Fabiano is the world's best, says Unirea's Petrescu

Unirea Urziceni coach Dan Petrescu hailed Luis Fabiano as "the best striker in the world" after the Brazilian's striker set Sevilla on their way to a 2-0 victory.

Unirea Urziceni coach Dan Petrescu hailed Luis Fabiano as "the best striker in the world" after the Brazilian's strike set Sevilla on their way to a 2-0 victory over the Romanians. "What Luis Fabiano can do I haven't seen for a long time," Petrescu said. Fabiano, whose 10 goals in qualifying have seen Brazil secure their World Cup spot, fired a low shot home on the stroke of half-time of the Group G game at Ramon Sanchez de Pizjuan Stadium, after Renato crossed following a gallop down the left wing.

Sevilla then doubled the lead in the 70th minute when Fabiano headed on a corner, allowing midfielder Renato to nod past goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis from close range. Petrescu, a former Chelsea player, said he expected more of his team, who were making their Champions League debut. "We have five more games and I hope that, when we play the return match, we can win," he said. In the other group match, Stuttgart drew 1-1 with Rangers.

In Group E, Miralem Pjanic scored 14 minutes from time as Lyon beat their Italian rivals Fiorentina 1-0. Fiorentina's hard tackling stifled Lyon, but the Italians were punished for rough tactics moments before the end of the first half when striker Alberto Gilardino was sent off for a challenge on Jeremy Toulalan. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli refused to comment on the referee's decision while Claude Puel, the Lyon coach, said: "I didn't really see Gilardino's gesture. But we had to be careful tonight and adapt to the refereeing, it was a lot different to what we're used to in the French league. It was a real European tie. We had to raise our game, so did they."

* With agencies