavina gave the home side an 18th-minute lead before the Spanish side had Marcos Senna dismissed for a second booking in the 74th minute.

Jorge Sammir then grabbed the second five minutes later to seal the win.

Villarreal had entered the game on the back of a convincing 4-0 Primera Division win over Espanyol but they were always on the back foot as the hosts made an assured start.

Milan Badelj had a pot-shot from the edge of the box blocked while Leandro Cufre blazed over the bar after finding space in the area.

And they took a deserved lead when Sammir played a fine ball through to Rukavina, whose shot f…

Midfielder Joe Cole's first Liverpool goal was one of the fastest in the club's history but it was not enough to give them a half-time lead at home to Steaua Bucharest in their opening Europa League Group K match.

The summer free transfer from Chelsea struck inside the first 30 seconds but the home side were pegged back by Cristian Tanase's 13th-minute equaliser.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson kept to his word and left out Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in making eight changes for their opening Europa League group tie at home to Steaua Bucharest.

The Reds boss, with one eye on Sunday's huge Barclays Premier League encounter at Manchester United, did not even n…

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) -Atletico Madrid's defense of its Europa League title got off to a bad start Thursday, losing 1-0 to Aris due to Spanish midfielder Javito's second-half goal.

Javito controlled the ball with his chest between two defenders before firing past goalkeeper David de Gea to score a classy goal in the 59th minute in the Group B match.

Aris captain Sergio Koke rattled the post with a powerful shot 10 minutes later. He also had a shot cleared by De Gea in the 81st.

"I'm really happy. It was a great win and it felt great to score the goal,'' Javito said. "When I scored, I just went crazy. All I wanted to do was run toward the fans and celebrate.''…

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PARIS — Manchester City's millionaires club cruised to a 2-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg while mighty Juventus struggled to a 3-3 draw with Lech Poznan as the Europa League enjoyed a goal-packed start on Thursday.

Forty goals were scored in the night's opening 12 matches with two players - Poznan's Artjoms Rudnevs and Patrick Helmes of Leverkusen - scoring hat-tricks.

David Silva grabbed his first goal for Manchester City since his 40 million euro move from Valencia in the summer as Roberto Mancini's team took the lead in Austria after just eight minutes.

The goal was set up by Brazilian striker Jo, who went on to score the second in …

Sports Chat Place continues our group-by-group preview of the 2010/2011 UEFA Europa League with a look at Group B. This group has the current holders Atletico Madrid, who have just capped off that last years title win with the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League winners Inter Milan. Joining them is German side Bayer Leverkusen, Norwegians Rosenborg and Aris Thessaloniki from Greece.

The Spanish side is primed to defend their crown, and judging by their performance in the UEFA Super Cup will be hard opposition to beat. Often looked upon as the “little brother” to Real Madrid, this team has come into its own over this past season. This is a team that will take…

Neil Lennon admits Thursday's Europa League defeat by Utrecht hurt more than last season's Scottish Cup humbling by First Division side Ross County.

Celtic crashed to a 4-0 defeat in Utrecht, despite leading 2-0 on aggregate, sending the Glasgow club out of European competition for the season.

After the match, Lennon said he accepted responsibility for the loss.

He said: "The feelings in defeat are compounded as a manager because the the responsibility falls with you."

Celtic failed to reach the final of the Scottish Cup final last season following one of the worst results in their history when Ross County stunned the Glasgow giants 2-0 at Hampden after …