Sampdoria and Hertha settle for draws

RC Lens 1–0 Toulouse FC

Lens ended a series of seven successive draws in Ligue 1 on Saturday as they defeated Toulouse at home. In only his second full appearance for his new club, former French international Eric Carrière was involved in the move that led to the only goal of the game, scored by Daniel Cousin. The win, Lens's fourth league success of the season, moved them up to eighth in the table and was a good return to form following Wednesday's 3-2 defeat by AJ Auxerre in the French League Cup.

"I feel relieved," coach Francis Gillot said. "To recover with a win is good both for our league position and our confidence." Another boost for Gillot comes with the news that he has no injury concerns ahead of the home meeting with Halmstad as his team look to respond to their 4-0 loss at Steaua on Matchday 1.

Halmstads BK

With the Allsvenskan having finished last weekend - Halmstad ending the Swedish season in tenth place in the 14-team top flight with 32 points from 26 games - coach Jan Andersson has been searching for ways to ensure his players remain on their toes with the side not concluding their UEFA Cup group stage campaign until the end of November. "Keeping our players sharp is probably our toughest task," Andersson admitted. "With not much to do in terms of competitive games, we'll have to work hard in training and perhaps set up a friendly against one of the Swedish teams who will play in the [Scandinavian] Royal League."

The Halmstad coach has a full squad at his disposal ahead of the trip to Lens and has already decided on his tactics, saying: "Our 4-5-1 formation has worked well in Europe so we'll probably stick to that, and then see how the game goes. Everyone expects us to finish fifth in the section but we'll do our utmost to cause an upset."

UC Sampdoria 2-2 FC Internazionale Milano

Sampdoria drew 2-2 at home against Inter on Saturday despite taking the lead twice through right-winger Aimo Diana. All of the goals came the first half, with Esteban Cambiasso and Iván Córdoba responding on each occasion for Inter. Apart from long-term casualty Fabio Bazzani, Sampdoria coach Walter Novellino's only selection problem concerned defender Giulio Falcone, still recovering from a serious knee injury. Veteran defender Luigi Sala made his first appearance of the season, while striker Francesco Flachi returned to the starting lineup after missing the midweek 2-0 defeat at Juventus through suspension.

A satisfied Novellino said: "We played better than Inter. Unfortunately we wasted too many opportunities to score. However, I'm very happy - we need to pay more attention when we defend against set-pieces but I cannot complain about my players because they played very well today."

FC Steaua Bucuresti 0–1 FC Gloria 1922 Bistrita

Steaua suffered their first domestic defeat of the season against mid-table Gloria on Sunday. Playing in front of an empty Ghencea stadium as a punishment for crowd disturbances in the recent derby against AFC Rapid Bucuresti, Oleg Protasov's side struggled to find their usual rhythm and were eventually made to pay when Gabriel Muresan struck the only goal of the game from a free-kick with nine minutes remaining.

Protasov, who went into the game without captain Mirel Radoi - set to face up to three weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury - said: "This defeat is a blow which maybe came at the right moment. We didn't deserve to win, but also didn't deserve to lose. Maybe it's good for the players that they lost, because now they have their feet on the ground and know that they have to work hard."

VfB Stuttgart 3-3 Hertha BSC Berlin

Hertha had to settle for a 3-3 draw at Stuttgart on Saturday despite leading twice. Ellery Cairo put the visitors in front on eight minutes but second-half goals from Danijel Ljuboja and Cacau turned the match around. Nando Rafael equalised for Hertha only 60 seconds after the Brazilian's goal and Marcelinho restored Hertha's advantage 14 minutes from time. A Mario Gómez goal earned Stuttgart a point in the 84th minute, however.

"What a game," said Hertha coach Falko Götz, who was deprived of midfield trio Gilberto (ankle), Christian Müller (broken leg) and Yıldıray Baştürk (thigh), although Niko Kovac shook off a thigh injury and Kevin-Prince Boateng has resumed training after a similar problem. "We were in full control in the first half but after the break we couldn't keep Stuttgart away from our goal. We were lucky to get an equaliser immediately after falling behind and are slightly disappointed because three goals in an away game should be enough to take all three points." In midweek, Hertha kept alive their dream of reaching the German Cup final with a comfortable 3-0 second-round win against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.