Inter draws Champions League opener
INTER Milan opened the defense of its Champions League title with a 2-2 draw at tournament newcomer FC Twente on Tuesday while Barcelona signaled its intent with a 5-1 home thrashing of Panathinaikos.
| Panathinaikos’ Jean-Alain Boumsong (L) fights for the ball with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi during their Champions League Group D soccer match in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday.SD-Agencies |
Inter went ahead in the Netherlands through Wesley Sneijder but needed a 41st-minute goal by striker Samuel Eto’o to earn a point from the Group A opener.
Lionel Messi scored twice and missed a penalty as Barcelona, which lost to Inter in the semifinals last season, started group play with a convincing victory at the Camp Nou. David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez and Daniel Alves also scored for the Spanish champions.
Sneijder, who starred for the Netherlands at the World Cup, tapped in a rebound to open the scoring after Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov failed to hold on to Diego Milito’s shot.
Theo Janssen equalized for Twente with a curling free kick in the 20th before Milito’s own goal put the Dutch side ahead 10 minutes later.
Eto’o, who scored the winner against Udinese at the weekend, found the target again with a low 25-meter drive to rescue Inter, which is struggling for form in the early part of the campaign after winning an unprecedented treble — Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup — last season.
Source： Shenzhen Daily Editor： 洪志科