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Manchester duo held | Manchester United and Manchester City started their UEFA Champions League campaigns with 1-1 draws against Benfica and Napoli, respectively.
Both Manchester sides have maintained a perfect record in the Barclays Premier League so far this season but unfamiliar opposition had them trailing before they equalized and settled for a point each.
In Lisbon, Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a flying start midway through the first half when he beat Anders Lindegaard with a clinical finish.
However, the Portuguese outfit could not hang on to their slender advantage as veteran Ryan Giggs struck right before the interval to bring United level.
With scores tied, it appeared that the Red Devils had recovered some momentum but Benfica dominated the second half and came close to taking the lead on several occasions.
Nevertheless, a draw would be a considered a satisfactory result by many at Old Trafford given that the likes of Antonio Valencia and Darren Fletcher received some valuable playing time ahead of this weekend’s massive home fixture against Chelsea.
At the Etihad Stadium, Napoli aggressively searched for a lead and took it deservedly when Edinson Cavani opened the scoring 19 minutes into the second half.
However, Alexander Kolarov responded five minutes later, bringing the Citizens level and ensuring that they remain unbeaten this season.
The night’s other draws included French champions Lille’s 2-2 stalemate at home to CSKA Moscow and as well as Ajax Amsterdam’s goalless showing against Lyon.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid succeeded in their road trips, with the Bavarians impressively overcoming Villarreal 2-0 to go top of Group A and the Madristas dominating throughout their 1-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Toni Kroos and Rafinha scored the goals for Bayern while Angel Di Maria scored the decisive goal for Real.
In other action, Basel defeated Otelul Galati 2-1 and Turkish outfit Trabzonspor pulled off a tremendous upset by defeating Inter Milan 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
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