UEFA CHAMPS LEAGUE OPENER: LIVERPOOL, CHELSEA WAXES HOT; MAN U STILL STRUGGLING

English club powerhouses Chelsea and Liverpool brought their winning form from the Barclay's Premier League to the opening day of 2008-09 UEFA Champions League, while defending champs and reigning BPL titlist Manchester United continues to struggle.

Before an SRO-capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge, Luiz Felipe Scolari and his Chelsea squad made mincemeat of Bordeaux, 4-0. Superstar Frank Lampard open the scoring with a header off a beautiful cross from Jose Bosingwa in the 14th minute. It was followed by a Lampard cross to fellow English National Joe Cole, who headed in an incredible back spin to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute. Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka added 2 more goals for the blues to make it a rousing debut for the home team. However, manager Scolari remains cautious despite the rout, "it is important to start with a win because in this competition, you never know what will happen".

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Over in Marseille, France, reds captain Steven Gerrard made an his presence felt immediately, after a bout with injury, as he scored both goals in Liverpool's 2-1 opening day victory over the French outfit.

It was actually a come-from-behind win for the reds as Marseille open up the scoring with a 23rd minute goal from Lorik Cana. Then came Gerrard's magic wand as he booted in a 25-yard beauty in the 26th to tie the game. And just after 5 minutes, he scored the winner on a penalty shot, courtesy of Ronald Zubar's tripping foul on Liverpool forward Ryan Babel. Gerrard hardly showed any sign of his recent injury. "It was amazing! It shows the quality he has", said an ecstatic Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool boss, of Gerrard's outstanding performance.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's comeback from ankle injury hardly made any difference as Spain's Villareal shocked the Old Trafford die-hards as they held the heavily favored Manchester United to a scoreless draw. It was another lacklustre performance from the red devils, as they continue to find their winning form, which bugs them in the early part of the current Barclay's Premier League campaign.

Ronaldo actually did not start the game as he came in as a substitute in the 2nd half. Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson did not want to risk another injury to the Potuguese superstar. It will be very interesting to find out how Man U performs on Sunday, September 21, as they play arch rivals Chelsea in the BPL.