Champions League round-up: Holders starts with draw
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Manchester United began the defence of their Champions League title with a goalless draw against Villarreal.
Not even Cristiano Ronaldo - making his return after being sidelined with an ankle injury - could make a difference.
The Portuguese winger started on the bench and introduced in the 62nd minute to a warm reception from the United fans.
Park Ji-Sung was twice brought down in the Villarreal box but referee Wolfgang Stark dismissed his appeal on both occasions
The visitors were unlucky not to take a surprise lead when Guillermo Franco's flick struck the inside of the far upright following a superb passing move.
Celtic were held to a goalless draw at home by ten-men Aalborg on a night which saw the referee sent off the wrong Aalborg player.
Gordon Strachan's men were awarded a spot-kick when Shaun Maloney was tripped by Steve Olfers inside the box on 29 minutes.
Barry Robson stepped up to take the penalty but he blast his shot straight at goalkeeper Karim Zaza and the rebound was cleared.
With ten minutes remaining, Aalborg were reduced to ten men when Michael Jakobsen hauled down Celtic striker Giorgios Samaras and was amazed to see the referee sent off teammate Michael Beauchamp.
The results leave all four teams in Group E level on one point with no goals scored.
GROUP F
Frédéric Piquionne and Karim Benzema rescued a draw for French champions Lyon as they drew 2-2 with Fiorentina at the Stade Gerland.
It appeared that the visitors would pick up all three points from their Champions League opener as Alberto Gilardino scored twice in the first-half.
The former AC Milan striker opened his account after 12 minutes as he headed home from Luciano Zauri's cross.
Three minutes before half-time, the same player bagged a second following another cross, this time from Adrian Mutu.
Lyon pulled one back on 73 minutes through substitute Piquionne amid controversy as Zauri down injured in the box after an earlier challenge.
Karim Benzema then capped the revival by thumping home the equaliser in the 85th minute.
Bayern Munich marked their return to the Champions League with a 1-0 away win over Steaua Bucharest.
It was an encounter of two former European champions.
Daniel van Buyten scored the only goal for the four-time European champions in the 14th minute, heading home from Bastian Schweinsteiger's free-kick.
But the home side were furious after they had a goal disallowed in the second half when substitute Bogdan Stancu tapped in a rebound following Bayern keeper Michael Rensing's clumsy spilt, but the referee ruled that he had fouled Rensing in the process.
GROUP G
A late equaliser from captain William Gallas rescued Arsenal to a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kyiv.
Arsenal went into the match with a poor record in Eastern Europe, they had been beaten twice by Dynamo, in 1998 and 2003, and also went down 3-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2000, while their record in Russia was also poor, with two defeats from three visits.
The hosts took the lead on 64 minutes when Bacary Sagna was adjudged to have pushed over Ognjen Vukojević in the area.
It was slightly harsh on Sagna but Guinea striker Ismael Bangoura stepped up to calmly score from the spot.
Then, just as time looked to be running out, Theo Walcott sent a low far-post cross that Gunners captain Gallas tapped in from close range.
Porto made a winning start to their European campaign as they cruised to a 3-1 win over Fenerbahçe.
Lisandro López opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when he broke the Fenerbahçe offside trap and finished past Volkan Demirel.
Lucho González made it 2-0 three minutes later with a powerfully struck volley after good work from Cristian Rodríguez on the left.
The Turkish side pulled one back just ahead of the half hour as Daniel Güiza turned the ball home at the far post.
However, the visitors could not get back on level terms and unmarked Lino added a third for Porto in stoppage minute.
GROUP H
Record nine-time European champions Real Madrid beat Belarus BATE Borisov 2-0 in a David versus Goliath contest at the Bernabéu.
Sergio Ramos' first Champions League goal put Real in front but BATE made the Spanish champions work hard for the points.
The home crowd were demanding more goals and Ruud van Nistelrooy doubled the advantage in the 57th minute after Raul's effort was well saved.
And BATE finished the match with ten men after defender Anri Khagush was sent off for two bookable offences.
Juventus returned to the Champions League after a two year absence with a 1-0 victory over UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg.
It was their first Champions League match since they were relegated from Serie A following Calciopoli scandal that shamed Italian football.
Zenit have been tipped to go a long way after winning the UEFA Cup and then beating Manchester United in the Super Cup.
But they were ruined by veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero's superb 30-yard free-kick on 76 minutes which flew into the top corner past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
Not even Cristiano Ronaldo - making his return after being sidelined with an ankle injury - could make a difference.
The Portuguese winger started on the bench and introduced in the 62nd minute to a warm reception from the United fans.
Park Ji-Sung was twice brought down in the Villarreal box but referee Wolfgang Stark dismissed his appeal on both occasions
The visitors were unlucky not to take a surprise lead when Guillermo Franco's flick struck the inside of the far upright following a superb passing move.
| 0 - 0 |
|
Celtic were held to a goalless draw at home by ten-men Aalborg on a night which saw the referee sent off the wrong Aalborg player.
Gordon Strachan's men were awarded a spot-kick when Shaun Maloney was tripped by Steve Olfers inside the box on 29 minutes.
Barry Robson stepped up to take the penalty but he blast his shot straight at goalkeeper Karim Zaza and the rebound was cleared.
With ten minutes remaining, Aalborg were reduced to ten men when Michael Jakobsen hauled down Celtic striker Giorgios Samaras and was amazed to see the referee sent off teammate Michael Beauchamp.
The results leave all four teams in Group E level on one point with no goals scored.
GROUP F
| 2 - 2 |
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| Frédéric Piquionne 73 | Alberto Gilardino 12 | |||||||
| Karim Benzema 85 | Alberto Gilardino 42 |
Frédéric Piquionne and Karim Benzema rescued a draw for French champions Lyon as they drew 2-2 with Fiorentina at the Stade Gerland.
It appeared that the visitors would pick up all three points from their Champions League opener as Alberto Gilardino scored twice in the first-half.
The former AC Milan striker opened his account after 12 minutes as he headed home from Luciano Zauri's cross.
Three minutes before half-time, the same player bagged a second following another cross, this time from Adrian Mutu.
Lyon pulled one back on 73 minutes through substitute Piquionne amid controversy as Zauri down injured in the box after an earlier challenge.
Karim Benzema then capped the revival by thumping home the equaliser in the 85th minute.
| 0 - 1 |
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| Daniel van Buyten 14 |
Bayern Munich marked their return to the Champions League with a 1-0 away win over Steaua Bucharest.
It was an encounter of two former European champions.
Daniel van Buyten scored the only goal for the four-time European champions in the 14th minute, heading home from Bastian Schweinsteiger's free-kick.
But the home side were furious after they had a goal disallowed in the second half when substitute Bogdan Stancu tapped in a rebound following Bayern keeper Michael Rensing's clumsy spilt, but the referee ruled that he had fouled Rensing in the process.
GROUP G
| 1 - 1 |
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| Ismael Bangoura 64(pen) | William Gallas 88 |
A late equaliser from captain William Gallas rescued Arsenal to a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kyiv.
Arsenal went into the match with a poor record in Eastern Europe, they had been beaten twice by Dynamo, in 1998 and 2003, and also went down 3-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2000, while their record in Russia was also poor, with two defeats from three visits.
The hosts took the lead on 64 minutes when Bacary Sagna was adjudged to have pushed over Ognjen Vukojević in the area.
It was slightly harsh on Sagna but Guinea striker Ismael Bangoura stepped up to calmly score from the spot.
Then, just as time looked to be running out, Theo Walcott sent a low far-post cross that Gunners captain Gallas tapped in from close range.
| 3 - 1 |
| ||||||
| Lisandro López 10 | Daniel Güiza 30 | |||||||
| Lucho González 13 | ||||||||
| Lino 90 |
Porto made a winning start to their European campaign as they cruised to a 3-1 win over Fenerbahçe.
Lisandro López opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when he broke the Fenerbahçe offside trap and finished past Volkan Demirel.
Lucho González made it 2-0 three minutes later with a powerfully struck volley after good work from Cristian Rodríguez on the left.
The Turkish side pulled one back just ahead of the half hour as Daniel Güiza turned the ball home at the far post.
However, the visitors could not get back on level terms and unmarked Lino added a third for Porto in stoppage minute.
GROUP H
| 2 - 0 |
| ||||||
| Sergio Ramos 11 | ||||||||
| Ruud van Nistelrooy 57 |
Record nine-time European champions Real Madrid beat Belarus BATE Borisov 2-0 in a David versus Goliath contest at the Bernabéu.
Sergio Ramos' first Champions League goal put Real in front but BATE made the Spanish champions work hard for the points.
The home crowd were demanding more goals and Ruud van Nistelrooy doubled the advantage in the 57th minute after Raul's effort was well saved.
And BATE finished the match with ten men after defender Anri Khagush was sent off for two bookable offences.
| 1 - 0 |
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| Alessandro Del Piero 76 |
Juventus returned to the Champions League after a two year absence with a 1-0 victory over UEFA Cup holders Zenit St. Petersburg.
It was their first Champions League match since they were relegated from Serie A following Calciopoli scandal that shamed Italian football.
Zenit have been tipped to go a long way after winning the UEFA Cup and then beating Manchester United in the Super Cup.
But they were ruined by veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero's superb 30-yard free-kick on 76 minutes which flew into the top corner past goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.
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