Champions League: Barcelona draws with Roma as Bayern Munich earns opener win

Lionel Messi’s 100th Champions League game didn’t end in a victory for Barcelona in their Group E opener on Wednesday. The defending champions felt the heat from AS Roma at Stadio Olimpico when the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez proved his skills with the ball rather than his bite when he gave Barca their first goal in the 21st minute. The first half looked positive for the Luis Enrique’s men, despite Messi missing a goal in the 18th minute thanks to Daniel De Rossi’s block.

The tide turned when Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi pulled a long-range masterstroke past goalie Marc-Andre ter Stagen. There were several over-the-bar misses from Lionel Messi’s constant attempts to catch back the lead, but Roma’s goalie Szczesny held on. There was a ray of hope when Szczesny fell to an injury and was substituted by Morgan de Santis, but the former Napoli keeper kept the posts safe.

Barcelona’s stars seemed to fail them as even Neymar came close to scoring a comeback goal but hit a dead-end with defender Kostas Manolas. When the final whistle blew, it was a disappointing beginning to the visitor’s Champions League campaign and a satisfying beginning to Roma’s season.

Bayern Munich had a better day with a clean 3-0 victory over hosts Olympiakos. The first goal came early, in the 20th minute, as the Greek side looked overwhelmed by the Bayern plays. Gotze capitalized on the early lead when he cleared a cutback from Kingsley Coman past goalie Roberto.

The final blow to the Greeks came with Thomas Muller sealing the penalty after a foul to Coman. The match that began with clear expectations of a Bayern win ended positively for the visitors’ Champions League opener.