FCK make winning start as Cornelius breaks Molde

A clinical display from FC København secured the Danish club all three points against Molde FK and ended Ole Gunnar Solskjær's unbeaten European away record as a coach.

Andreas Cornelius scored the winner after on-loan striker Pape Paté Diouf had equalised against his parent club on the stroke of half-time, Brazilian midfielder Claudemir having given the hosts an early advantage. The result extended FCK's record of having never lost to a Norwegian club at Parken Stadion and fired them into an early lead in Group E.

FCK went desperately close to earning a UEFA Champions League group stage place last month, only losing their play-off tie to LOSC Lille in extra time, and they showed evidence of that quality from the start. Right-back Lars Jacobsen was particularly threatening going forward, and he had already produced two majestic crosses for Cornelius to head over before creating the opening goal. The 33-year-old's inswinging cross was only partially cleared by the Molde defence and Claudemir found the bottom corner with a deflected shot.

The Lions continued to dominate after taking the lead and Cornelius brought a fine save from Molde goalkeeper Espen Bugge Pettersen with a fierce shot in the 36th minute. However, with half-time rapidly approaching, Molde scored on their first meaningful attack. Daniel Hestad made an incisive run into the box and picked out Diouf, who fired in from five metres.

Despite the setback, Ariël Jacobs' side continued to dominate after the interval. Ragnar Sigurdsson and Christián Bolaños both brought excellent saves from Pettersen before Cornelius finally restored the advantage with 16 minutes remaining, converting Igor Vetokele's inviting centre for his third goal in three games for the club. Molde had one serious chance to level again, but Diouf shot straight at Pettersen when clean through in the final moments.