A Lionel Messi strike saw Barcelona maintain their two-point lead at the top of Group H after drawing 1-1 at Milan in the Champions League yesterday.
The Argentine struck in the 23rd minute with a fine finish to a breakaway move to cancel out Robinho’s stylish ninth minute opener, which came during a frantic opening period of pressure from the home side.
Barcelona moved up to seven points, with unbeaten Milan in second spot on five, two ahead of Celtic who beat Ajax 2-1 in Glasgow.
Milan came racing out of the blocks, putting pressure on Barca’s backline and a defensive error led to Robinho’s goal.
The Brazilian beat the away side’s dithering defenders to a high ball, and after exchanging passes with countryman Kaka, slid a simple finish past Victor Valdes.
The home side rarely looked troubled in the opening period, but found themselves back to square one 14 minutes later after giving the ball away sloppily to Andres Iniesta.
The Spain midfielder slipped in Messi on the right, who after cutting inside drilled low to level the scores just as he looked to have lost his footing.
Barca dominated the second half against a tired Milan, but despite a couple of good chances couldn’t make the most of their possession and had to settle for a point.
At the Emirates Stadium, Robert Lewandowski’s late volleyed winner threw Group F wide open as Borussia Dortmund heaped more German misery on Arsenal with a 2-1 victory.
The match appeared to be petering out into a draw when the unmarked Pole was picked out at the far post by Kevin Grosskreutz in the 82nd minute and he smashed the ball past his countryman Wojiech Szczesny to seal the three points.
Arsenal, Dortmund and Napoli, who beat Olympique Marseille 2-1 away, all have six points from three matches.
Dortmund punished a slow start from the home side to take the lead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan after 16 minutes but Arsenal hit back before half-time through Olivier Giroud.
Napoli delivered an excellent display in southern France, Jose Callejon and Duvan Zapata scoring their goals as OM slid ever closer to elimination.
Playing with speed and purpose from the start, Rafael Benitez’s men took a deserved lead via Callejon close to the interval and made light of a spirited response from their rivals when substitute Zapata curled in on 67 minutes.
Andre Ayew registered late for the hosts, but Napoli held on, leaving the Ligue 1 team yet to pick up a single point.
Fernando Torres scored twice and Eden Hazard added a late goal as Chelsea outclassed Schalke 04 3-0 to go top of Group E.
Torres, making his 100th start for the London club in all competitions, produced a flying header at the far post after Branislav Ivanovic had flicked on a Frank Lampard corner in the fifth minute.
The Spain international, back in the starting line-up following a knee injury earlier this month, struck again in the 69th minute when he raced clear to beat keeper Timo Hildebrand after earlier rattling the bar with a powerful header.
Hazard made it 3-0 after running half the length of the field as Chelsea, who last played on German soil when they beat Bayern Munich in the 2012 final, took their points tally to six, level with Schalke but with a better goal difference.
Atletico Madrid seized control of Group G when Diego Costa scored twice, including one of the goals of the season, in a thumping 3-0 victory for the La Liga side at Austria Vienna.
Atletico have a maximum nine points from three matches, with Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg on four after their 1-0 win at Porto. Vienna have one point in fourth and last place, two behind the Portuguese side.
Summaries
S. Bucharest 1
Leandro 88;
Basel 1
Diaz 48;
Schalke 0
Chelsea 3
Torres 5, 69; Hazard 88;
Arsenal 1
Giroud 41;
B. Dortmund 2
Mkhitaryan 16; Lewandowski 82;
Marseille 1
Ayew 86;
Napoli 2
Callejon 42; Zapata 67;
Porto 0
Zenit SP 1
Kerzhakov 86;
Red card: Herrera (P) 6.
A. Vienna 0
Atl. Madrid 3
Garcia 8; Costa 20, 53;
Celtic 2
Forrest 45p; Kayal 54;
Ajax 1
Schone 90;
Red card: Biton (C) 88.
Milan 1
Robinho 9;
Barcelona 1
Messi 23;
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Schalke | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Basel | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| S. Bucharest | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Schalke vs Steaua Bucharest - 3-0
Chelsea vs Basel - 1-2
Basel vs Schalke - 0-1
S. Bucharest vs Chelsea - 0-4
Steaua Bucharest vs Basel - 1-1
Schalke vs Chelsea - 0-3
06/11/13: Basel vs S. Bucharest
06/11/13: Chelsea vs Schalke
26/11/13: Basel vs Chelsea
26/11/13: S. Bucharest vs Schalke
11/12/13: Schalke vs Basel
11/12/13: Chelsea vs S. Bucharest
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| B. Dortmund | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Napoli | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Marseille | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Marseille vs Arsenal - 1-2
Napoli vs B. Dortmund - 2-1
B. Dortmund vs Marseille - 3-0
Arsenal vs Napoli - 2-0
Arsenal vs Bor. Dortmund - 1-2
Marseille vs Napoli - 1-2
06/11/13: B. Dortmund vs Arsenal
06/11/13: Napoli vs Marseille
26/11/13: Arsenal vs Marseille
26/11/13: B. Dortmund vs Napoli
11/12/13: Marseille vs B. Dortmund
11/12/13: Napoli vs Arsenal
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Atl. Madrid | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
| Zenit SP | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Porto | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| A. Vienna | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Austria Vienna vs Porto - 0-1
Atletico Madrid vs Zenit SP - 3-1
Zenit SP vs A. Vienna - 0-0
Porto vs A. Madrid - 1-2
Porto vs Zenit SP - 0-1
A. Vienna vs Atl. Madrid - 0-3
06/11/13: Zenit SP vs Porto
06/11/13: A. Madrid vs A. Vienna
26/11/13: Porto vs A. Vienna
26/11/13: Zenit SP vs A. Madrid
11/12/13: A. Vienna vs Zenit SP
11/12/13: A. Madrid vs Porto
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barcelona | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Milan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Celtic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Ajax | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
Milan vs Celtic - 2-0
Barcelona vs Ajax - 4-0
Ajax vs Milan - 1-1
Celtic vs Barcelona - 0-1
Celtic vs Ajax - 2-1
Milan vs Barcelona - 1-1
06/11/13: Ajax vs Celtic
06/11/13: Barcelona vs Milan
26/11/13: Celtic vs Milan
26/11/13: Ajax vs Barcelona
11/12/13: Milan vs Ajax
11/12/13: Barcelona vs Celtic
Playing today
Group A
B. Leverkusen vs S. Donetsk
Man. United vs R. Sociedad
Standings: Man. United, S. Donetsk 4; B. Leverkusen 3; R. Sociedad 0.
Group B
Real Madrid vs Juventus
Galatasaray vs Copenhagen
Standings: Real Madrid 6; Juventus 2; Galatasaray, Copenhagen 1.
Group C
Anderlecht vs Paris SG
Benfica vs Olympiakos
Standings: Paris SG 6; Olympiakos, Benfica 3; Anderlecht 0.
Group D
CSKA Moscow vs Man. City - 18.00
Bayern Munich vs V. Plzen
Standings: B. Munich 6, Man. City, CSKA Moscow 3; V. Plzen 0.