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.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS