Suárez gets Barça rolling, Juve slump to loss
Sunday, August 23, 2015
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Luis Suárez was the hero for Barcelona on a day that brought mixed results for their fellow group stage sides, including a rare home defeat for Juventus.
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There were highs and lows for the UEFA Champions League group stage sides on Sunday as Barcelona began their Liga defence with a win and Juventus kicked off the Serie A season with a defeat, while Chelsea and Manchester City won in England. UEFA.com recaps the action.
Athletic 0-1 Barcelona
The UEFA Champions League holders eked out an away success in Bilbao – nine days after a 4-0 Spanish Super Cup reverse at the same venue. Luis Suárez's 54th-minute volley sealed the points, despite Lionel Messi failing to convert a first-half spot kick.
Arouca 1-0 Benfica
The Eagles missed the chance to claim top spot in Portugal as they fell to a shock 1-0 loss at surprise pacesetters Arouca, despite dominating the encounter. Roberto's third-minute effort proved enough to separate the teams and leave Benfica coach Rui Vitória with work to do.
West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Chelsea
Pedro Rodríguez scored in his maiden outing since signing from Barcelona as José Mourinho's men clinched their first Premier League victory this term in the Portuguese manager's 300th game at the Chelsea helm. Pedro and Diego Costa gave the Blues a comfortable platform – Thibaut Courtois having saved a penalty – but they had to hold their nerve after James Morrison struck either side of John Terry's 54th-minute red card.
Kortrijk 0-0 Gent
Fourth-placed Gent, who won their first Belgian championship in their 115-year history last season, are now four points adrift of leaders Oostende after being held to a goalless stalemate against De Kerels.
Juventus 0–1 Udinese
Cyril Théréau struck 12 minutes from time as the Italian champions lost at home on the opening day of the season for the first time in their history. The shock result ended the Bianconeri's run of 47 league games without defeat in Turin.
Everton 0-2 Manchester City
Early pacesetters City maintained their winning start to the Premier League season and equalled a club record run of nine successive victories by condemning the Toffees to their first defeat. Romelu Lukaku struck the woodwork in the first half before the visitors went ahead via Aleksandar Kolarov's 60th-minute finish. Substitute Samir Nasri secured a third success in as many games with a late dinked effort.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–2 Mainz
Mönchengladbach lie rooted to the foot of the Bundesliga table after losing for a second week running. Patrick Herrmann brought the Foals level in the second half following Jairo Samperio's opener, but Christian Clemens registered with 11 minutes remaining to leave the hosts still searching for their first point.
Olympiacos 3-0 Panionios
Marco Silva enjoyed a productive start to life on the Olympiacos bench as the Greek champions opened their 2015/16 campaign with a comfortable triumph. Kostas Fortounis struck the initial blow in the first half ahead of goals from Andreas Bouchalakis and, in added time, Mathieu Dossevi.
Gijón 0-0 Real Madrid
Rafael Benítez's reign as Madrid coach got off to a frustrating start as the Merengues were held to a goalless draw in their first Liga mission of the new season. Iván Cuéllar saved superbly from Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half as promoted Gijón resisted sustained pressure to hold out for a noteworthy point.