Reuters
Wednesday, September 26, 2001; 5:18 PM

_____Champions League_____ Draws/Tables/Fixtures: • First Phase _____Results_____ Matchday 3 • Group A Real Madrid 4, Anderlecht 1 Roma 2, Lokomotiv Moscow 1 • Group B Boavista 2, Borussia Dortmund 1 Liverpool 1, Dynamo Kiev 0 • Group C Panathinaikos 1, Arsenal 0 Schalke 0, Real Mallorca 1 • Group D PSV Eindhoven 1, Lazio 0 Nantes 0, Galatasaray 1 • Group E Rosenborg 1, Juventus 1 Celtic 1, Porto 0 • Group F Fenerbahce 0, Lyon 1 Bayer Leverkusen 2, Barcelona 1 • Group G Deportivo 2, Manchester United 1 Lille 3, Olympiakos 1 • Group H Spartak Moscow 1, Bayern Munich 3 Sparta Pague 4, Feyenoord 0

ROME, Sept 26 – AS Roma came from behind to beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 in Champions League group A on Wednesday thanks to a 79th-minute goal from captain Francesco Totti.

After dominating the first half, the Italian champions fell behind against the run of play in the 58th minute when Milan Obradovic headed in a corner from Marat Izmailov.

But Fabio Capello's side drew level 11 minutes later when Lokomotiv defender Igor Chugainov headed a cross from substitute Gianni Guigou into his own net.

Then Guigou put Totti through with a neat pass and the Italian international blasted the ball into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

The Russians almost grabbed an equaliser in the dying minutes when a freekick from Dmitry Loskov slipped through the hands of Roma goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli and came back off the post.

But the hard-fought win boosts Roma's chances of making the second phase of the competition as they went second on four points ahead of Anderlecht who were beaten 4-1 by group leaders Real Madrid.

Roma have struggled to get into top gear so far this season, but after Sunday's victory over Fiorentina in Serie A, Wednesday's spirited performance against the Russians will have eased Capello's worries about his team.

Capello left the off-form Gabriel Batistuta out of his starting line-up, the first time the Argentine has been dropped in his time in the capital.

GOOD START

With Marco Delvecchio partnering Vincenzo Montella in attack Roma attacked aggressively from the outset.

Montella saw a snap-volley fly just wide as early as the fifth minute and then Damiano Tommasi's diving header from a Vincent Candela cross flashed just wide of the post.

Tommasi went close again in the 24th minute when he surged through from midfield and unleashed a fierce drive from the edge of the penalty area, forcing an excellent diving save from Ruslan Nigmatullin.

The best chance of the half came four minutes later when Montella found space and rounded Nigmatullin but just as he looked ready to slot the ball home, Delvecchio slid in and fired a shot into the side-netting.

Capello swapped Montella for Batistuta at the break and the waves of attacks continued.

Tommasi fired a low-cross across the Lokomotiv penalty area but Nigmatullin did well to smother a close-range strike from Delvecchio.

But after all that domination the Italian champions fell behind against the run of play in the 58th minute when Obradovic's soft header somehow got past Francisco Lima and goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli on the line.

Roma then drew level with the own goal before Totti's winner.