Aguero brace helps Atletico lay down early marker
Aguero gave the Spanish team the best possible start in the ninth minute and doubled his tally towards the end of the first half before Maniche killed the game off nine minutes after the break.
The only bad news for the Spanish team came on the half-hour mark, when Diego Forlan limped off with a hamstring injury.
Internazionale started their quest for Champions League glory with a fortunate 2-0 win at Panathinaikos.
Jose Mourinho’s side went ahead through a Mancini goal in the 27th minute, but they were forced to defend for the remaining hour as the home side searched in vain for an equaliser.
Adriano then sealed the win in the 85th minute with his first touch of the game to give Inter all three points on a difficult night in the Greek capital.
In the same group, Werder Bremen failed to break their opening-day Champions League jinx as they were held to a goalless draw by Group B minnows Anorthosis Famagusta.
Last year’s Bundesliga runners-up spurned chance after chance at the Weser Stadion as the Cypriots, making their debut appearance in the group stage, clung on for a desperate point.
Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro was the culprit in chief as he missed a hat-trick of presentable first-half chances as the home side failed to win on matchday one for the fifth consecutive year.
In Chelsea’s Group A, Juan Culio scored twice as CFR Cluj came from behind to beat AS Roma 2-1 and make a stunning Champions League debut in their opener at the Stadio Olimpico.
Christian Panucci had headed the Serie A side in front in the 17th minute after Daniele De Rossi stole the ball near the corner flag and whipped a cross to the near post.
Argentine forward Culio levelled in the 27th with a diagonal strike from outside the area set up by a sweet lay-off from Eugen Trica.
He then volleyed home a loose header from Marco Cassetti four minutes after the break to give the Romanian champions a night to remember.
In Barcelona’s group, two moments of Brazilian magic secured Shakhtar Donetsk a deserved 2-1 victory in against Basle.
Fernandinho set the ball rolling for the Ukrainian champions with a stunning free-kick after 25 minutes while fellow Brazilian Jadson doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time, before Basle managed a late consolation strike from David Abraham.
Victory on the road is the perfect start for Shakhtar, who have a notoriously poor away record in the competition.
Mircea Lucescu’s troops have qualified for the Champions League group stage for the third season in a row, but have yet to reach the knockout stage.
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