Thaindian News

London, Sep 20 (IANS) Juventus staged a strong comeback to cut Chelsea’s two-goal lead and earn an away draw in Champions League football Group E opener here.

Boosted by the fanatic home crowd of more than 40,000 fans at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, the defending champions, found their inspirations for goals after 30 minutes by a stunning brace from Brazilian midfielder Oscar Wednesday, Xinhua reports.

The Blues’ summer signing, who made his first start for the Premier League club, struck outside the area to send the ball to the bottom corner.

Two minutes later, the fans’ echo of ‘Oscar’ was again loud enough to ignite the stadium. Their hearts were won by the 21-year-old after he made a long-range effort to beat a helpless Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

However, Juventus, the domestic top-flight (Serie A) winner and a two-time European champion, showed their mettle to narrow the deficit to 1-2 just five minutes later before substitute Fabio Quagliarella struck a late equaliser in the second half to ensure the point.

It was the first time that Juventus returned to the stage as the Serie A champion since their relegation due to match-fixing scandal in 2006.

Chelsea, who failed to start their defence of the Europe’s top prize with a victory, would face the 22-year un-shattered jinx that no club have retained the title.

Shakhtar Donetsk temporarily led the group after beating FC Nordsjaelland 2-0 on the same night.