Levski leave local rivals standing

PFC Levski Sofia and PFC CSKA Moskva both enjoyed an excellent weekend by claiming significant successes on Sunday, although there was disappointment for the other sides in UEFA Cup Group F. FC Dinamo Bucuresti and Olympique de Marseille were both held, as were SC Heerenveen who will be more pleased with their away point.

PFC Levski Sofia 5-0 PFC Slavia Sofia

Levski produced an emphatic victory against local rivals Slavia on Sunday, racing to a 5-0 triumph which served as the perfect preparation for their first game in Group F, against Dinamo. Veteran midfielder Daniel Borimirov and rising star Valeri Domovchiyski each scored twice, while Dimitar Telkiyski added the fifth goal as Levski remained second in the Bulgarian Premier League.

Levski coach Stanimir Stoilov has no injury worries aside from Nigerian midfielder Ekundayo Jaiyeoba, sidelined with a knee problem until the end of the year, and was in buoyant mood after the win. "Let's hope to keep the same kind of tempo against Dinamo on Thursday," he said. "We will only have a chance against the Romanian side if we can play as well as we did against AJ Auxerre in the previous round."

FC Dinamo Bucuresti 1-1 CS Jiul Petrosani

Dinamo rounded off a disappointing week with a 1-1 draw at home against Jiul having been knocked out of the Romanian Cup in midweek after a 1-0 loss to second division FC Petrolul Ploiesti. Dinamo's eleventh Romanian First Division match this season was played behind closed doors as punishment for the behaviour of their fans in their previous home match, a 5-0 success against CFR Cluj. Lacking top scorer Claudiu Niculescu and captain Florentin Petre through injury, Dinamo struggled to get going and, after several missed opportunities, Jiul took the lead on the hour, Dinamo central defender Cosmin Moti handling in the area and receiving a red card before Ioan Drida converted the resulting penalty.

Although midfielder Stefan Grigorie equalised with a 76th-minute header to give Dinamo a point, and FC Steaua Bucuresti's home defeat against FC Gloria 1922 Bistrita later on Sunday extended Dinamo's lead at the top to two points, coach Ioan Andone was in frustrated mood. "We prepared well for the match, but we did not show anything," he said. "We had a lot of luck particularly as our goalkeeper [Vladimir] Gaev played so well. We should have lost 2-0 or 3-0 and if we play again like that on Thursday, we will have no chance against Levski."

AFC Ajax 0-0 SC Heerenveen

Heerenveen managed to come away from the Amsterdam ArenA with a goalless draw against Ajax on Friday. Goalkeeper Boy Waterman was at his best for the visitors, who survived a late scare when Nigel de Jong had a goal cancelled out for offside. Striker Georgios Samaras returned as a second-half substitute for tenth-placed Heerenveen. Defender Marcel Seip was also back after suspension, although Jeroen Drost missed out with a groin strain.

Forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar was still dissatisfied, however, saying: "Normally you have to be satisfied with one point in Amsterdam but in this match we could have taken all three. I had two good chances to score. With the first I should have passed the ball and the second I should have finished with a diagonal header." Meanwhile, Uğur Yildirim this week signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until 2010.

PFC CSKA Moskva 2-1 FC Rostov

Daniel Carvalho inspired CSKA to a 2-1 victory against relegation-threatened Rostov as the UEFA Cup holders took another step towards the Russian Premier League title. The Brazilian playmaker set up goals for Yuri Zhirkov and Vágner Love midway through the first half, and although Maxim Buznikin capitalised on a Vasili Berezutski error to reduce the deficit on the hour, CSKA held on to claim victory. They are now four points clear at the summit with two games remaining.

Valeri Gazzaev's side's chances are further enhanced by an almost full-strength squad, with goalscorers Vágner Love and Zhirkov, together with Dudu Cearense, all returning on Sunday. CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev said: "The coach asked us to answer questions in the first half and we did it. We conceded after the break following Berezutski's mistake, but neither we nor our fans will feel unhappy about it."

Olympique de Marseille 1-1 LOSC Lille Métropole

Marseille could only draw at home against Lille on Saturday, a result which leaves them in eleventh place in Ligue 1. Jean Fernandez's team had the upper hand in the first half, and took a deserved lead on 28 minutes when Sergio Koke capitalised on a Rafael Schmitz error. However, six minutes into the second period Lille levelled through Milenko Ačimovič. Afterwards, Marseille captain Fabien Barthez said: "We gave a good performance. If we keep going this way we'll get good results."

Marseille, who defeated CSKA on Matchday 1, are now on a three-match winless streak following last week's defeat at AS Saint-Etienne and a 1-0 League Cup loss to FC Girondins de Bordeaux in midweek. The club's only current injury problems concern centre-back Frédéric Déhu (achilles) and striker Mamadou Niang (ankle).