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    Early Doors

    Prandelli Boy

    You could tell last night was a big night for Fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli as Liverpool arrived at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

    The suave Viola boss eschewed his usual dugout attire - a combination of purple Puffa jacket and track suit of the same colour that only an Italian could get away with - in favour of a sharp suit.

    The sartorial switch made him look less like a Tuscan Del Boy and a lot more like the top class manager he is proving to be.

    Rafa Benitez's side arrived in Florence with a formidable record. They had not failed to score in their last 21 European games, and had not conceded in their last four visits to Italy.

    Both records tumbled as Stevan Jovetic's brace secured a 2-0 win that was being described by all and sundry last night as 'famous'.

    Forgive ED if it's missed something, but a team lying fourth in Serie A beating the Premier League's third-placed team at home is not really that much of a shock.

    Sure, Liverpool came into the match off the back of that 6-1 drubbing of Hull, but Prandelli's side won at Livorno at the weekend and beat current leaders Sampdoria in the game beforehand, just a week ago.

    Much of the pre-match talk was about Adrian Mutu, as much for the jaw-dropping £14.6 million fine handed to him by FIFA as his familiarity with English fans.

    But it was teenager Jovetic who twice beat Liverpool's defenders to the punch after dazzling them with a flick of his Brian May-esque locks.

    Defeat is far from a disaster for Liverpool. They are yet to welcome Fiorentina and Lyon to Anfield, and have a trip to Debrecen, who were thumped 4-0 by the French side at the Ferenc-Puskas Stadium last night.

    But Benitez did not spare his players a rollocking, although he may feel a touch of relief that his side put in a performance like this now, while there is still time to make amends, rather than at the business end of the group stage. Heaven forbid it should actually get interesting.

    - - -

    Arsenal fans will remember with great fondness the Highbury Squirrel, the urban rodent which brought their final European game at their old stadium to a halt.

    Last night, however, it looked as though their European hopes would take a major knock from the Silver Fox of Olympiacos, Antonios Nikopolidis.

    The veteran goalkeeper was so often Greece's hero during their victorious Euro 2004 campaign (that's right, it really happened), and the 38-year-old frustrated the Gunners with a string of saves before Robin van Persie eventually broke the deadlock in the 2-0 win.

    The big take home from that match, though, was Andriy Arshavin's clincher late on, finishing off a move he started by turning in Cesc Fabregas's cross with a slick back heel.

    For those of you who are dying to point out that the Russian was offside, it says quite clearly in the laws of the game that back heeled goals are exempt from that rule. Well, it should do anyway.

    The past week has seen something of a renaissance for the back heel finish. It started Peter Crouch's volleyed back heel to clinch his hat-trick against Preston in the Rumbelows Cup, and then Carlton Cole diverted home Radoslav Kovac's shot in from close range against Manchester City on Monday.

    Let's hope this is a fashion that continues. ED wonders who is going to be next.

    - - -

    QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Get him tied down dear. Rings are cheap now" - Alex Ferguson embarrasses his defender Jonny Evans during their pre-match press conference by calling out to his girlfriend - who was sat among all the hacks - after Evans went all coy on the subject of marriage. Aw, bless. 

    FOREIGN VIEW: South American football continues to serve up mental stories on a regular basis.

    Reports from Guatemala reveal that, at the end of a match between Universidad San Carlos and Heredia, a group of masked men ran on to the pitch and beat the match officials with sticks.

    Apparently the mob didn't take too kindly to the referee turning down appeals for a penalty for the home side in the closing moments of the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

    Linesman Wilson Menchu got the worst of it; requiring 20 stitches in his left leg after the group stopped the officials getting to the dressing room after the final whistle and beat them in full view of the crowd. Yikes.

    COMING UP: The rest of the field get their second matches in the Champions League underway this evening from 19:30 - follow LIVE comments of every match including Manchester United v Wolfsburg, APOEL Nicosia v Chelsea and the rather tasty sounding Bayern Munich v Juventus. And, if you want to see how Juande Ramos is getting on these days, there's CSKA Moscow v Besiktas at 17:30.

    Early Doors

    Early Doors began life as a daily vehicle for mocking Rafa Benitez - and as such represented something a prototype for the modern internet. It has now evolved into a must-read morning feature from our team of football writers. Serious or silly, penetrating or puerile, Early Doors has always got something to say on the big issues. And there's still a fair amount of Rafa mockery.

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