AC Milan secured a gutsy 2-2 draw against European champions FC Barcelona thanks to goals in the first and final seconds of an absorbing match in Catalonia.
Pato gave the visitors a dream start when he notched the quickest matchday one goal in UEFA Champions League history, only for Pedro RodrÃguez and David Villa, showpiece scorers last term, to reply either side of half-time. After a Lionel Messi masterclass it looked as if Josep Guardiola's side would top Group H, only for Thiago Silva's added-time header to restrict them to a point.
Milan's opener, after 25 seconds, was a mixture of audacity, vision and power. Pato swivelled in midfield and spotted that centre-backs Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets were holding a high line. His explosive burst between them left the pair in his wake. Pato then dealt with VÃctor Valdés, celebrated for his one-on-one saves, by calmly slotting under the advancing keeper. A marvellous way to inaugurate the new season.
It was immediately clear that Massimilliano Allegri had ordered Pato to unleash his pace with Barcelona club captain Carles Puyol starting on the bench. The striker continued to cause trouble until Guardiola placed Éric Abidal on man-marking duties. With ten minutes gone, the hosts had reasserted themselves.
Messi began his personal vendetta against the shock scoreline by forcing Christian Abbiati's first save. For the next 24 minutes it was, simply, the Messi show. His follow-up was a free-kick cracked off Abbiati's left-hand post and just before the half-hour the keeper needed a strong hand to block the Argentinian's low shot. Then again; the breakthrough was imminent.
Barcelona's mercurial No10 was, inevitably, at the heart of it, leaving Mark van Bommel, Alessandro Nesta and Ignazio Abate standing with a searing burst of pace before squaring for Pedro to tap in the equaliser. Both sides made enforced changes before the break – Massimo Ambrosini for Kevin-Prince Boateng and Cesc Fà bregas for Andrés Iniesta.
Within five minutes of the restart Barcelona underlined their champion credentials. From 30 metres Villa hammered a free-kick into Abbiati's top right corner to make it 2-1. The goal brought further Barça possession, but no reward as Milan drew on every shred of experience to stay in the match – harassing, pressing and sniffing openings. Two minutes into added time Clarence Seedorf's corner created one and Thiago emphatically pounced.
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Ivan Perišić denied Arsenal FC the boost of an opening-day win as his superb late volley salvaged Borussia Dortmund a 1-1 draw in the tussle of the wounded giants in Group F.
The shadow of indifferent league form hung over both teams in western Germany, and though it was the Bundesliga champions who built the first-half momentum, Robin van Persie leapt on a lapse at the back and produced a fine finish against the run of play close to the interval. His goal helped the Gunners settle after the break, but just as it seemed they would hold on substitute Perišić pounced.
With the home fans greeting kick-off with a wall of noise, there was a vibrancy about the occasion from the start that quickly infected the players. Both sides began with zip and purpose and both wrought early chances, with Mats Hummels just about dispossessing Gervinho in front of the Dortmund goal before Kevin Grosskreutz blasted over at the other end.
The same fate befell Shinji Kagawa moments later, but the hosts were soon back again as Mario Götze freed Robert Lewandowski to skip past Poland team-mate Wojciech Szczęsny and force Bacary Sagna to block on the line. Arsenal were on the rack suddenly, with Götze pulling the levers; yet they survived that flurry and threatened again shortly after the half-hour when Van Persie had a shot palmed wide following an instinctive Yossi Benayoun pass.
Dortmund's response came in the form of a Lewandowski header clutched gratefully by Szczęsny, but any sense that Jürgen Klopp's men would ramp up the pressure again was extinguished when Van Persie was allowed to poke the ball away from Sebastian Kehl to Theo Walcott deep in Dortmund territory. He thundered a shot beyond Roman Weidenfeller after accepting the return pass.
Arsène Wenger could not have hoped for a better end to the half as he served the first instalment of his two-game touchline ban in the stands, and his team came out looking more composed after the break. Able to stifle most of their opponents' advances, they nearly doubled their advantage when Gervinho wriggled free and fired straight at Weidenfeller.
Some last-ditch tackling served Wenger's men well on occasion too, with Alex Song halting a slaloming Götze run, but Dortmund never gave up hope. They produced a fantastic equaliser, Perišić burying a left-footed volley high into the far corner after Per Mertesacker had cleared a free-kick. Arsenal were grateful to emerge with a point, in fact, as Szczęsny denied Lewandowski in added time.
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000263/match=2007572/postmatch/report/index.html
