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The second day of the UEFA Champions League saw the clash of the titans - Inter Milan and Barcel ona at the Italian side's home base; San Siro. The intriguing clash pitted Europe's star strikers Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic against their ex-clubs. However, the match failed to live up to its billing as both sides cancelled each other out and it was the defence on the either end which stood out for their performance rather than the star studded attacking options. In Belgium, English giants Arsenal survived a scare as they came from 2 goals down to squeeze out a thrilling 3-2 against Standard Liege. L iverpool, Lyon and Sevilla were the other notable winners on the day.

The Inter-Barca match saw both sides fielding their strongest eleven and promised a night to remember for the football loving gentry. True to the hype, the match started on a great note as Messi showed a glimpse of his twinkle toes as he stormed his way into the heart of the Inter defence in the 2nd minute and had a good shot parried away to safety by Inter keeper Julio Cesar. Ibrahimovic then missed a golden chance to make his old club pay in the 8th minute as he lashed at a volley from close range which went sailing over the bar. The initial 10-15 minute spell was torrid from Inter's point of view as the Barca players started to get into their famed passing groove. Thankfully for the partisan home fans, the Inter players rose to the challenge posed by the reigning European Champions and were right in the faces of their Spanish counterparts. Ibrahimovic and Eto'o seemed to be in a mood to prove their detractors wrong as both ran the extra mile and kept the opposition defenders honest. Inter's first significant attempt at goal came through new signing Diego Milito, who made space for himself and drilled a low shot at Victor Valdes' goal, who managed to hold on to it. The best chance of the half fell to Barcelona's Seydou Keita, who shot embarassingly wide from close range after a neat build up from Barca.The last piece of action came from the pocket sized dynamo Lionel Messi in the penultimate minute of the first half, as his shot from the edge of the box greased the palms of Cesar.

The second half started on a similar note as both teams maintained their shape at the back and closed down the opposition players with remarkable consistency. Chances were at a premium and the match needed a spark of individual brilliance or a mistake from one of the players to decide the fate of the game. Inter started the brighter of the two sides as Sneijder's left footed drive was agonisingly wide of Victor Valdes' goal post. Barca responded through Ibrahimovic in the 47th minute who inexplicably tried to lob one over Cesar when a header might have fetched a much better return. With little happening for his team, Mourinho brought in Dejan Stankovic for Sulley Muntari in the 61st minute and the move seemed to pay off almost immediately as Stankovic's fierce shot zipped inches over the bar of a motionless Valdes. But from then on, Barca ran rings around Inter and tried to sneak a way through Inter's well oiled defence. To their credit, Inter stayed strong and gave Barca little encouragement. Iniesta came on for Thierry Henry in the 76th minute as Barca strove hard to get that elusive goal. The game however petered out to a dull end as both sides stuck to their defensive guns and made sure that neither started their campaign on a dismal note. Credit to Jose Mourinho on doing a great job of getting his team set-up perfectly to spoil and play on the break, though it did not make for pretty football, it got the job done on the night. Chances are neither manager will be too disappointed with the result on the night.

In the other match in Group F, Ukranian side Dynamo Kiev made sure that they were on top of the group at the end of the day with a 3-1 win over Russian club Rubin Kazan. Whether they stay their at the end of 6 matchdays however will be another matter. Kazan had taken a shock early lead in the first half, with their only shot on target on the night through Alejandro Dominguez, only for Kiev to come charging back in the second half, with 17 shots on goal. It took 71 minutes for the home side to equalize through midfielder Atanda Yussuf. Gerson Magrão and Oleg Gusev added the next two.

In Group H, Arsenal came from 2 goals down against Belgian side Standard Liege to eventually win 3-2. It was a brave performance from Arsene Wenger's wards and after a turbulent couple of weeks; a silver lining was finally there on the horizon for the London club. Liege had scored twice in the opening five minutes, handing 21-year old Arsenal reserve keeper Vito Mannone a disappointing Champions League debut. Eliaquim Mangala strike from the edge of the box beat the keeper at his near post, before Milan Jovanovic sent the home fans into raptures after winning and scoring a penalty. But, Nicklas Bendtner's strike on the stroke of half-time gave the Londoner's some hope. New signing Thomas Vermaelen got a rather fortuitous equalizer in the 78th minute, amidst suspicions of handball and offside, before Eduardo da Silva scored the winner just three minutes later.

In the other Group H encounter, Greek champions Olympiakos got the better of Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar with the aid of a solitary goal from their midfielder Vassilis Torosidis.

Group E saw Liverpool start their campaign on a winning note as they got past their little known opponents from Hungary, Debrecen with thanks to a goal from the tireless Dirk Kuyt. While in the other match, Lyon and Fiorentia squared up in a much anticipated clash at the end of which the home side, Lyon pipped Fiorentina with their centre forward Miralem Pjanic finding the back of the net.

Group G saw VfB Stuttgart clash with Glasgow Rangers. The match resulted in a 1-1 draw; surely a missed opportunity for the Germans as they would have backed themselves to get the 3 points at home. Sevilla started their campaign on a winning note as they won 2-0 against Romanian club Unirea Urziceni. Luis Fabiano and Renato were the scorers for the Spanish outfit.

Scores Summary:

Group E
Liverpool 1-0 Debrecen
Lyon 1-0 Fiorentia

Group F
Inter Milan 0-0 Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev 3-1 FC Rubin Kazan

Group G
Stuttgart 1-1 Rangers
Sevilla 2-0 Unirea Urziceni

Group H
Olympiakos 1-0 AZ Alkmaar
Standard Liege 2-3 Arsenal

File Photograph Copyright: luiginter