Three goals in 10 minutes saw Spartak Moscow beat Fenerbahce 2-1 at home in a first-leg Champions league playoff match, with striker Emmanuel Emenike on target against his former club.

Emenike, who joined Spartak last year after just two months at Fenerbahce, scored on 59 minutes Tuesday, hammering the ball into the net after pouncing on a low left-wing cross from Dmitry Kombarov.

Fenerbahce levelled the score and grabbed an important away goal six minutes later as ex-Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt struck from a narrow angle into the empty net after Moussa Sow set him up with a cushioned header in the penalty area.

Spartak restored their lead within four minutes as Kombarov lashed the ball into the net off a corner from ex-Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady.

"We controlled the game the whole 90 minutes, although we allowed our opponents to convert one of the two dangerous chances they managed to create," Spartak coach Unai Emery said.

"Of course, it is painful that we lost, but the second game is in seven days, so we have to show the result at home, supported by our fans," Fenerbahce midfielder Milos Krasic said.

Spartak started the first half brightly, keeping Fenerbahce's occasional attacking thrusts under control, but missed several good chances.

Former Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov could have headed in an opener three minutes after kickoff, but the ball whizzed past the post.

Fenerbahce goalkeeper Mert Gunok saved his team from a bouncing header by Brazilian striker Ari that threatened to loop in under the crossbar as Gunok hurried back to tip it over.

A minute later Ari, attempted another header but this time it was blocked.
On 24 minutes Bilyaletdinov tried to volley the ball into the net from the cross by midfielder Evgeni Makeev, but his powerful kick went wide.

Sow missed Fenerbahce's only clear-cut chance on the first half on 35 minutes as he sent the ball far above the bar from inside the penalty area.

Early in the second half, Fenerbahce the chance to open the scoring, but Spartak goalkeeper Andriy Dikan saved Brazilian midfielder Cristian's header. Spartak could have extended their lead at 82 minutes, but McGeady scooped the ball over the bar from four yards after connecting with a pass from striker Artem Dzyuba.

Spartak fans celebrated the start of the second half with flares, which led to smoke floating around the stadium for much of the half. Use of pyrotechnics regularly attracts UEFA sanctions in European competition.
The second leg will take place August 29 in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce returned to European competition this year after being banned from last year's Champions League amid a match-fixing scandal related to Turkish Super Lig games.

Spartak are bidding to end Russian teams' poor record in the Champions League playoffs and become the first Russian team to reach the group stage that way.

Meanwhile, Dynamo Kiev came from behind to beat their German hosts Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in the first leg of UEFA Champions League playoff.

Playing after 16 years in the Champions League, the "Foals" failed to advance in the tournament in front of 45,075 spectators at Borussia Park Tuesday by not being able to press home the advantage of scoring first, reports Xinhua.

After missing a couple of scoring opportunities, Monchengladbach opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Finnish international midfielder Alexander Ring. Midfielder Juan Arrango assisted with a cross-field pass into the penalty area where Ring controlled the ball and shrugged off a defender to slot home.

Gladbach were apparently in control of the match, but soon Kiev were on the offensive. Against the run of play, Dynamo stunned the hosts with the first shot on target, defender Taras Mikhalik levelling the score.

The equaliser took the wind out of Gladbach sails and Kiev capitalised on a misplaced pass in the midfield in the 36th minute to get into the lead, striker Andriy Yarmolenko capping a fast break to score.

The Ukrainians seemed happy with the 2-1 lead and defended deep waiting for a counterattack as Gladbach kept creating chances.

To make things worse for the hosts, Luuk de Jong netted a clearance attempt into his own goal to make it 3-1.
"We played well and scored a nice goal but we lost our concentration. A match lasts 90 minutes and not 30 minutes," Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said.

Following the 3-1 defeat to Kiev, Gladbachwill need a 3-0 away win in the second leg next week to qualify for the group stage of Champions League.