Holders Chelsea’s eight-match unbeaten run in the Champions League came to an uncere-monious end after goals by Alex Teixeira and Fernandinho led classy Shakhtar Donetsk to a 2-1 win last night.
The Londoners, with John Terry back as captain after being banned at the weekend and Frank Lampard making his 100th European ap-pearance, were up against it from the moment Teixeira pounced on a loose ball to score with a low shot in the third minute.
Petr Cech kept the champions in the game with a string of fine saves before Eden Hazard needlessly gave the ball away in midfield to Luiz Adriano and he streaked clear to set up Fer-nandinho for another low strike in the 52nd minute.
Brazilian Oscar pulled one back for Chelsea near the end after a right-wing surge by defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Shakhtar’s win took them to the top of Group E with seven points from three games, three points ahead of Chelsea and four better off than Juventus who were spared from an embarrassing defeat by a late Mirko Vucinic goal as they hit back to hold little-known Nordsjaelland to a 1-1 draw.
Vucinic pounced after good work down the right by Mauricio Isla in the 81st minute and left goalkeeper Jesper Hansen helpless with a clinical finish.
Nordsjaelland had gone ahead in the 50th minute after forward Mikkel Beckmann curled a free-kick over the wall and into the net from 20 metres.
Juventus stay third in Group E with three points from three games while Nordsjaelland are bottom on one point.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United staged a dramatic fightback from two goals down as Javier Hernandez’s double in-spired a 3-2 win over Braga.
Alex Ferguson’s side were in danger of an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Portuguese minnows after two early goals from Braga captain Alan shocked the home crowd.
But Hernandez sparked United’s revival with his first goal before half-time and the Mexico striker bagged the winner with 15 minutes remaining after Jonny Evans equalised just after the hour.
Hernandez’s heroics ensured United maintained their 100 per cent record after three Group H matches and one more victory should be enough to guarantee their place in the last 16.
Ferguson opted to rest Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra, but he talked in his programme notes about the perils of underestimating the supposedly weaker teams in the competition and paid Braga due respect by fielding a strong line-up that featured Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in attack.
Bayern Munich won 1-0 away to Lille but the scoreline barely reflected the one-sided nature of the Group F tie.
A disputed penalty from Thomas Mueller was the difference between the sides but Bayern made most of the running and should have won by a decidedly more comfortable margin.
Although it was not a particularly bad-tempered game, English referee Martin Atkinson saw fit to book eight players, five of them from Bayern.
Bayern Munich broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Lucas Digne clattered Philipp Lahm to the ground and despite angry Lille protests, referee Atkinson pointed to the spot and Mueller dispatched it straight past Landreau.
Late Barca winner
At the mythical Nou Camp, Jordi Alba scored with almost the last kick of the match as Barcelona snatched a stirring 2-1 comeback win at home to a battling Celtic in Group G.
The Scottish champions, who had never won in Spain in 12 previous attempts, took a shock 18th-minute lead through Giorgos Samaras when the Greek striker’s header spun into the net off Javier Mascherano.
Barca dominated possession but were struggling to penetrate the massed Celtic ranks until Andres Iniesta combined with Xavi and squeezed a shot just inside Fraser Forster’s post in the 45th minute.
The favourites pressed as Celtic tired in the second half and after Forster twice denied Lionel Messi and David Villa hit the frame of the goal, full-back Alba popped up at the far post deep into stoppage time to deflect Adriano’s cross over the line.
From the same group, Russian side Spartak Moscow gained their first win of this season’s Champions League campaign after losing their first two matches with a hard fought 2-1 win over Portuguese opponents Benfica.
First-half goals by Rafael Carioca and an own goal by his Brazilian compatriot Jardel gave the hosts the much needed three points after two successive 3-2 defeats away at Barcelona and then at home to Celtic.
Summaries
N’sjaelland 1
Beckmann 50;
Juventus 1
Vucinic 81;
S. Donetsk 2
Teixeira 3; Fernandinho 52;
Chelsea 1
Oscar 88;
Bate Borisov 0
Valencia 3
Soldado 45p, 55, 69;
Lille 0
B. Munich 1
Mueller 20 pen;
S. Moscow 2
Carioca 3; Jardel 43 og;
Benfica 1
Lima 33;
Barcelona 2
Iniesta 45; Alba 90;
Celtic 1
Samaras 18;
Galatasaray 1
Yilmaz 77;
CFR Cluj 1
Nounkeu 19 og;
Red card: Aguirregaray (C) 28.
Missed penalty: Melo (G) 35.
Man. United 3
Hernandez 25, 75; Evans 62;
Braga 2
Alan 2, 20;
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| S. Donetsk | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Juventus | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Nordsjaelland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
S. Donetsk vs Nordsjaelland - 2-0
Chelsea vs Juventus - 2-2
Juventus vs S. Donetsk - 1-1
Nordsjaelland vs Chelsea - 0-4
Nordsjaelland vs Juventus - 1-1
S. Donetsk vs Chelsea - 2-1
07/11/12: Juve vs Nordsjaelland
07/11/12: Chelsea vs S. Donetsk
20/11/12: Nordsjaelland vs S. Donetsk
20/11/12: Juventus vs Chelsea
05/12/12: S. Donetsk vs Juventus
05/12/12: Chelsea vs Nordsjaelland
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Valencia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| B. Borisov | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| B. Munich | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Lille | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Lille vs Bate Borisov - 1-3
B. Munich vs Valencia - 2-1
Valencia vs Lille - 2-0
Bate Borisov vs B. Munich - 3-1
Bate Borisov vs Valencia - 0-3
Lille vs Bayern Munich - 0-1
07/11/12: Valencia vs Bate Borisov
07/11/12: B. Munich vs Lille
20/11/12: Bate Borisov vs Lille
20/11/12: Valencia vs B. Munich
05/12/12: Lille vs Valencia
05/12/12: B. Munich vs Bate Borisov
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barcelona | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
| Celtic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| S. Moscow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| Benfica | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Barcelona vs S. Moscow - 3-2
Celtic vs Benfica - 0-0
Benfica vs Barcelona - 0-2
S. Moscow vs Celtic - 2-3
S. Moscow vs Benfica - 2-1
Barcelona vs Celtic - 2-1
07/11/12: Benfica vs S. Moscow
07/11/12: Celtic vs Barcelona
20/11/12: S. Moscow vs Barcelona
20/11/12: Benfica vs Celtic
05/12/12: Barcelona vs Benfica
05/12/12: Celtic vs S. Moscow
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| CFR Cluj | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Braga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Galatasaray | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Man. United vs Galatasaray - 1-0
Braga vs CFR Cluj - 0-2
CFR Cluj vs Man. United - 1-2
Galatasaray vs Braga - 0-2
Galatasaray vs CFR Cluj - 1-1
Man. United vs Braga - 3-2
07/11/12: CFR Cluj vs Galatasaray
07/11/12: Braga vs Man. United
20/11/12: Galatasaray vs Man. United
20/11/12: CFR Cluj vs Braga
05/12/12: Man. United vs CFR Cluj
05/12/12: Braga vs Galatasaray
Playing today
Group A
Porto - Dynamo Kiev
D. Zagreb - Paris SG
Standings: Porto 6; Paris SG, Dynamo Kiev 3; Dinamo Zagreb 0.
Group B
Arsenal - Schalke - TVM 2
Montpellier - Olympiakos
Standings: Arsenal 6; Schalke 4; Montpellier 1; Olympiakos 0.
Group C
Zenit SP - Anderlecht - 18.00
Malaga - Milan
Standings: Malaga 6; Milan 4; Anderlecht 1; Zenit SP 0.
Group D
Ajax - Man. City
B. Dortmund - R. Madrid
Standings: R. Madrid 6; B. Dortmund 4; Manchester City 1; Ajax 0.