Arsenal secure crucial victory at Twente

(CNN) -- Arsenal secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over FC Twente in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier in Arnhem, putting them within touching distance of the group stages.

Captain William Gallas bundled the ball in from a Robin van Persie free-kick after 63 minutes to hand the Gunners a crucial away goal, with Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor doubling the advantage late on from Theo Walcott's pass.

Twente had the better of the first half, with both
Romano Denneboom and Marko Arnautovic missing good chances to put them ahead.

"I think we should have scored in the first half," said Twente coach Steve McClaren -- the former England national coach.

"You don't get many chances and you have to take them. We didn't do that. We lost concentration on two occasions and got punished.

"That's what happens in Europe against the top teams. The inexperience in the dressing room showed and we have to learn from it. But I can't fault the performance. We had Arsenal rattled, especially in the first half."

Gallas added: "It was very difficult to play against that team. They started very well and it was important for us to be strong. They were very passionate but in the second half we worked hard because we want to qualify for the Champions League. It is a big competition for us."

Liverpool somehow survived with their hopes intact after escaping with a 0-0 draw in their qualifier against Standard Liege.

The Belgian champions deserved more from the match and the the visitors had goalkeeper Jose Reina to thank for the draw -- with the Spaniard saving a first-half penalty.

Reina saved the Dante Bonfim spot-kick with his legs, after the referee ruled that Dossena had handled a cross from Wilfried Dalmat, although the infringement looked outside the box.

Juventus made a confident return to European action, thrashing Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava 4-0 in their first leg in Turin.

Mauro Camoranesi opened the scoring after just seven minutes and Alessandro Del Piero made it two shortly before the half-hour mark.

Giorgio Chiellini added a third to all but settle the tie before half-time and Nicola Legrottaglie completed the rout in stoppage time as Juve ended a two-year absence from the competition they won in 1985 and 1996.

Barcelona matched Juve's victory as they outclassed Polish champions Wisla Krakow 4-0 in their qualifier at the Nou Camp.

A full-strength Barca side took the lead through back-in-favor Samuel Eto'o in the 17th minute and midfielder Xavi added a second goal seven minutes later.

Thierry Henry made it 3-0 earlier in the second half and Cameroon striker Eto'o celebrated the news that he is staying with the Catalan giants by completing the scoring with six minutes remaining.

Last season's quarterfinalists Schalke hold the upper hand against Atletico Madrid after a 1-0 first-leg win in Gelsenkirchen.

Left-back Christian Pander scored a superb free-kick for the Bundesliga side to get new coach Fred Rutten's reign off to a winning start. Atletico's cause was not helped by the dismissal of Antonio Lopez for a second yellow card with 14 minutes remaining.

Dynamo Kiev all but qualified for the group stages after Ismael Bangoura and Artem Milevskiy both scored twice to clinch a 4-1 victory over Spartak Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Nikita Bazhenov had put the hosts ahead after just four minutes but Bangoura levelled after 28 minutes before Milevskiy increased Kiev's lead on the stroke of half-time.

Bangoura made it three just after the break with Milevskiy claiming his second and the visitors' fourth five minutes from time to seal an impressive victory.

Compatriots Shakhtar Donetsk claimed a 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb to take a decisive lead into the return leg.

Darijo Srna put the Ukrainian champions ahead after just three minutes before Brazilian Brandao doubled the lead on the half-hour mark.

Zagreb were looking to match last season's exploits when they knocked out Ajax to reach the group stages but will be up against it back in Croatia.

Levski Sofia could be left to rue Georgi Ivanov's penalty miss as they went down to a 1-0 home defeat by BATE Borisov.

Ivanov took the first-half spot kick after being fouled by goalkeeper Sergei Veremko but he missed the chance to put the Bulgarians ahead.

Borisov, of Belarus, had beaten Anderlecht to get this far and it was defender Vladimir Rzhevskiy who put them ahead in the 61st minute and one step closer to the group stages.

Shabani Nonda scored twice as Galatasaray came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Romanian outfit Steaua Bucharest.

The visitors raced into a 2-0 lead through Dayro Moreno and Banel Nicolita inside 12 minutes, but Nonda's double either side of half-time brought the Turks level.

Greek giants Olympiakos came unstuck against Anorthosis Famagusta, going down to a surprise 3-0 defeat in Cyprus.

A Vassilis Torosidis own goal and a Lukasz Sosin effort in the opening 20 minutes put Anorthosis in control before Vincent Laban sealed the victory late on.

Another Greek side, Panathinaikos, fared better as they won 2-1 away at Sparta Prague.

Stepan Kucera put through his own net to gift Pana the lead and Junior Simao restored their advantage after Marek Kulic had levelled for the hosts after 30 minutes.

Marseille also have one foot in the group stages after victory over SK Brann in Norway, Benoit Cheyrou with the only goal of the game five minutes before the break.

Goals from Brazilian Caca and Jeppe Curth gave AaB Aalborg a 2-0 win over Kaunas of Lithuania, who knocked out last season's UEFA Cup finalists Rangers in the last round.

There were no goals in Portugal as Vitoria Guimaraes were held 0-0 by Swiss champions Basel, while Turkish champions Fenerbahce mirrored their compatriots Galatasaray by recovering from 2-0 behind to draw 2-2 at Partizan Belgrade.

Veljko Paunovic put the home side ahead after 11 minutes with Milos Bogunovic adding a second just three minutes later.

But Alex pulled a goal back from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Spanish Euro 2008 hero Dani Guiza netting the vital equalizer in the 50th miinute.