Striker Alberto Gilardino scored on his competitive debut to help Fiorentina to a comfortable 2-0 first leg win over Slavia Prague in their Champions League third qualifying round tie on Tuesday. Gilardino, a close season signing from AC Milan, nodded home on 58 minutes after the Czech champions had failed to clear a corner. Strike partner Adrian Mutu, the subject of a rejected bid from AS Roma last month, had given the Serie A side a third-minute lead when he curled a free kick into the top corner. The Florence club, which beat Milan to the fourth and final Champions League qualifying spot last term, missed a host of other chances in its first competitive game of the season with Gilardino going close three times. Slavia, which won its first Czech title since 1996 in May, offered little in attack and will have an uphill battle in the second leg on Aug. 27. Fiorentina is looking to make the knockout stages for the first time since 1999, having worked its way back up the Italian pyramid following bankruptcy in 2002. All the other third qualifying round first leg matches take place on Wednesday. Steve McClaren's experience as England manager may not be of much use to him when his FC Twente team takes on Arsenal. McClaren hasn't sounded entirely confident of beating an Arsenal side that reached the Champions League final just two years ago. Twente isn't expected to do much in Europe and, even with the riches on offer to the 32 teams who make the Champions League group stages, McClaren seems to be looking at the match more for what it means to the club's season as a whole.
