Barcelona strengthened their position at the top of Champions League Group E as a brace from substitute Ivan Rakitic steered them to a comfortable 2-0 win at BATE Borisov.

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European champions Barcelona saw their perfect start to the season ended after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Wednesday’s Champions League Group E opener.

Borussia Dortmund 2 Arsenal 0

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee and will be out of action for approximately three weeks, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Gary Cahill has acknowledged Chelsea must improve swiftly after a less than ideal beginning to Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Neil Lennon has called on the Scottish Football As

Galatasaray 1 Manchester United 0

Spartak Moscow 2 Celtic 3

DESPITE his unflappable image, Andre Villas-Boas must have feared that life as Chelsea manager would deteriorate further just minutes into his visit to Tyneside.

Gian Piero Gasperini is on the brink of being sacked as coach of Inter Milan just five matches into his reign.

Luka Modric’s agent has described rumours linking the Tottenham playmaker with a move to Inter Milan as “complete nonsense”.

Real Madrid 4 Auxerre 0

Michael Carrick could make his first-team return for Manchester United in their Champions League group stage clash with Valencia tomorrow.

HARRY REDKNAPP is ready to hand William Gallas and Rafael van der Vaart their Tottenham debuts in today’s Barclays Premier League game at West Brom as he prepares to rotate his squad for their maiden Champions League campaign.

ARSENAL striker Eduardo has been banned for two matches by UEFA for diving to win a penalty against Celtic in a Champions League qualifier last week.

ROBBIE KEANE has left no-one in any doubt that he intends to prove himself at Liverpool.

EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR has backed ‘best mate’ Emmanuel Eboue to return “stronger than ever” after being booed off by Arsenal’s own fans.

Rafael Benitez believes if Liverpool win in his home city of Madrid in their next Champions League group match on October 22 they will have one foot in the knockout stage.

STEVEN GERRARD blasted his way back onto the European centre stage with the sort of performance that makes him a “special player” even for hard-to-please boss Rafael Benitez.

FOUR Manchester United fans were jailed in Italy yesterday for their part in a fight with rival football supporters.

Italian football is under scrutiny once again after five Manchester United fans were stabbed in clashes with Roma supporters before Wednesday night's final Champions League group match between the two sides.

RAFAEL BENITEZ looked a vindicated man as he declared Liverpool’s record-breaking Champions League night the “perfect day” for the under-fire club.

AVRAM GRANT’S brave new world at Stamford Bridge continues to heal the wounds left by Jose Mourinho’s departure as Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Schalke put them in a commanding position in Champions League Group B.

RAFAEL BENITEZ has repeated his criticism of the Premier League after Liverpool were handed an early Saturday kick-off and long journey south immediately after a number of their players had been on international duty.

Arsenal 3 Sparta Prague 0 (Arsenal win 5-0 on aggregate)

Rafael Benitez revealed that he left striker Robbie Fowler on the pitch in Turkey because he believed the veteran had the talent to salvage something from their 3-2 defeat by Galatasaray.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan insists his strikers are still playing their part in the Hoops’ campaign despite their lack of goals.

Rafael Benitez revealed that Liverpool have paid a heavy price for winning Champions League group C with a 2-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven tonight.

Liverpool 2 PSV Eindhoven 0

Porto threw Champions League Group G wide open with a deserved away win over CSKA Moscow in the Lokomotiv Stadium last night, but their stay at the top was short-lived.

LIVERPOOL’S dependable Irish defender Steve Finnan accepts there is a glaring contrast between the Anfield club’s form in Europe and the Premier League.

PORTO have thrown Champions League Group G wide open as they notched up an impressive 3-1 victory in Hamburg to boost their chances of qualification and end any lingering hopes that the German side still had.

FRENCH champions Lyon fired out a broadside at Champions League rivals on Wednesday, playing with considerable flair to outclass Real Madrid 2-0 in Group E.

Rafael Benitez already thinks the World Cup is too long and demanding but he is now blaming the international break for Liverpool’s derby-day shocker.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has hailed Henrik Larsson and his Barcelona team-mates for helping the Glasgow giants into the Champions League group stages next season.

REAL MADRID qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with two games to go last night when they beat Rosenborg Trondheim 2-0 in Group F.

Champions League GROUP D:

Champions League GROUP E:

THIERRY HENRY vowed to lead Arsenal into the knock-out stages of the Champions League as he rounded on his critics and insisted: “I am not a machine.”

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was not surprised to see Michael Owen finally get on the scoresheet for Real Madrid.

Liam Miller was handed his first European start for Manchester United tonight as the Red Devils looked to consolidate their position at the top of Champions League Group D.

Chelsea’s final Champions League group match with Besiktas will be played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, home of Bundesliga side Schalke, on December 9.

Celtic 0 Bayern Munich 0