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Football: Chelsea held by Juventus

By James Masters, for CNN
September 20, 2012 -- Updated 0927 GMT (1727 HKT)
Fabio Quagliarella equalizes for Juventus in their 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the Italian side claimed a point.
Fabio Quagliarella equalizes for Juventus in their 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the Italian side claimed a point.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Defending champions Chelsea held at home
  • Barcelona come from behind to defeat Spartak Moscow 3-2
  • BATE Borisov and CFR Cluj both claim surprise victories
  • Manchester United survive scare to beat Galatasaray

The script for Chelsea's European Champions League triumph last season was out of the realms of Hollywood , but Juventus refused to roll out the red carpet for the holders as the Serie A title winners came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea almost had an Oscar winning performance from one of their Brazilian stars, with the former Internacional midfielder scoring twice on his debut to confirm his reputation as one of the game's most exciting talents.

Oscar's two first-half strikes looked to have given Chelsea the perfect start to their title defense until a twist in the script saw Juventus fight back to claim a deserved draw.

It was the perfect ending to a thrilling game between two of Europe's heavyweight contenders with Oscar the star of the show.

While his first goal arrived courtesy of a deflection, his second could only be described as a blockbuster.

Edin Dzeko came off the bench to give Manchester City the lead against Real Madrid in their European Champions League encounter in the Spanish capital. Edin Dzeko came off the bench to give Manchester City the lead against Real Madrid in their European Champions League encounter in the Spanish capital.
Deadly Dzeko
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From Inter Milan to Manchester City: The reigning English Premier League champions have snapped up right-back Maicon for an undisclosed fee to help boost their bid for domestic and European honors in 2013. The Brazilian international has been at the San Siro for the past six seasons and made 235 appearances for the club. From Inter Milan to Manchester City: The reigning English Premier League champions have snapped up right-back Maicon for an undisclosed fee to help boost their bid for domestic and European honors in 2013. The Brazilian international has been at the San Siro for the past six seasons and made 235 appearances for the club.
Maicon -- undisclosed fee
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The 21-year-old received the ball with his back to goal before pirouetting and curling an unstoppable effort into the top corner.

But there was still drama to come for Chelsea, who failed to show the kind of defense which allowed them to triumph in Munich last season.

Arturo Vidal pulled a goal back for the Italians seven minutes before the break as Juventus began to find a way back into the contest.

Fabio Quagliarella then grabbed an equalizer with 10 minutes remaining and nearly won the tie when his curling effort rebounded to safety off the crossbar.

The Stamford Bridge draw allowed Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk to lead Group E following their convincing 2-0 win over Danish side Nordsjælland.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored both goals for Shakhtar, who face Juventus in Turin in their next game.

In Group F, Valencia failed to gain revenge over Bayern Munich for their 2001 Champions League final defeat.

The Germans, who finished runners-up to Chelsea last season, triumphed 2-1 at the Allianz Arena.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos put the home side into the ascendancy with Nelson Valdez pulling a late goal back for Valencia.

Bayern are second in Group F after Belorussian champions BATE Borisov produced a surprise 3-1 win at French side Lille.

BATE had failed to win any of their previous 12 games in the Champions League group stages but eased to victory on this occasion.

Aleksandr Volodko gave the visitors a sixth minute lead before Vitali Rodionov and Edgar Olekhnovich added further goals to make it 3-0 at the interval.

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Aurélien Chedjou pulled a goal back for Lille, but it was not enough to deprive BATE of their first Champions League success.

Not for the first time Lionel Messi rescued Barcelona from a potential shock defeat against Spartak Moscow in Group G.

The Argentine international scored his 52nd and 53rd Champions League goals in the space of nine minutes as Barcelona came from 2-1 down to win 3-2.

Winger Cristian Tello had given the home side a 14th minute lead before Spartak silenced the Catalan faithful.

Emmanuel Emenike's cross was turned into his own net by Dani Alves and then Romulo rounded off a quick counterattack to put Spartak ahead.

Barcelona has not suffered a home defeat in the Champions League Group Stage since losing to Russian side Rubin Kazan back in 2009.

Celtic and Benfica shared a goalless draw with neither side managing to find a way past two stubborn defences.

It is the first time Benfica has managed to secure a point in Scotland having lost on their previous three visits.

Manchester United gained a fortunate 1-0 victory over Galatasaray in Group H thanks to Michael Carrick's early goal as manager Sir Alex Ferguson recorded his 100th win in the competition.

The visitors will feel frustrated though as they created several clear opportunities and hit the woodwork twice.

United should have sealed the win in the second half but Nani failed to convert from the penalty spot.

In the group's other game, Romanian champions CFR Cluj claimed a shock 2-0 win over Braga in Portugal, with Rafael Bastos returning to haunt his former club by scoring both goals.

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