Published 9/14/2011 5:04:03 PM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul

Both English powerhouses Man City and Manchester United were held to draws on Wednesday on Matchday 1 of the Champions League.  Undoubtedly United had the more difficult task as they traveled to Portugal to face Benfica.  City were at home to a tough Napoli squad from Italy....but they were at home.

Benfica came out on the front foot as they tried to unsettle United.  The tactic worked as Benfica were the stronger side early on at Estadio da Luz.  They were rewarded midway through the opening half when Oscar Cardozo took a longball off his chest and fired past Lindegaard in the Manchester net.  It was a goal worthy of the Champions League.

The game was still tilting Benfica's way when Ryan Giggs brought the visitors back even.  He raced to the top of the Benfica penalty area before rifling high into the home sides goal.  Neither side were able to score in the second half though Benfica forced Manchester netminder Lindegaard into action several times.  All in all both sides will be fine with the point on the opening matchday.

Manchester City might not feel quite so happy with their point.  Drawn into the Group of Death, every home match is vital and dropped points on home soil will lead to an early exit.  Napoli came in and earned what could turn out to be a golden point.

After a scoreless opening half, Napoli caught City on the break in the 67th minute.  Christian Maggio won a ball in the midfield and raced 40 yards before playing Edinson Cavani to goal where he calmly slotted past Joe Hart.

Manchester City didn't give in though as they went to work after the tying goal.  They tied the match in only 7 minutes as Aleksandar Kolarov put home a perfect freekick from the edge of the area.  Despite the brief lead Napoli will take the point to the bank and look to defend their home soil in later dates.

Elsewhere in Champions League play, Real Madrid made the difficult trip to Russia and put on a bright display dominating the match in a 1-0 win.Angel Di Maria was the hero scoring in the 53rd minute.  Bayern Munich took control of the Group of Death with an impressive 2-0 win at Villareal as Toni Kroos got the win started scoring in the 7th minute.

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