Paris (AFP) - Jerome Boateng's late goal and a second-half equaliser from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on Wednesday completed a good week for German clubs against their counterparts from England in the opening round of Champions League group games.
Boateng's first ever goal in the competition was a memorable one as it sealed a 1-0 win for Bayern Munich against his former club Manchester City in Group E, the defender unleashing a fierce drive to at last beat Joe Hart as the teams met in the group stage for the third time in four seasons.
Meanwhile, Huntelaar's strike allowed Schalke 04 to earn a deserved 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in Group G after Cesc Fabregas had been slightly fortunate to see his first goal for his club stand.
Bayern and Schalke's strong showings against English opposition followed on from Borussia Dortmund's dominant performance on Tuesday in beating Arsenal 2-0.
Elsewhere Bayern coach Pep Guardiola's former club Barcelona eked out a 1-0 home win over resilient Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia with Gerard Pique getting the only goal in a match probably better remembered for legendary midfielder Xavi Hernandez equalling compatriot Raul's Champions League all-time appearance record of 142.
The side likely to be their main rivals to top Group F, Paris Saint-Germain, dropped points with a 1-1 draw away at Ajax.
PSG wasted a host of chances when they were 1-0 up -- Edinson Cavani's 28th goal in his 50th appearance for the French champions giving them the lead -- and paid the price when Danish international Lasse Schoene levelled with a delightful free-kick.
Two other games ended in draws - Athletic Bilbao's first game at this stage in 16 years saw them hold Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 0-0 in Group H.
Former Manchester United winger Nani got on the scoresheet for Sporting Lisbon but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will have not seen anything to fear too much from his group rivals as Slovenian champions Maribor fought back to grab a 1-1 draw.
Both AS Roma and Porto bucked the trend of low scoring games by thrashing CSKA Moscow and Belarus outfit BATE Borisov 5-1 and 6-0 respectively, with the Portuguese side's Algerian winger Yacine Brahimi producing the scoring performance of the evening with a hat-trick.
The 24-year-old's second was the pick of them as he collected the ball on the halfway line and ran through to slot the ball home.
- Unbridled celebrations -
For Boateng the goal provoked unbridled celebrations in Munich as he wheeled away and ran to the dugout where an ecstatic Guardiola embraced him -- a contrast to when the German World Cup-winning defender was sent off in a group match between the two sides last season.
"We had so many chances to score, but we wasted all of them until the last minute," said Boateng.
"The ball came absolutely perfectly to me and I thought to myself, this one I will hit into the roof of the net, and that's what I did. It was pure joy for me, but it was hard work. We wanted to win this match and we did it."
For Mourinho, who had to start veteran Didier Drogba up front as leading scoer Diego Costa's hamstring problem prevents him playing three games in a week, said his players should have finished the game off.
"I'm frustrated because we had very good chances to make it 2-0 and after the 1-1 we had a fantastic reaction and had more chances to win the game," Mourinho said.
"Schalke fought hard and congratulations to them. It's a good point for them and a point for us, but not a fantastic point."
Schalke manager Jens Keller by contrast was ecstatic with his side's performance.
"I'm very proud of what we did against such a top team. Our plan went perfectly.
"It's possible they underestimated us, but my team produced a really good tactical performance."