Barcelona and Athletic open their European accounts

The second day of the UEFA Champions League group stage included two Spanish teams, both of whom picked up their first points. FC Barcelona recorded a 1-0 victory in the Camp Nou and Athletic Club a goalless draw in the San Mamés.

Barcelona opened in Europe's top competition by picking up their first three points against Apoel FC, thanks to a Gerard Piqué goal after 28 minutes of a match in which Ter Stegen and Sergi Samper made their debuts for the Azulgranas. Luis Enrique's men lead Group F on their own after the one-all draw between AFC Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain in the Amsterdam Arena.

Athletic, for their part, were making their return to the group stage of the Champions League after a wait of nearly sixteen years. The San Mamés faithful witnessed a very close encounter in which the respect between the Rojiblancos and Shakhtar Donetsk was clear. Despite a lack of chances, the match was played at a high tempo and the Ukrainians were more incisive than the home team. In the end, despite the fact that the game could have gone either way, Athletic gained a valuable point from the clash after a nil-nil draw in their first European match of the season, against an opponent that is one of the favourites in the group. The other, FC Porto, thumped FC BATE Borisov 6-0 with a stunning performance from Yacine Brahimi, who scored a hat-trick.