Messi picks up where he left off, Chelsea stumble

FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi responded in kind to Cristiano Ronaldo's treble, FC Basel 1893 stunned Chelsea FC and SSC Napoli beat Borussia Dortmund as matchday one concluded.
Gerardo Martino enjoyed a comfortable first night of UEFA Champions League action, with his FC Barcelona side winning 4-0 in their maiden meeting with fellow four-time European Cup winners AFC Ajax.Lionel Messi, UEFA Champions League top scorer for four years in a row before Cristiano Ronaldo stole his crown last season, does not look likely to give up without a fight this term. Where the Portugal forward hit a hat-trick for Real Madrid CF on opening night, Messi duly followed suit against Ajax. The Argentina forward now has four UEFA Champions League hat-tricks, more than any other player. Gerard Piqué was also on the mark for the Azulgrana, with the Eredivisie title holders spurning the chance for a consolation from the penalty spot. In the other game in Group H, AC Milan struck twice in the last eight minutes to see off Celtic FC.

Group F, one of the toughest sections to call, has taken some early shape following 2-1 victories for Arsenal FC and SSC Napoli. The Gunners prevailed at Olympique de Marseille courtesy of Theo Walcott and the in-form Aaron Ramsey, while Rafael Benítez's team picked up three points against the 2012/13 runners-up thanks to goals from Gonzalo Higuaín and Lorenzo Insigne. Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller was sent off on the stroke of half-time in Naples. Both OM and Dortmund halved their arrears late on but it was too little, too late.

Chelsea FC – whom Benítez guided to last season's UEFA Europa League title – did not enjoy such a good start, losing 2-1 at home to FC Basel 1893, the club they eliminated in the semi-finals en route to triumphing in Amsterdam in May. The west Londoners were previously unbeaten in 13 European matches at Stamford Bridge. Sitting atop Group E are FC Schalke 04, 3-0 victors over FC Steaua Bucureşti in Gelsenkirchen.


FK Austria Wien, the only group stage debutants involved this term, marked their bow in the competition proper with a 1-0 home defeat by FC Porto. Club Atlético de Madrid won 3-1 against FC Zenit in the other Group G fixture.

Group E
FC Schalke 04 3-0 FC Steaua Bucureşti
Chelsea FC 1-2 FC Basel 1893

Group F
Olympique de Marseille 1-2 Arsenal FC
SSC Napoli 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Group G
FK Austria Wien 0-1 FC Porto
Club Atlético de Madrid 3-1 FC Zenit

Group H
AC Milan 2-0 Celtic FC
FC Barcelona 4-0 AFC Ajax

Chelsea 1-2 Basel

Salah and Streller stun Stamford Bridge!!!

Jose Mourinho loses his second match on the trot as the Swiss side grew in the second half to beat the Premier League outfit after Oscar broke the deadline just before half-time.Jose Mourinho endured frustration on his return to Champions League action with Chelsea as Basel came from a goal down to win 2-1.Six years to the day after a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg that represented the final game of Mourinho's first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were stunned by second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller.

Oscar fired the hosts ahead in the 45th minute in the Group E clash with his sixth goal in seven Champions League outings and the Brazilian also hit the bar prior to Salah’s classy left-footed leveller.

That goal prompted Chelsea to throw men forward, yet it was Basel - always dangerous on the break - who struck again when Streller beat Petr Cech with a near-post header from a corner.

Willian was handed his Chelsea debut and Marco van Ginkel a first start as Mourinho made five changes from the side beaten 1-0 by Everton at the weekend.

Basel recalled a host of players after fielding a weakened side for their Schweizer Pokal victory against Munsingen.

Mourinho's men unsurprisingly started the game on the front foot, albeit without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

There was a scare for Basel goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 15th minute when he fumbled a corner from the left, but a free-kick was swiftly awarded in his favour.

The pacey Salah - a scorer at Stamford Bridge in last season's Europa League semi-final between the two sides - represented the main threat when Basel launched occasional attacks.

After Eden Hazard had spurned a rare clear sighting of goal for Chelsea following good work from Samuel Eto'o, Salah also proved wasteful when cutting in from the right and curling a shot over the bar.

Despite dominating possession and the corner count, the hosts remained frustrated as half-time approached.

However, Chelsea were lifted on the stroke of the interval as Oscar popped up with a timely goal.

David Luiz set the attack in motion by stepping into midfield and Oscar latched on to a delicate throughball from Frank Lampard to find the bottom-left corner with a first-time shot on the turn.

Streller was close to connecting with a left-wing cross early in the second half before Oscar struck the bar at the other end with a tremendous effort from just outside the area.

Hazard failed to hit the target once again either side of Branislav Ivanovic twice threatening from set-pieces.

Chelsea were then punished for not extending their lead when a cross from the left broke via Streller to Salah, who emulated Oscar by only requiring one touch to find the net.

Although Chelsea poured forward in search of a late winner, it was Basel who finished the stronger and their encouraging play gained reward as Streller shocked the home crowd.