Manchester United Defeats Rival Team by 5 Goals - 2003-09-17

In the world of football... The renowned Manchester United, champions of the previous English Premier League season, began their campaign for the European club championship on Tuesday at the historic Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, defeating their rival team, Panathinaikos from Greece, by 5 goals. Quinton Fortune, a player from Manchester United hailing from South Africa, scored the first goal in the 15th minute of this Group A match, followed by goals from Mikael Silvestre, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Nicky Butt in the first half. Seven minutes before the end of the match, Eric Djemba-Djemba scored his first goal for Manchester United, bringing the score to 5-0. Ryan Giggs, the star of Manchester, who is from Wales, stated that this result was a great start for the club's fight in the European club championship. He said, 'We had to work hard in the first few minutes, but after that, our passing and movements were brilliant.' The Panathinaikos team relied solely on their striker, Michael Konstantinou, who once jumped above Manchester's national player Rio Ferdinand and headed the ball towards the opponent's goal, but his shot was saved by Tim Howard, Manchester United's American goalkeeper. The Greeks also showed weaknesses in crossing the ball towards the goal, which other group rivals, Rangers and Stuttgart, will take advantage of.