Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to beat hosts Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in their Uefa Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
Second-half goals from substitute Arda Turan and Gerard Pique gave the Spaniards their second win in two group matches to top the standings, after their opening 7-0 demolition of Celtic.
The hard-working Germans had taken a surprising lead, scoring against the run of play, with Thorgan Hazard slotting in to complete a quick break for the hosts in the 34th minute.
Barcelona, with Argentine Messi missing with a groin injury, dominated the game but were made to work hard for their second group win that put them on six points. The hosts, who managed just one shot on target, have zero, having lost both matches so far.
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Celtic and Manchester City play out six-goal thriller
Pep Guardiola witnessed the end to his perfect record with Manchester City as his Premier League leaders had to come from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Celtic in a dazzling Champions League Group C encounter on Wednesday.
Guardiola’s men were taken aback by the fevered atmosphere at Celtic Park as they were denied an 11th straight win which would have equalled Tottenham Hotspur’s 1960/61 landmark as the best start to a season by any English club.
The inspired Scottish champions, unrecognisable from the side humbled 7-0 at Barcelona in their opening game, sniffed a sensation after Moussa Dembele scored at the start of each half and when Raheem Sterling netted a first-half own goal.
Yet City simply refused to be subdued, responding with strikes from Fernandinho, the excellent Sterling and Nolito and coming close to a late winner before settling for the point that moves them into second place in the group on four points behind Barcelona, who won 2-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
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Walcott double fires Arsenal to victory
Theo Walcott scored twice before half time as Arsenal beat Basel 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to move joint top of Champions League Group A on Wednesday.
The England forward twice combined brilliantly with Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal overwhelmed the Swiss to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches.
Arsenal needed only six minutes to open the scoring when Walcott headed in a Sanchez cross and a superb one-two 20 minutes later with the South American saw him double the lead.
Basel keeper Tomas Vaclik kept his side in the hunt with a series of fine stops and although Basel offered more threat after the break the damage was already done.
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Atletico Madrid end Bayern Munich’s perfect start
Bayern Munich’s perfect start to the season under manager Carlo Ancelotti came to an end as Jannick Carrasco’s first-half goal gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 home victory in their Champions League Group D game on Wednesday.
Bayern were aiming to make it nine wins in a row in all competitions, but were derailed by an Atletico side that took a deserved 35th-minute lead and remain unbeaten this season.
Atletico seized the initiative when Bayern’s Xabi Alonso gave the ball away in midfield, allowing the Spaniards to counter.
Antoine Griezmann sent Carrasco through on goal and the Belgian winger struck a low left-footed shot past a helpless Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and in off the post.
Atletico could have made it 2-0 with six minutes remaining, but Griezmann drove his penalty against the crossbar, after Arturo Vidal fouled Filipe Luis in the area.
RESULTS
Tuesday
Group E
• CSKA Moscow 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1
• Monaco 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1
Group F
• Borussia Dortmund 2 Real Madrid 2
• Sporting of Lisbon 2 Legia Warsaw 0
Group G
• Copenhagen 4 Club Brugge 0
• Leicester City 1 Porto 0
Group H
• Dynamo Zagreb 0 Juventus 4
• Sevilla 1 Lyon 0
Wednesday
Group A
• Arsenal 2 Basel 0
• Ludogorets Razgrad 1 Paris Saint-Germain 3
Group B
• Besiktas 1 Dynamo Kiev 1
• Napoli 4 Benfica 2
Group C
• Borussia Monchengladbach 1 Barcelona 2
• Celtic 3 Manchester City 3
Group D
• Atletico Madrid 1 Bayern Munich 0
• Rostov 2 PSV Eindhoven 2
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