Romelu Lukaku gave Chelsea a winning start into their Champions League title defence, 1-0 against Zenit St Petersburg.
Newly signed Lukaku nodded home a cross from the right by captain Cesar Azpilicueta in the 69th minute at Stamford Bridge. But the Blues were lucky when Artem Dzyuba failed to connect with a cross properly and poked the ball at goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Barcelona meanwhile started European life after Lionel Messi with a 3-0 home defeat against Bayern Munich. Robert Lewandowski got a brace after Thomas Mueller’s opener for Bayern who won their 18th straight group stage opener.
Juventus won 3-0 at Sweden’s Malmo, Europa League champions Villarreal drew 2-2 with Atalanta, while Lille v 10-man Wolfsburg and Dynamo Kiev v Benfica ended 0-0.
