Strasbourg were on course to claim a third big-name scalp in the UEFA Cup after beating favourites Inter Milan 2-0 in the first leg of the third round last night. Inter never recovered from conceding two goals in the first 19 minutes - the first scored by captain Gerald Baticle with a tap-in, the other from 25 metres by defender Valerian Ismael. The Italian league leaders are by no means out of it, however. They lost 2-1 in the second-round home leg against another French side, Olympique Lyon, before going through 4-3 on aggregate. Strasbourg beat Liverpool 3-0 at home in the previous round but lost 2-0 away.
However, Inter also lost their Brazilian star Ronaldo, who limped off in the 70th minute with a twisted right knee after a challenge from his Nigerian marker Godwin Okpara.
Ajax recovered from 2-0 down at home to beat VfL Bochum 4-2, scoring four goals in an extraordinary 11 minutes. All six goals came in the 25 minutes before half-time.
Bochum, bottom of the German first division, appeared set for a stunning upset in Amsterdam when Thomas Reis and Sergei Juran scored in the 20th and 24th minutes. But the Dutch league leaders replied with three goals in four minutes. Michael Laudrup scored the first two in the 34th and 36th minutes before Shota Arveladze gave Ajax the lead. Frank de Boer ended a frantic first half with Ajax's fourth on the stroke of half-time.
Cup holders Schalke 04 drew 00 with Portugal's Braga, the first time in five matches this season the German side had failed to score or win.
Another Italian side, Lazio, had better luck in Vienna, beating Rapid 2-0 in a no-nonsense encounter. Both teams had a player sent off in the second half as Pierluigi Casiraghi and Roberto Mancini scored the Lazio goals.
Atletico Madrid were well satisfied with their 1-1 draw at Croatia Zagreb after Bosnian international Edin Mujcin scored within two minutes for the home side. Midfielder Jose Luis Caminero equalised in the 61st minute and Atletico, second favourites to win the cup, are confident of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Auxerre laid the foundations of a place in the last eight by winning 1-0 at Dutch side Twente Enschede, Bernard Diomede scoring in the 70th minute.
Spartak Moscow could thank goalkeeper Alexander Filimonov for earning them a useful 0-0 draw against Karlsruhe SC.
