LONDON — Former European champion PSV Eindhoven beat Belgian side SV Zulte Waregem 2-0 and Olympique Lyonnais edged Grasshoppers 1-0 in the first legs of their Champions League third qualifying round matches Tuesday as they bid to reach the playoffs for a spot in the lucrative group stage. Dutch championship runner-up PSV took the lead against competition debutant Waregem with a stunning 30-meter strike from Memphis Depay just after the hour before substitute Jurgen Locadia added a second in the 75th minute for the 1988 European Cup winner, which also hit the woodwork four times. While PSV is aiming for their first group stage appearance since the 2008/09 season, Lyon has had more success in recent years having reached the semifinals in 2010 and they gave itself the narrowest advantage to take into the second leg when Milan Bisevac headed the only goal after 64 minutes. The Serbian defender's powerful header flashed past goalkeeper Roman Burki from Clement Grenier's free kick but Michael Skibbe's Zurich-based side will feel hard done by having twice hit the post in the first half at Stade Gerland. Luciano Spalletti's Zenit St Petersburg also have a 1-0 lead over Danish side FC Nordsjlland, thanks to Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who scored four minutes after coming on to secure victory away to opponents who were also in the group stage last season. Former European champion Steaua Bucharest claimed a 2-0 win over Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi with two goals from teenager Gabriel Iancu. The Romanian champion had goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu to thank for saving a Xisco penalty just after the hour before halftime substitute Iancu struck in the 64th and 80th minutes. Last season's Europa League semifinalist Basel earned a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, thanks to a 39th-minute strike from Valentin Stocker. The Swiss champion dominated the match but could not add to the goal from 24-year-old Stocker who fired a low shot past goalkeeper Juan Pablo. Austrian champion AustriaVienna, which like Basel entered the qualifiers in the third round, also has a narrow 1-0 lead to take into its second leg against FH Hafnarfjordur of Iceland after winger Daniel Royer scored in the 25th minute. Marian Cisovsky's hat trick helped Czech champions Viktoria Plzen win 4-0 against Estonia's JK Nomme Kalju, which had celebrated its first win in Europe in the last round when it beat HJK Helsinki. Plzen, which also scored four first-leg goals in the last round against FK Zeljeznicar, opened the scoring after two minutes in Tallinn through Cisovsky who added two more in the second half either side of Michal Duris's 77th-minute strike. Croatia champion Dinamo Zagreb grabbed a last-minute goal from substitute Ante Rukavina to secure a 1-0 win against FC Sheriff of Moldova, while Metalist Kharkiv's Marko Devic scored in each half for the Ukrainians to wrap up a 2-0 win over PAOK in Salonika. Kazakhstan champion FC Shakhter Karagandy thrashed Albania's KS Skenderbeua 3-0. — Reuters
