Amauri brace gives Juve Europa League edge

Two headed goals from Brazilian striker Amauri earned Juventus a precious 2-1 lead over Ajax following the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 first-leg match in Amsterdam on Thursday.

Juve have endured a season of negative headlines after crashing out of the Champions League at the group phase and struggling to stay in the Serie A title race.

The meeting with Ajax marked Alberto Zaccheroni’s first European assignment with the club since he stepped in to replace the sacked Ciro Ferrara and he saw his side fall behind to a 16th-minute strike by Miralem Sulemanji, who capped a quick counter-attack with a low finish.

Amauri drew the visitors level in the 31st minute though, heading home emphatically after a cunning backheel by Alessandro Del Piero had given Paolo De Ceglie space to shape a cross from the left-hand side.

Del Piero was the creator of Juve’s second as well, spiking a centre into the penalty area from the left wing that Amauri converted with his second header of the game.

Elsewhere on Thursday, last season’s beaten UEFA Cup finalists Werder Bremen lost 1-0 in the away leg of their tie with former England coach Steve McClaren’s FC Twente, who prevailed through Theo Janssen’s 39th-minute goal.

Misfiring German champions Wolfsburg, 23 points off the pace in the defence of their Bundesliga title, drew 2-2 at Villarreal, while Belgian outfit Club Brugge secured a famous 1-0 victory against 10-man Valencia, who are currently third in the Spanish top flight.

Spain international midfielder David Silva saw red for the visitors after picking up a second yellow card shortly after half-time and Brugge took immediate advantage thanks to Dorge Kouemaha’s 56th-minute winner.

Russian champions Rubin Kazan planted one foot in the last 16 after Aleksandr Bukharov scored a well-taken brace in a 3-0 win at home to Israel’s Hapoel Tel-Aviv, with high-flying French side Lille edging Fenerbahce 2-1 in northern France.

Standard Liege of Belgium mounted a stirring comeback at home to Red Bull Salzburg, fighting back from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 thanks to second-half strikes from Igor De Camargo and an Axel Witsel double.

Liverpool take on Romanian side Unirea Urziceni later on Thursday, after the English giants were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

In the other 2005GMT kick-offs, reigning UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk visit Premier League Fulham, while Roma will take a 20-game unbeaten run to Panathinaikos and Hamburg host Dutch heavyweights PSV Eindhoven.

Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbours Everton were in action on Tuesday, when they edged Sporting Lisbon 2-1 in the first leg of their tie at Goodison Park.