Inter Milan was the unwitting ‘fall guy' in the first week of the Champions League football when it suffered a humbling home defeat on Wednesday to Trabzonspor, the Turkish team handed an unlikely free pass into Europe's premier club competition.
Inter, which beat Bayern Munich to win the trophy in 2010, lost 1-0 in its Group B opener at the San Siro, by far the biggest surprise in the eight groups.
“Football is made up of episodes, unfortunately we didn't manage to score and with just one shot at goal they netted. We have to keep our heads low and work hard,” said Inter captain Javier Zanetti.
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“It is a difficult moment. I hope the fans understand and together we can get out of this.”
Last season's runner-up Manchester United survived a grilling in Lisbon where a goal by 37-year-old Ryan Giggs earned a 1-1 draw against Benfica in Group C, while Real Madrid secured a gritty 1-0 win at Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb despite having Marcelo sent off.
Before seeing red for diving, Marcelo showed his classier side by carving out the chance which Angel di Maria stylishly converted in the 53rd minute.
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The other Group D match saw Ajax Amsterdam draw 0-0 at home to Olympique Lyon, while French League champion Lille squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to CSKA Moscow in Group B.
Emphatic win
In Group A, regarded as the toughest of the eight,
Bayern produced an authoritative display to win 2-0 at Villarreal while Manchester City and Napoli, both making their debuts in the competition, earned a point apiece in a 1-1 draw.
With Lille drawing against CSKA, Trabzonspor is the unlikely early pacesetter in Group B.
That represents a startling turn of events given it was supposed to be in the Europa League before being upgraded by UEFA after Turkish champion Fenerbahce was expelled over match-fixing allegations.
While conceding most of the possession to Inter, Trabzonspor looked perfectly at home in the setting.
A solid performance turned into a memorable one 14 minutes from time when Ondrej Celustka turned the ball home after Halil Altintop's shot rebounded off the crossbar.
A subdued Inter struggled to create chances although it should have been ahead when substitute Diego Milito wasted two gilt-edged opportunities to score. It now faces two consecutive away games in Moscow and Lille.
Bayern, whose futuristic stadium will host the final in May, celebrated its 250th European fixture with a performance that suggested it could be serious contender to claim the trophy for the first time since 2001.
Toni Kroos gave the Bavarians an early lead and Rafinha sealed victory late on.
Bayern tops the table although it faces sterner tests from City and Napoli.
City's much-hyped entrance into the Champions League after being transformed by hundreds of millions of pounds of Abu Dhabi money looked like going flat when Edinson Cavani scored for the Italians on the break after 69 minutes.
Aleksandar Kolarov salvaged a point with a free-kick despite finishing the match with a broken nose.
Manchester United was relieved to come away from Lisbon with a point after falling behind to a classy strike by Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo.
United was stretched to breaking point at times and needed several top saves from Anders Lindegaard to keep it in the game.
Mercurial Giggs
The mercurial Giggs, already the oldest scorer in the competition and playing in his 18th Champions League campaign for the club, proved his worth again.
His unstoppable rising shot just before halftime earned Alex Ferguson's side a useful point from what should be their toughest match in Group C.
In the group's other match, Switzerland's Basel beat Romanian newcomer Otelul Galati 2-1 thanks to a late penalty by Alexander Frei.
The results:Group A: At Manchester: Manchester City 1 (Kolarov 74) drew with Napoli 1 (Cavani 69). At Villarreal: Villarreal 0 lost to Bayern Munich 2 (Kroos 6, Rafinha 75).
Group B: At Lille: Lille 2 (Sow 44, Pedretti 56) drew with CSKA Moscow 2 (Doumbia 72, 90). At Milan: Inter Milan 0 lost to Trabzonspor 1 (Celustka 75).
Group C: At Basel: Basel 2 (Frei 39, 84-pen) bt Otelul Galati 1 (Pena 58). At Lisbon: Benfica 1 (Cardozo 23) drew with Manchester United 1 (Giggs 41).
Group D:At Zagreb: Dinamo Zagreb 0 lost to Real Madrid 1 (di Maria 52). At Amsterdam: Ajax 0 drew with Lyon 0.