Finding Row Z will be charting the progress of the four English teams in this seasons Champions League. We are looking for someone to make this page their own and anyone interested should contact us by clicking on the Write For Finding Row Z tab above.
Chelsea kicked off their latest quest for European glory, and ran out 2-0 winners over German side Bayer Leverkusen. David Luiz broke the deadlock in the second half, curling a wonderful strike from the edge of the box after a neat lay off from Fernando Torres. Juan Mata secured the victory, again from an Fernando Torres assist, to secure Andre Villas-Boas' first Champions League victory. Bayer had chances to snatch something from this game, especially from Chelsea star Michael Ballack, who was excellently foiled by Petr Cech.
Arsenal had to settle for a draw away at Borrusia Dortmund, after Ivan Perisic's wonderful volley in stoppage time secured a point for Dortmund. Arsenal took the lead through captain Robin Van Persie just before half time, he beat the offside trap to latch onto a Theo Walcott through ball, before unleashing a first time shot that left the Dortmund 'keeper stranded. It seemed that Pat Rice's Arsenal were going to hold on for an impressive victory, but 2 points were snatched away from them in stoppage time after a fanastic 20 yard dipping volley that had Szczesny rooted to his line.
Sir Alex Ferguson made 8 changes to his side as United earned a 1-1 draw away against Portugal. United went behind after Oscar Cardozo beat Johnny Evans and sent a well placed shot passed Andes Lindegaard in the United goal. United lacked fluency, but it was to be expected as the 5 man midfield hadn't made a Premier League start between them. It was the old guard that secured a point for Sir Alex however, Ryan Giggs scoring with a brilliant left footed strike that screamed into the top corner, Giggs has now scored in 16 different Champions League competitions.
Manchester City made their Champions League debut last night, and were brought back to earth very quickly. Napoli took the lead in the 69th minute through Edinson Cavani, as City were made to realise just how tough the Champions League is. Aleksander Kolorov's free kick secured a point for Mancini's men, as City fans were made to realise they might not have it all their own way this year.
Full Results
Tuesday-
Apoel Nicosia 2-1 Zenit St. Petersburg
Barcelona 2-2 AC Milan
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Arsenal
Chelsea 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen
FC Porto 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Genk 0-0 Valencia
Olympiakos 0-1 Marseille
Plzen 1-1 BATE Borisov
Wednesday-
Ajax 0-0 Lyon
Basle 2-1 SC Otelul Galati
Benfica 1-1 Manchester United
Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Real Madrid
Inter Milan 0-1 Trabzonspor
Lille 2-2 CSKA Moscow
Manchester City 1-1 Napoli
Villarreal 0-2 Bayern Munich
