Udinese salvage point, Blues fight back

Published on September 29, 2011 by mod1 · No Comments

Almen Abdi’s late penalty salvaged a point for under-strength Udinese in their enthralling 1-1 draw with Celtic at Parkhead.

The Hoops got off to a perfect start when midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng scored from the spot in the third minute after striker Gary Hooper had been fouled by Joel Ekstrand. The game ebbed and flowed, especially in the second half, and it looked like Neil Lennon’s men would see the game out.

However, in the 86th minute Hooper, back defending, gave away a penalty when he clipped Neuton in the box and Abdi sent Lukasz Zaluska the wrong way from the spot. It was hard luck for Celtic who have one point from two games following defeat in their opening game.

Elsewhere in Grooup I, a late equaliser from substitute Juanfran earned Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw in a hard-fought clash against Stade Rennes at the Route de Lorient stadium. The winger levelled the scores in the 87th minute to earn a point for the 2010 Europa League winners after Victor Montano’s second-half strike looked to have given Ligue 1 side Rennes the win.

Schalke defender Christian Fuchs scored a goal in each half to help condemn Maccabi Haifa to their fifth straight defeat against German opposition in Europe as they lost 3-1.

Fuchs opened the scoring for the home side in the seventh minute when he drilled the ball into the bottom right hand corner. Idan Vered equalised for Maccabi 10 minutes before the break with a shot from close range before Fuchs put Schalke back in control in the 65th minute from a well taken free-kick. Jose Jurado added a third for Schalke with 10 minutes left to put the game out of reach and the Germans top of Group J.

In the group’s other game, AEK Larnaca picked up their first point but might feel they should have been celebrating a victory following a 1-1 draw against 10-man Steaua Bucharest. AEK took a 59th-minute lead through Miljan Mrdakovic before Steaua equalised through Mihai Costea, but they could nopt make their man advantage count after Pablo Brandan was red carded.

Ryan Donk’s 90th-minute header gave Club Brugge a smash-and-grab 2-1 victory at Braga.

The Portuguese side were utterly dominant in the first half and deservedly took the lead eight minutes after the break through Helder Barbosa. But Joseph Akpala, a first-half substitute, levelled after 71 minutes before Donk’s late contribution sealed the game in the visitors’ favour, leaving Brugge top of Group H.

Wade Elliott spared Birmingham goalkeeper Colin Doyle’s blushes as his winner earned the English Championship side a 2-1 victory after his team-mate’s blunder threatened to hand NK Maribor all three points.

Doyle had gifted the hosts a half-time lead in their Group H clash when he swung at and missed Jonathan Spector’s backpass to allow Dalibor Volas to score a comical opener. But Scotland winger Chris Burke levelled and then Elliott, a recent signing from Burnley, earned Chris Hughton’s side a memorable victory.

Red-hot Mathias Suarez helped Anderlecht maintain their 100% start as they emerged from a battering with an impressive 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.

Having scored a hat-trick in the opening-round 4-1 win over AEK Athens, Suarez was on target again early on, before goalkeeper Silvio Proto took over to produce a string of stunning saves that kept wave after wave of Lokomotiv attacks out. Then, just when it looked as though the home side were primed to make the breakthrough, substitute Dieudonne Mbokani added a clinching second for Anderlecht.

Andrew Johnson’s brace helped Fulham end an eight-game winless run and secure three points courtesy of a 2-0 win over Odense. The 30-year-old broke the deadlock with a first-half strike that snuck under former Everton goalkeeper Stefan Wessels, before scoring with a neat curling effort with two minutes remaining to put the Cottagers up to second in Group K.

FC Twente rose to the group’s summit, though, after Marc Janko’s double helped heap more misery upon outclassed Poles Wisla Krakow as Co Adriaanse’s men eased to a 4-1 victory. Wisla, already beaten by Odense in their opening Group K clash, took a shock ninth-minute lead through David Biton, but Janko’s double and goals for Luuk de Jong and Willem Janssen eased Twente home.

Brazilian forward Taison’s second-half cracker was enough to ensure that Metalist Kharkiv and AZ Alkmaar both emerged from an absorbing contest with a point each and their unbeaten starts intact following a 1-1 draw. They remain first and second in Group G, though Austria Vienna climbed to within a point of them after securing a 2-1 victory over Malmo thanks to goals from Nacer Barazite and Alexander Grunwald.

A goal ten minutes from time by Giorgos Fotakis saw PAOK Salonika claim a 2-2 draw at Rubin Kazan . The Greek side had taken the lead midway through the first half through Stefanos Athanasiadis before two second-half goals by Nelson Haedo Valdez and Vladimir Dyadyun appeared to have put the Russians on course for victory. However, Fotakis’ late intervention means PAOK claimed their second successive draw in Group A.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com