Champions League round-up: Leverkusen hold Roma in eight goal thriller

Bayer Leverkusen 4 Roma 4

Bayer Leverkusen squandered a two-goal lead but scored twice in the final minutes to rescue a 4-4 draw against AS Roma in an entertaining Champions League Group E match on Tuesday.

Mexico forward Javier Hernandez struck twice for the hosts, including a fourth minute penalty as Leverkusen looked to be cruising to victory and the Italians suffering a horror start.

But Daniele De Rossi, who also scored on Saturday to mark his 500th appearance for the club in their 3-1 win over Empoli, twice caught the defence napping to level.

Bosnian Miralem Pjanic curled in a free kick in the 54th to put them ahead and substitute Iago Falque thought he had won it for the Italians before goals from Kevin Kampl in the 84th and Admir Mehmedi in the 86th drew the hosts level.

Leverkusen remain second on four points with Roma bottom on two. Barcelona are top on seven after beating BATE Borisov.

BATE Borisov 0 FC Barcelona 2

Two goals from Ivan Rakitic gave Barcelona a comfortable 2-0 victory away to BATE Borisov on Tuesday and consolidated their position at the top of Champions League Group E.

Rakitic, who came on following an injury to Sergi Roberto after just 17 minutes, hit a sublime strike into the top corner having been set up by Neymar at the start of the second half.

A livewire Neymar led Barca in the absence of the injured Lionel Messi but while they had plenty of possession they lacked a cutting edge in the first half.

Neymar was again the provider after 64 minutes for Rakitic who sealed the win with a clinical finish past keeper Sergey Chernik. Barca have seven points from three games and BATE have three.

FC Porto 2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 0

Two first half goals gave Porto an easy 2-0 win over Champions League Group G outsiders Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday that put the Portuguese side in the box seat to qualify for the last 16.

Goals from striker Vincent Aboubakar in the 37th minute and Yacine Brahimi in the 41st helped Porto go two points clear at the top of the group as rivals Dynamo Kiev held Chelsea to a goalless draw.

Porto allowed Maccabi plenty of possession and space but that was never going to be enough for the Israelis, as the superior speed and skill of the home team kept them in control and they were never threatened.

Maccabi managed to create some threatening situations midway through the first 45 minutes but they are still without a point or a goal in the competition so far.

The dynamic Aboubakar, a constant threat, ran into the area to powerfully head home a perfectly-measured cross from the left by Miguel Layun that left Maccabi‘s goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic helpless on his line.

Aboubakar then sent a ball through the middle of the Maccabi defence for Brahimi to slot home and effectively end the match as a contest.

Porto‘s former Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas set a new record for the most clean sheets in the Champions League with his 51st shutout, moving one ahead of ex-Juventus and Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar.

Dinamo Zagreb 0 Olympiakos 1

Olympiakos Piraeus boosted their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages after an Ideye Brown goal helped them to a 1-0 Group F win at Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.

The result left Olympiakos level with Bayern Munich at the top of the section with six points from three games after the German side suffered a 2-0 setback at Arsenal.

Dinamo and Arsenal have three points each.

Nigerian Ideye scored the 79th-minute winner with a superb finish from a tight angle, redeeming himself for an astonishing miss earlier in the second half.

Dinamo had the upper hand in the opening period but the best chance fell to the visitors when a viciously dipping shot by defender Arthur Masuaku forced a good save from the home team’s goalkeeper Eduardo.

Dinamo pounded a series of fizzing crosses into the penalty area but to no great effect as a packed Olympiakos defence held their own.

Both sides missed a sitter each in the space of a minute shortly after the break when Dinamo’s Domagoj Antolic hit the post from close range before Ideye skewed his shot wide from three metres with the goal at his mercy.

Marko Rog’s trickling shot shaved the Olympiakos woodwork before Ideye raced clear of his marker on the left flank and buried the ball past Eduardo with a crisp finish.

Substitute Angelo Henriquez missed Dinamo’s last chance to salvage a point, heading inches wide of the far post after a good cross from the right by full-back Alexandru Matel.

Valencia 2 Gent 1

Valencia made it two wins out of three in Champions League Group H when own goals from the luckless Lasse Nielsen and Stefan Mitrovic gifted the La Liga side a 2-1 victory over Belgian champions Geent on Tuesday.

After losing 3-2 at home to Zenit St Petersburg in their opening game, Valencia revived their bid for a place in the round of 16 when a Sofiane Feghouli effort secured a 1-0 success in Lyon last month.

The Algeria international was again decisive at a rainy Mestalla, vying with Nielsen to be first to a Joao Cancelo centre and forcing the Dane to put the ball into his own net in the 15th minute.

Valencia almost doubled their lead 10 minutes later but Santi Mina and Dani Parejo were denied by a superb double save from goalkeeper Matz Sels.

The visitors levelled five minutes before the break when Thomas Foket chested the ball down in the penalty area and smashed a superb angled shot high past Jaume Domenech in the home goal.

Valencia struggled to exert control in the second half, with the fans at the Mestalla becoming increasingly frustrated until a Jose Gaya cross-shot ricocheted into the net off the unfortunate Mitrovic 18 minutes from time.

It was hardly a vintage performance from Valencia, back in the Champions League after a two-year absence, but tightened their grip on second place in the section with six points.

Zenit lead on a maximum nine points after they won 3-1 at home to Lyon, with Gent and Lyon each on one point.

Zenit St Petersburg 3 Lyon 1

Zenit St Petersburg stepped closer to reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League after making it three wins out of three in Group H following a 3-1 win against Lyon.

Zenit did not take long to take advantage of a lacklustre start by the visitors. A fine pass by Oleg Shatov in the third minute was played in Artem Dzyuba, who had time to take a touch before stroking the ball past Anthony Lopez to score his 11th goal in as many games for club and country.

Andre Villas-Boas’ side were dominant and should have extended their lead. Dzyuba had a great chance to score his second following good work by Shatov and Hulk, but he slipped at the vital moment and his shot ballooned over the bar.

Whatever Hubert Fournier said to his team at half time worked, as they were rejuvenated. The French outfit drew level four minutes after the break as Alexandre Lacazette brilliantly deflected Christophe Jallet’s cross past Mikhail Kerzhakov.

Lyon looked to be dominating but Hulk scored a stunning goal in the 56th minute to put the hosts back in front. The Brazilian forward picked the ball up on the halfway line and advanced towards the Lyon goal before unleashing an outstanding left foot shot which swerved past Lopez to score his third goal in as many Champions League games this season.

Dzyuba missed another glorious opportunity to put Zenit 3-1 ahead as he shot wide after being put though on goal. Lyon pushed forward in search of an equaliser and Lacazette almost provided it, but he was denied by an excellent last-ditch tackle by Alexander Anyukov.

With nine minutes to go, Lyon were caught on the break and Zenit captain Danny sealed victory with a composed finish after being played in by Shatov.

Zenit stay top of Group H with nine points from three games, while Lyon have just a point. The two sides meet again in France on Nov. 4 in a game Lyon have to win to keep their qualification hopes alive.