CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WRAP: Man City and Man Utd record draws

4.09.11 | Andrew Slevison

READ MORE NEWS ON: Ajax, Bayern Munich, Benfica, CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Napoli, Real Madrid, Ryan Giggs, Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester City

The first lot of group stage matches of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League are now complete with Groups A through to D all playing tonight.

Group A saw Manchester City and Napoli make their Champions League debuts but they could not be split on the scoreboard as Aleksandar Kolarov’s 74th minute free-kick canceled out Edinson Cavanis’ opener five minutes earlier for a 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium.
Spanish club Villarreal’s nine game home European winning streak came to an end when German giants Bayern Munich produced a 2-0 result thanks to goals from Toni Kroos and Rafinha either side of the half-time break. It was Bayern’s seventh match in a row without conceding.
In Group B, Trabzonspor caused the biggest upset of the first matchday by defeating 2010 winners Inter Milan 1-0 at the San Siro thanks to Ondrej Celustka’s 76th minute goal which gave the Turkish club an historic win.
In France, French champions Lille were held to a 2-2 draw by Russian outfit CSKA Moscow who fought back from two goals down.
Moussa Sow and Benoit Pedretti netted for the home side before Seydo Doumbia’s late double secured a point for the visitors.
Group C saw Swiss club FC Basel score a 2-1 home win over Romanian newcomers Otelul Galati with both sides reduced to ten men whilst Manchester United had Ryan Giggs to thank as they grabbed a point in Lisbon against Benfica.
The Portuguese club scored first through Oscar Cardozo in the 24th minute before veteran Giggs powered home three minutes prior to half-time to give Sir Alex Ferguson’s hugely-changed side a share of the points.
And in Group D, ten-man Real Madrid got hold of maximum points thanks to Angel Di Maria’s second-half strike to down Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in Croatia whilst Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam and Lyon played out a scoreless draw in Holland.
GROUP A:
Manchester City (ENG): 1 (Aleksandar Kolarov 74’)
Napoli (ITA): 1 (Edinson Cavani 69’)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Villarreal (ESP): 0
Bayern Munich (GER): 2 (Toni Kroos 7’, Rafinha 76’)
El Madrigal, Villarreal
GROUP B
Lille (FRA): 2 (Moussa Sow 45’, Benoit Pedretti 57’)
CSKA Moscow (RUS): 2 (Seydou Doumbia 71’/89’)
Stade Lille Metropole, Lille
Inter Milan (ITA): 0
Trabzonspor (TUR): 1 (Ondrej Celustka 76’)
San Siro, Milan
GROUP C
FC Basel (SUI): 2 (Fabian Frei 39’, Alexander Frei (p) 84’, red card: Benjamin Huggel 86’)
Otelul Galati (ROM): 1 (Marius Pena 58’, red card: Adrian Salageanu 81’)
St Jakob-Park, Basel
Benfica (POR): 1 (Oscar Cardozo 24’)
Manchester United (ENG): 1 (Ryan Giggs 42’)
Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
GROUP D
Ajax Amsterdam (NED): 0
Olympique Lyon (FRA): 0
Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO): 0
Real Madrid (ESP): 1 (Angel Di Maria 53’, red card: Marcelo 73’)
Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb

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