Juventus Ties while Bayern wins by three

Juventus 1 - 1 Bordeaux

Jaroslav Plašil struck 15 minutes from time to seal a hard-earned point for FC Girondins de Bordeaux in Turin as Juventus struggled to find their flow in driving rain.

Vincenzo Iaquinta had given the stuttering hosts a lead they scarcely deserved just after the hour but Juve, for whom Gianluigi Buffon made a string of wonderful saves, were unable to hold on. Plašil fired in from point-blank range to earn the visitors a Group A point, and Juve's disappointment was exacerbated when Claudio Marchisio spurned a glorious chance to make it 2-1 in the dying seconds.

The hosts had been on the back foot from the off with Fernando, the deep-lying midfielder, eager to make an impression. He almost made a real one inside three minutes, picking up a loose ball, jinking inside three Juve defenders and firing a powerful angled shot that needed a sharp stop from Buffon. There was a real hunger in Bordeaux's play, typified as one full-back, Benoît Trémoulinas, had a shot blocked while Plašil on the other flank was causing problems with his industrious running.

The Bianconeri were fitful and could only boast a snap shot from Fabio Grosso, which sailed over, and a toe-poked half chance by Iaquinta, as noteworthy attempts inside the first 20 minutes. Sebastian Giovinco, in for the injured Diego, gradually found space to exert some influence, however, and his clever footwork gave Amauri a sight at goal which Cédric Carrasso saved. The 22-year-old then tested the former Toulouse FC goalkeeper himself with a thunderous shot on the half-hour.

But La Vecchia Signora were struggling to find their rhythm as the pitch deteriorated under sodden skies. Mistakes crept back into their play and as they retreated Bordeaux twice threatened from corners, Alou Diarra shooting wide and then heading over. The French side continued to turn the screw after the break and were denied by more Buffon heroics as he repelled Yoann Gourcuff's shot after the midfielder had burst into the area. Fabio Cannavaro and Nicola Legrottaglie were both called upon to make last-ditch tackles as Juve threatened to crack.

A pause as Carrasso went off injured allowed Ciro Ferrara's men to take stock, and a subsequent spell of sustained pressure resulted in Cannavaro threading a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Iaquinta, who rifled low past Carrasso's replacement Ulrich Ramé. Juventus were transformed, and Felipe Melo almost doubled their lead soon after as Ramé tipped wide. The veteran also reacted well to Amauri's glancing header just after Buffon denied Fernando with another show-stopping save.

The Italy No1 could do nothing about the equaliser, though, as Plašil stole in at the far post to tap in after Fernando had flicked Gourcuff's free-kick into his path. Buffon and his team-mates could only look on in dismay when, as they laid siege to the Bordeaux goal in the closing stages, Marchisio sent a fierce effort crashing against the bar.


Maccabi Haifa FC 0 - 3 FC Bayern München

FC Bayern München came on strong in the second half in Tel-Aviv to record a 3-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa FC on opening night of the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League.


Daniel Van Buyten made the breakthrough for the Bundesliga club before Thomas Müller’s late brace wrapped up the points which took Bayern top of Group A. Despite the defeat – only a second in 29 competitive matches for the Israeli champions – Haifa were cheered off the pitch by their fans.

Bayern seemed unfazed by the heat and humidity of a Ramat Gan national stadium draped in Haifa green, putting the hosts under pressure from the start. The power and physicality of Bayern's midfield and defence appeared to preclude any Haifa attempts to develop their attacking game, so it was visiting striker Ivica Olić who caused the early threat. The Croatian international flashed an effort from close range over the crossbar on 25 minutes and then had a header ruled out for offside.

The longer Haifa managed to hang on, so confidence levels rose among Elisha Levi’s players and their supporters. Moments before half-time Eyal Golasa blasted a shot over, a feat emulated by Bastian Schweinsteiger at the opposite end. That exchange was the cue for a more open second-half contest as both sides found space and pushed forward. Yaniv Katan forced Bayern keeper Hans-Jörg Butt into two saves in as many minutes – the first from a powerful right-foot shot from the edge of the area, the second from a weaker attempt with the left after Haifa's captain had turned Daniel Van Buyten.

For Bayern, Arjen Robben forced Nir Davidovitch to make a reflex save from his free-kick, before the Dutchman's countryman Van Buyten silenced the home fans after 63 minutes. When Haifa's defence failed to deal with a corner, the giant defender smashed a right-foot shot past Davidovitch to break the deadlock

Coach Levy made a double substitution as Shlomi Arbeitman and Ali Osman replaced Mohammad Ghadir and Baram Kayal. But more action followed at the Haifa end when Golasa rescued his team by heading Olić's header off the goalline. Still, there were fraught moments to come for Louis van Gaal on the Bayern bench. Vladimer Dvalishvili knocked a ball down for Arbeitman whose clever return flick was met by a Dvalishvili blast that Butt had to tip over. Dvalishvili also headed Katan's pinpoint cross too close to the Bayern custodian.

Bayern showed their hosts how to finish off their approach work in the 85th minute when substitute Andreas Ottl teed up Thomas Müller and his shot from the edge of the box deflected in off Gustavo Boccoli.Three minutes later, Müller struck again. With Haifa's defence sleeping, allowing Mario Gómez had time to measure a cross which the unmarked Müller tapped in at the near post.