MOSCOW, May 17: Players fought each other at the final whistle as Ukraine beat Yugoslavia 2-0 in an ugly opening game to a four-team tournament in the Russian capital Friday.

A massive brawl erupted in the middle of the field after the referee had signalled the end of an otherwise uneventful contest.

Lithuanian official Paulius Malzinskas red carded Yugoslav captain Sinisa Mihaijlovic and Ukrainian substitute Serhiy Skachenko before ordering the teams off the pitch.

Ukraine, playing without AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, scored against the run of play in the 27th minute when Yugoslav goalkeeper Dragoslav Evric fumbled a high cross and fullback Serhiy Fyodorov knocked in the loose ball.

Substitute Volodymyr Masalitin doubled the lead in the 78th minute following a quick counter-attack when he rounded Evric and fired into an empty goal.

Yugoslavia, who were missing several key players, looked the better side in the opening 30 minutes but wasted a number of chances.—Reuters