Milan moved towards the group stage of the UEFA Cup and took some heat off coach Carlo Ancelotti last night with a 3-1 win over FC Zurich in the home leg of their first round tie.
Czech defender Marek Jankulovski gave the seven-times European champions the lead on the stroke of half-time with a deflected shot after Andriy Shevchenko had blasted into the legs of Zurich keeper Johnny Leoni from close range.
Brazilian teenager Alexandre Pato doubled the advantage with a rocket free-kick in the 57th and his substitute Marco Borriello made it 3-0 with a strike from outside the area in the 74th.
Midfielder Dusan Djuric pulled one back for the Swiss visitors with a splendid right-footed shot from a distance four minutes later.
Zurich also had a headed goal by Florian Stahel disallowed in the first half.
The win gives some respite to Ancelotti, who is under fire after Milan lost their first two games in Serie A and missed out on the Champions League with a disappointing fifth-place finish last season.
Manchester City also took a giant step towards qualification as Jo's first goals for the club gave them a 2-1 win over Omonia in the first leg of their first-round tie in Cyprus.
The £19 million summer signing from CSKA Moscow scored in the 59th and 72nd minutes after Klodian Duro had given the Cypriot club the lead in the 49th minute.
Jermain Defoe missed a penalty but scored Portsmouth's vital second goal which should ensure their progress as they beat Portugal's Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 at Fratton Park.
Lassana Diarra broke the deadlock with a close-range strike in the 39th minute but Pompey's luck was in when Sol Campbell pulled down striker Roberto only for Joao Fajardo to fire over the bar from the penalty spot three minutes later.
Defoe saw his opportunity from the penalty spot saved in the 48th minute but 12 minutes later he lashed a cross from Nadir Belhadj which flew past goalkeeper Correa Nilson.
Gareth Barry scored on his 400th club appearance as Aston Villa came from behind to defeat Litex Lovech 3-1. Nigel Reo-Coker and Stilian Petrov were the other scorers for the English club.
Emiliano Bonazzoli and Antonio Cassano struck twice while Bruno Fornaroli scored the other goal as Sampdoria crushed Lithuanian side Kaunas 5-0. Napoli came from behind to beat Benfica 3-2 with Luigi Vitale, Denis and Christian Maggio on the scoresheet for the Serie A club.
Gokhan Inler and Antonio Florers were on target as Udinese clinched an impressive 2-0 win at Borussia Dortmund.
Germany international striker Mario Gomez struck twice to give Stuttgart a 2-1 away win over Bulgarian side Cherno More while fellow Bundesliga side Hamburg were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Romanian side Unirea Urziceni.
Feyenoord were embarrassed after they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Swedish side Kalmar at De Kuip while Norwegian side SK Brann produced a shock with a 2-0 home win over Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna.