Ten-man PSG beat Boavista 2-1 in UEFA Cup first leg

PARIS -- Paris St Germain held on to beat Boavista 2-1 despite playing most of a heated UEFA Cup third round first leg match with 10 men on Tuesday after Frederic Dehu was sent off in the first half.

PSG, who came into the match on the back of a poor run in the French first division, looked to have lifted fans' spirits with Alex Nyarko's 17th minute goal when the Ghanaian fired a powerful shot over Soares Ricardo's head and into the back of the net.

The goal caused the match to warm up after a somewhat lifeless opening period in a half-full Parc des Princes stadium, and 15 minutes later PSG found themselves down to 10 men when Dehu was sent off for a second booking in three minutes following two bad tackles.

The disadvantage in numbers hardly seemed to bother the home side, however, and Luis Fernandez's team doubled their advantage on the stroke of halftime when Nyarko's pass found Fabrice Fiorese who struck home after a one-on-one with the keeper.

Boavista, who are also having a bad run in the Portuguese first division, pressed forward in the second half and pulled one back 15 minutes before time as Pedro Sanchez's long pass found Luiz Claudio.

The midfielder's resulting header took PSG keeper Lionel Letizi completely by surprise.

The goal boosted the visitors' confidence and Boavista searched for an equaliser but despite end-to-end attacking and several chances for both sides in the last 10 minutes neither was able to add to the tally.

Inzaghi brace gives Lazio 3-1 win at Sturm Graz

GRAZ, Austria (Reuters) - Two second-half goals from striker Simone Inzaghi gave Lazio a 3-1 win at Sturm Graz in the first leg of their UEFA Cup third round tie.

Inzaghi scored with his fifth attempt on goal to put the Italians 2-1 ahead in the 57th minute after Enrico Chiesa had brought a second-string Lazio side level just after halftime.

Inzaghi grabbed his second goal two minutes from time to leave Sturm Graz, the last Austrian team in the UEFA Cup, with an uphill task in the return leg in two weeks' time.

Sturm had opened the scoring through Ghanaian striker Charles Amoah on the stroke of halftime at the sold-out Arnold Schwarzenegger stadium in a fast-paced match.

Lazio coach Roberto Mancini said his team knew Sturm were strong in attack and midfield, but weak and slow in defence.

"And that's what we exploited in the second half. I had a few words with Inzaghi at halftime, which he eventually converted into two goals."

Sturm captain Roman Maehlich, standing in for the suspended Guenther Neukirchner, acknowledged that his side deserved to lose against the in-form Italians.

"We lost, as usual, due to our own typical mistakes. We don't manage to play focused in defence for 90 minutes and, of course, a team like Lazio exploits these errors cold-bloodedly.

"It's a pity because we really did have a chance to put Lazio under pressure for the away game, but it now looks as if we can forget about moving into the next round."

"We know that once the Italians lead, then it's going to be very difficult. Then they play very much on the defensive and it's tough for us to break them down," Maehlich added.

The return leg is scheduled for December 12 in Rome.