Barcelona conceded one of the fastest goals ever scored in the Champions League and then suffered the shock of a stoppage-time equalizer as they began the defense of their crown with a 2-2 draw at home to AC Milan when group action began on Tuesday.
Chelsea’s annual pursuit of the continent’s biggest club prize that has so far eluded them began in encouraging fashion for their latest coach in the hot seat, as Andre Villas-Boas’ team beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-0 in Group E.
The other Anglo-German tussle among the eight matches in Groups E to H ended in a 1-1 draw between Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal in northern Germany.
Photo: AFP
While Chelsea and Arsenal still seek a first Champions League crown, former European champions Porto and Olympique de Marseille began with victories.
Porto beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in Group G, although they were helped by their Ukrainian opponents having two players sent off — Yaroslav Rakitskiy for a straight red card in the 40th minute for a poor tackle and Dmytro Chygrynskiy for a second booking late on.
In Group F, French side Marseille edged out Olympiakos Piraeus 1-0 in Greece.
Photo: Reuters
Newcomers Viktoria Plzen got their first point on the board with a 1-1 draw at home to BATE Borisov of Belarus, although with Barcelona and Milan waiting in Group H life is about to get much tougher for the Czechs.
The standout fixture of the night in the Camp Nou exploded into life when Milan’s Alexandre Pato surged through a flat-footed Barca defense to score the fifth-fastest goal in the competition, timed at 24 seconds.
It took Barcelona a while to clear their heads, but the Catalans drew level before halftime when Lionel Messi, top scorer in the competition for the past three years, turned provider with a perfect cut back for Pedro to tap in.
Photo: Reuters
David Villa’s sublime curling free-kick after 50 minutes put Barca in front and, with their striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing through injury, Milan rarely threatened to get back on level terms.
However, the Serie A champions struck again at the death when Thiago Silva rose above the home defense to head home from a corner in the second minute of stoppage-time.
A frustrating night for Barca was summed up by a leg muscle injury sustained by midfielder Andres Iniesta that will keep him out for four weeks. Iniesta was replaced before halftime by new signing Cesc Fabregas.
“It wasn’t easy trying to penetrate the opponent’s penalty area crowded with eight defenders,” Barca coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. “We tried, but at the end they leveled from a corner.”
Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose side were under pressure for long periods, was satisfied with a point.
“Barca are still the best team in the world, but sometimes even they can draw,” Allegri said.
Chelsea welcomed back Michael Ballack to Stamford Bridge, but it was not to be a happy return for the German midfielder as goals by Brazilian defender David Luiz and Spanish forward Juan Mata gave Villas-Boas the perfect start to the campaign.
Both goals were set up by Spain striker Fernando Torres, recalled to the side after being left out of Chelsea’s Premier League victory at the weekend because of poor form.
“He took the right decision,” Villas--Boas told the club’s Web site when describing Torres’ unselfish decision to pass to Mata rather than try to double his meager tally of one goal since arriving for a British record fee of ￡50 million (US$79 million) from Liverpool in January. “He took a wise decision, so we’re very happy for that.”
Arsenal looked on course for a notable win at Borussia Dortmund thanks to Robin van Persie’s clinical finish just before halftime, but a stunning 88th-minute volley by Ivan Perisic denied the Gunners, whose manager Arsene Wenger had to watch the match from the stands because of a touchline ban.
Cypriots Apoel Nicosia were up against Russian opposition for the first time and marked the occasion with a 2-1 defeat of visitors Zenit St Petersburg — a result greeted with euphoria by the 18,000 home fans, who celebrated their team’s first victory in the group stages of the Champions League.
Two goals in three minutes by Gustavo Manduca and Ailton turned the match around after Konstantin Zyryanov fired Zenit ahead against the run of play in the 63rd minute. Zenit’s Bruno Alves was sent off in the 76th minute.
Belgium side KRC Genk are still waiting for their first victory after they made their only other appearance nine years ago, but were satisfied with a 0-0 home draw against Valencia in Group E.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS