Paris: Raheem Sterling netted at both ends as Manchester City were made to fight for a 3-3 draw with Celtic in a Champions League thriller Wednesday, while Atletico Madrid once again defeated Bayern Munich at home.
While City’s perfect start to the season was ended in Glasgow, their Premier League rivals Arsenal eased to a 2-0 victory against Basel.
Atletico had eliminated Bayern in the semifinals last season and repeated the trick at the Vicente Calderon to make it a double for Spanish clubs against German opposition.
On paper, the Group C clash at Celtic Park appeared to be a bit of a mismatch with City looking to equal Tottenham Hotspur’s English record of 11 successive victories at the start of a campaign in 1960.
But instead Pep Guardiola’s men found themselves having to come from behind three times to claim a point at a raucous Park, with Celtic first scoring in the third minute when an Erik Sviatchenko header went in off Moussa Dembele.
Fernandinho equalised only for a Kieran Tierney cross to go in off Sterling and restore the Scottish champions’ lead. Sterling’s brilliantly-taken goal at the other end restored parity before the half-hour mark, but Dembele capitalised on an Aleksandar Kolarov error to make it 3-2 just after the break.
However, Nolito got City’s third equaliser and it was the English side who looked more likely to go on and win it.
“I don’t know how many the chances they had after the third goal. We should have won it,” said Guardiola.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott made the difference as Arsenal eased to three points against Basel at the Emirates Stadium.
The Swiss champions have enjoyed excellent results in European competition against English sides in recent years but a first half brace by Walcott ensured it was a comfortable night for the Gunners.
“We had pace, technical quality and movement. My only regret is we didn’t take all our chances,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
They are level atop Group A alongside Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Ludogorets 3-1 in Bulgaria. A Natanael free-kick gave Ludogorets the lead in Sofia, but Blaise Matuidi restored parity before the interval.
Edinson Cavani then grabbed two goals in the second half, either side of a Cosmin Moti penalty miss for the Bulgarian champions, to complete the comeback.
In Madrid, Atletico inflicted Carlo Ancelotti’s first defeat as coach of Bayern as Yannick Carrasco’s first half strike separated the sides at the end of the Group D fixture. The Spaniards could have won by a wider margin had Antoine Griezmann not struck the bar with a late penalty.
Agence France-Presse
