Benfica: Champions Benfica gained revenge over Cup holders Vitoria Setubal with a 1-0 win in the traditional season-opening Portuguese Supercup on Saturday night. Setubal beat Benfica 2-1 to deny the Lisbon side a domestic double last season. Benfica, with Dutchman Ronald Koeman succeeding Giovanni Trapattoni as coach, claimed the trophy for the fourth time thanks to striker Nuno Gomes who scored the winner after 51 minutes after a deflected cross by midfielder Beto.
United Korea: South Korea decisively beat North Korea 3-0 in a soccer friendly yesterday in Seoul, their second encounter in just 10 days after a hiatus of more than a decade. The two Koreas - divided since the 1950-53 Korean War - agreed last month to hold men's and women's matches in the South to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of Japan's occupation of the peninsula. Because of the political sensitivities, the usual South Korean chant of "Victory Korea" changed to "United Korea" and the only flags on show were white with a blue map of a united Korean peninsula.
Bent: Charlton striker Darren Bent has been drafted into England's squad to face Denmark in this week's friendly after Andy Johnson was ruled out by injury. Johnson picked up a hamstring injury in Crystal Palace's 1-1 draw at Norwich City on Saturday, giving Bent his first chance with the seniors after a promising run at Under-21 level. Bent's call-up for Wednesday's game in Copenhagen came after he scored twice on his Charlton debut in their 3-1 Premier League win at Sunderland on Saturday.
Espanyol: Espanyol have broken off relations with city rivals Barcelona because of the way they were treated by them during their attempts to sign Argentine striker Javier Saviola. Espanyol were the club that had shown the greatest public interest in signing Saviola, but the 23-year-old international ended up being loaned out to Sevilla instead. "I have nothing against Barcelona or its fans, which I respect, but I do have something against its directors," Espanyol president Daniel Sanchez Llibre said. "I have now broken off relations with them and I will not sit in the VIP box with them to watch any match while I am in charge of this institution."
In Holland: Feyenoord began their quest for the Dutch title with a 2-0 win over NAC Breda yesterday. Chilean Sebastian Pardo opened the scoring for the Rotterdam side, curling a 25-metre free-kick inside the post after 23 minutes, and last season's top scorer Dirk Kuijt sealed the points with a shot 20 minutes from time.
Berlusconi Cup: Milan 2 (Kaka 52, Serginho 77) Juve 1 (Vieira 20).
Bundesliga: Mainz vs Werder Bremen 0-2; Stuttgart vs Cologne 2-3.
Ligue 1: Marseille vs Lyon 1-1; R. Strasbourg vs Monaco 1-2.