Sunderland 1-3 Liverpool

Luis Suarez struck twice on his Premier League return to help Liverpool record a 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, a result which sees the Reds move up to second place in the table.

Just moments after Sebastian Larsson had hit the bar for the hosts, Daniel Sturridge controversially gave the away side the lead, appearing to use his arm to nudge the ball goalwards, before Suarez doubled the advantage just eight minutes later.

Emanuele Giaccherini netted immediately after half-time as Sunderland hinted at a comeback, but, in pushing forward for an equaliser, they were stung on the break as Liverpool's Urguayan frontman grabbed his second goal late on.

Liverpool named an unchanged team from their narrow defeat against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, with Rodgers choosing to stick with the 3-5-2 formation that served his side well at Old Trafford.Sunderland, meanwhile, made four changes from their midweek exploits, with Liverpool loanee Fabio Borini the most notable omission, unable to play against his parent club, as Jozy Altidore returned to the attack.

Suarez was handed his first league start after serving his 10-match ban, and he made an instant impression on the match as he drove narrowly wide from the edge of the area early on.

Liverpool had the ball in the Sunderland net in the first 10 minutes, but Martin Skrtel saw the linesman's flag rightly raised for offside after he had side-footed the rebound from a Steven Gerrard free-kick into the roof of the goal.

An entertaining midfield scrap ensued after that disappointment for Liverpool, but Sunderland were the next to go close to scoring amid the melee as Larsson curled a brilliant effort onto the bar with former team-mate Simon Mignolet stranded.

The visitors had ridden their luck to remain level, and were the recipients of yet another slice of good fortune at the other end of the pitch moments later. Gerrard found Sturridge from a corner and, having misjudged his attempted header, the England international used his arm to prod the ball over the goalline and give Liverpool the lead.

Just eight minutes later, Rodgers' side had their second, and it came - perhaps inevitably - from returning forward Suarez. A fabulous cross-field ball from Gerrard allowed Sturridge to make ground on the right-hand side, and the striker's pass across goal provided his Uruguayan colleague with a tap-in from close range.

Liverpool had little trouble in taking their two-goal lead into the break, but the away side received a rude awakening early in the second as Sunderland pulled one back. Mignolet failed to keep hold of a Ki Sung-Yueng effort from the edge of the box, and Giaccherini reacted quicker than the visitors' defenders to poke the ball home.

The goal buoyed Sunderland's fans, with the increased noise inside the Stadium of Light adding vigour to the hosts' counterattacks.

But Liverpool looked the bigger threat, and they came close to doubling their lead on two occasions as Victor Moses' inswinging cross drifted narrowly wide before Suarez should have done better in getting onto a cross from the left.

The 26-year-old eventually got his second, however. With Sunderland committing men forward, Liverpool were able to break; Sturridge darted into the box and unselfishly squared the ball toSuarez, who passed the ball into the back of the net to wrap up the victory.

Borussia Dortmund 5-0 Freiburg

Borussia Dortmund continued their fine start to the season with a comfortable 5-0 home win over 10-man Freiburg on Saturday.

Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski both scored twice before Jakub Blaszczykowski added a fifth as Jurgen Klopp's side made it six wins and a draw from their opening seven matches.

Freiburg lost Fallou Diagne to a straight red card a minute before the break, the defender pulling down Lewandowski inside the area for the penalty that gave Reus his second goal.

The hosts made three changes from the side that needed extra time to defeat 1860 Munich in the DFB-Pokal in midweek, with Roman Weidenfeller, Nevan Subotic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replacing Mitchell Langerak, Sokratis and Jakub Blaszczykowski.

Freiburg coach Christian Streich made two alterations from Wednesday's 2-1 win over Stuttgart, Diagne and Sebastian Freis coming in for Pavel Krmas and Mike Hanke.

Subotic had the game's first chance in the third minute, heading narrowly wide from a corner as the hosts applied some early pressure.

Lewandowski was the next man to threaten the Freiburg goal 15 minutes later, making space for himself in the box before firing over the crossbar from an angle.

Aubameyang should have given Dortmund the lead in the 25th minute when he was afforded a free header 10 yards from goal, but his effort lacked power and was comfortable for Oliver Baumann to collect.

Aubameyang was in again four minutes later, running onto Reus' through-ball, but Baumann rushed from his line to smother the shot as the hosts stepped it up a gear.

The pressure eventually told in the 35th minute when Reus gave Dortmund the lead with a scrappy goal.

Baumann parried Sven Bender's long-range drive and Lewandowski's follow-up but the rebound eventually fell to the feet of Reus, who tucked the ball into the empty net from six yards.

Reus went close to a second moments later, fizzing his volley a yard wide of the left-hand post as a half-cleared corner dropped to him on the edge of the box.

Freiburg were dealt a double blow in the final minute of the first period when Diagne was shown a straight red card for hauling down Lewandowski in the box and Reus stepped up to send the resulting penalty in off the post.

The hosts continued to pour forward after the break and Lewandowski made it three with a moment of real quality in the 58th minute.

The Poland international brought down Reus' lofted pass inside the box, escaped the attentions of two defenders and scooped the ball up and over Baumann for his fifth league goal of the season.

Baumann denied Aubameyang 10 minutes later with a fine save, but there was no let up from the hosts, who made it four in the 70th minute, Lewandowski stretching to convert substitute Jonas Hoffman's cross from the right.

Blaszczykowski added the fifth nine minutes later, taking advantage of some hesitant defending to round Baumann and slot the ball home from a tight angle as Dortmund cruised to victory.

Aston Villa 3-2 Manchester City

Leandro Bacuna and Andreas Weimann left Manchester City stunned as Aston Villa twice came from behind to record a remarkable 3-2 victory.

Fresh from netting nine goals in a week against Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, City were in dominant mood in the first half on Saturday but had to wait for Yaya Toure's sixth strike in eight games to put them ahead in its final minute.

Having failed to muster a shot on target before the break, Karim El Ahmadi produced a clinical finish to haul Villa level amid strong suspicions of offside in the 51st minute.Edin Dzeko glanced in from Samir Nasri's corner to restore City's advantage five minutes later but Bacuna lashed home a stunning free-kick for his first Villa goal after Matija Nastasic fouled Weimann.

And Nastasic and Vincent Kompany were caught napping as Weimann stole in to beat the on-rushing Joe Hart with a 75th-minute winner.

In the injury absence of forward duo Christian Benteke (hip) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (ankle), Villa manager Paul Lambert handed a first start to last weekend’s match-winner at Norwich City, Libor Kozak, and reverted to a 5-3-2 formation.

Sergio Aguero picked up a knock after firing a derby day brace last weekend, meaning Dzeko partnered Alvaro Negredo in attack. Elsewhere, Jesus Navas dropped to the bench to accommodate Villa old boy James Milner in the City midfield.

And Milner had the game's first opening in the third minute, lashing wide left-footed after Dzeko dummied a low cross from Aleksandar Kolarov.

Continuing the impressive form he showcased six days ago, Samir Nasri was at the hub of an impressive start by the visitors.

First, a cute through-ball allowed Dzeko to slide in on the angle and draw a save from Brad Guzan before the France international fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box having led a swift counter-attack.

Dzeko failed to get on top of a good headed chance from a 14th-minute corner and City proceeded to dominate the opening half hour without again testing Guzan.

City's pressure continued largely unchecked but they were undermined failing to consistently find a quality final ball until the half’s outstanding player intervened at its conclusion.

After watching Ciaran Clark clear off the line and Nathan Baker deflect his fierce drive wide, Tourecrowned a typically dominant display from midfield by steering Nasri’s corner through Guzan’s legs.

Negredo and Kolarov threatened as City began the second period at a furious place but Manuel Pellegrini's team would soon rue their profligacy.

El Ahmadi collected Bacuna's wonderfully weighted pass to fire home low across Hart as the linesman's flag stayed down.

But as they did from their ninth corner, City netted from their 10th to ensure parity lasted only six minutes.

Dzeko made the most of a static Villa defence to glance Nasri's in-swinging delivery past Guzan and the USA international got down well moments later to keep out a thunderous Negredo volley.

Ring-wing crosses from Zabaleta and Navas – introduced in place of Nasri – invited further punishment that did not arrive from Dzeko but just as Villa looked to be entering survival mode they stunned City again.

Villa Park was in raptures following Bacuna's heroics and the noise levels were further ramped up asWeimann lifted Villa up to ninth in the table - only a point behind City in fifth.

Swansea City 1-2 Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey scored his eighth goal of the season as Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win at Swansea City.
Ramsey's hot streak of form – which has seen him score five goals in his last four matches – continued in his native Wales as Arsene Wenger's men won theiAfter an uninspiring first half, Ramsey set up German youngster Serge Gnabry for the game's first goal in the 58th minute.
And the former Cardiff City midfielder produced a composed finish himself just a few moments later as Arsenal recorded their eighth Premier League away win in succession.
With a lengthy injury list, Arsenal – who are missing the likes of Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – made nine changes from the side that beat West Brom on penalties in the League Cup on Wednesday, retaining only German pair Gnabry and Per Mertesacker.
Swansea saw their defence of the League Cup end at Birmingham City in midweek, and they kept just four players in their team, recalling Spanish star Michu, although they were without injured defensive pair Ashley Williams and Angel Rangel (both ankle).
Jonathan De Guzman and Jonjo Shelvey both fired over in the early stages for the hosts while Ramsey shot wide from distance, but despite both sides enjoying good spells of possession, they failed to penetrate in a dull first half that saw neither produce a shot on target.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was almost caught out after a heavy touch played in Michu, but an offside flag avoided further embarrassment for the Polish goalkeeper, while a De Guzman free-kick was blasted over in an effort that summed up the first 45 minutes.
The visitors should have scored in first-half stoppage time though, with an excellent Gnabry run finishing with Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman, who had gone down with an ankle injury a few moments earlier, dragged his effort wide.
The second half started slowly, with Szczesny forced to charge off his line to deny Michu, but Arsenal won the game thanks to four minutes of brilliance.
The lively Gnabry opened the scoring just short of the hour, making the most of a neat Ramsey flick to slot a cool finish beyond Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm and into the bottom corner.
Mesut Ozil nearly doubled Arsenal's lead less than a minute later but saw his near-post effort saved by Vorm, before a counter-attack that ended with Ramsey saw the Welshman maintain his scoring run.
An excellent team move that also involved Jack Wilshere and Giroud saw the latter cut back for Ramsey, and the goalscorer took a touch before smashing an effort into the top corner to delight the travelling fans.
Nathan Dyer forced Szczesny into a terrific save as Swansea pressed for a goal and defender Ben Davies gave them a lifeline with eight minutes to play.
The left-back ran forward and played in substitute Wilfried Bony, and Davies followed his run, collecting Bony's lobbed pass and finishing beyond Szczesny.
It was a terrific goal but time ran out for Swansea, as Arsenal won again ahead of a mouth-watering UEFA Champions League clash against Rafael Benitez's Napoli on Tuesday.r fifth Premier League game in a row.

AC Milan 1-0 Sampdoria

AC Milan climbed to eighth in the Serie A table thanks to a much-needed 1-0 win over Sampdoria at San Siro on Saturday.

The Rossoneri, who have struggled for consistency this term, took the lead over the Genoese outfit thanks to a long-range effort just after the break from Valter Birsa.And the Slovenian's proved to be enough for Massimiliano Allegri's men to claim just their second league victory of the season.

Milan made two changes from Wednesday's 3-3 draw in Bologna, with Cristian Zaccardo and Sulley Muntari replacing Ignacio Abate and Antonio Nocerino respectively.

The visitors also made two alterations from their midweek fixture, as Vesco Regini and Angelo Palombo came in for Daniele Gastaldello and Nenad Krsticic.

After a quiet opening to the game, Milan fired the first warning shot in the 17th minute when Kevin Constant ran on to Robinho's floated pass and fizzed a first-time volley just wide of the left-hand post.

Seven minutes later, the home side went close again as Valter Birsa curled a 25-yard free kick just over Angelo Da Costa's crossbar.

For all the home side's dominance, it was Sampdoria who came closest to opening the scoring in the 26th minute when Andrea Costa met a left-wing corner with a header that shaved the right-hand upright.

And just two minutes later, Manolo Gabbiadini fired a 30-yard strike over Christian Abbiati's crossbar as the game began to open up.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Sampdoria were indebted to Shkodran Mustafi for keeping the game level, the defender throwing his body at Muntari's goalbound volley to delfect the ball over the crossbar.

Philippe Mexes also went close for the hosts soon afterwards, just failing to get a meaningful connection on the ball as Birsa's free kick from the left found its way to the back post.

Milan made a dream start to the second half with a goal in the first minute, Birsa collecting Robinho's pass on the edge of the box before picking his spot and passing the ball beyond Da Costa from 20 yards

Milan should have been further ahead two minutes later as Robinho got on the end of Andrea Poli's cross six yards out, but his stabbed effort fell into the grateful arms of Da Costa with the goal gaping.

The home side were dominating proceedings, but squandered another golden chance in the 63rd minute when Alessandro Matri, clean through on goal, saw his weak effort saved by the legs of the Sampdoria goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, Matri was again denied a certain goal by another superb Mustafi block 10 yards out.
In the final 10 minutes, Gianluca Sansone wasted a good opportunity to equalise, blazing his shot over after a rare foray forward from Sampdoria.
Substitute Mbaye Niang almost made the game safe in stoppage time, Da Costa tipping his low effort round the post, but it mattered little as Milan held on to seal the points.

Barcelona 4-0 Ajax

Lionel Messi once more took centre stage as his hat-trick helped Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over Ajax in the Champions League.

The Argentinian scored in both halves of the Group H fixture at Camp Nou to give the Blaugranavictory in their opening European encounter.

It marked an emotional Champions League debut for coach Gerardo Martino, with the win coming just a few days after the death of his father.

After a bright opening, Messi broke the deadlock with fierce free-kick in the 22nd minute.

His second came 10 minutes after half-time with a cool finish from inside the area, before Gerard Pique put gloss on the scoreline with a header from Neymar’s cross and Messi completed his treble when he feigned his shot before guiding an effort into the corner.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson could have grabbed a consolation, but he saw his 77th-minute penalty saved by Victor Valdes.

Martino included Messi and Neymar in Barcelona’s starting XI, with the latter making his Champions League debut.

The Dutch side had Siem de Jong available, following his recovery from a collapsed lung.

Barcelona dominated possession in the opening exchanges and they took the lead when Messi once again displayed his brilliance with a stunning free kick, 22 minutes in.

After being felled by Lerin Duarte on the right, he picked himself up to hit a thunderous strike, with the ball going in off the the post as Kenneth Vermeer failed to keep it out at full stretch.

Ajax nearly stole an equaliser on the half-hour mark when Bojan curled a cross deep towards the far post and a diving header from Ricardo van Rhijn forced a smart reaction save from Valdes.

The visitors could have had a penalty when Sigthorsson went to ground under a challenge from Pique. The loose ball was met by Duarte, but he placed his first-time effort straight at Valdes.

After surviving those scares, Messi effectively ended the game as a contest in the 55th minute.

He controlled a Sergio Busquets pass on the right side of the box before feinting inside Stefano Denswil and firing his effort past Vermeer.

Barcelona continued to press and Neymar and Dani Alves both had efforts blocked.

And the pressure told in the 69th minute when Neymar delivered an in-swinging cross from the left that was met by the head of Pique to make it 3-0.

Messi then completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes remaining. His shimmy confused the whole defence, including Vermeer, before he slotted into the far corner.

Ajax could have had a consolation when Javier Mascherano fouled substitute Thulani Serero in the area but Sigthorsson saw his penalty beaten away by Valdes.

Napoli 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Napoli kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

The Italians opened the scoring early on as Gonzalo Higuain nodded an inswinging cross home, and the hosts' task was made infinitely easier just before half-time as Mats Hummels departed injured and Roman Weidenfeller inexplicably handled outside the box to earn himself a red card.

Dortmund's threat was significantly blunted by those blows - allied to Jurgen Klopp's dismissal to the stands - and they were helpless to prevent a fantastic long-rang free-kick from Lorenzo Insigne doubling Napoli's lead.

But there was time for the 10-man Germans to grab a late consolation when Juan Camilo Zuniga flicked a cross into his own net with five minutes of normal time remaining.

With no injury worries of note among his squad, Rafael Benitez named a strong, attacking line-up including the likes of Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon. The visitors, meanwhile, named a patched-up starting XI due to the absences of Ilkay Gundogan, Lukasz Piszczek and Sebastian Kehl.

Despite the makeshift nature of Klopp's team, Dortmund undoubtedly made the better start in Naples. But the hosts responded in kind, with a five-minute spell of pressure leading to Insigne driving narrowly wide before Higuain was denied a one-on-one chance by a brilliant Hummels tackle.

The topsy-turvy nature of the first half did not let up, with Lewandowski the recipient of the next clear opportunity. The Pole latch onto a fabulous throughball to sneak into the box but could not beat the sprawling Pepe Reina in the Napoli goal.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, last year's Champions League runners-up were punished for that miss in the very next attack. Zuniga picked the ball up on the left-hand side before swinging in an inch-perfect cross that Higuain nonchalantly headed to the far corner of the goal to the send the home crowd into raptures.

On the touchline, Dortmund coach Klopp remonstrated angrily with the fourth official over his failure to allow Neven Subotic back onto the pitch following a head injury, but his rant only served to bring him a red card.

Dortmund responded in bullish fashion when they received a further blow just before half-time, replacing injured centre-back Hummels with forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But things went from bad to worse seconds later as goalkeeper Weidenfeller rushed out of his box to meet the ball but could only handle to prevent Higuain breaking through and deservedly saw red.

Jakub Blaszczykowski subsequently made way for substitute shot-stopper Mitchell Langerak before the break.
Dortmund began the second half understandably deeper in an attempt to nullify their opponents' numerical advantage but were lucky to avoid conceding again as a rifled Insigne cross bounced off the knee of Hamsik six yards out with an hour gone.

However, it mattered little in the end, as Insigne ensured the Italians would take a two-goal lead in fabulous fashion. The 22-year-old produced an unstoppable free-kick from 30 yards out that rattled the crossbar on the way past a helpless Langerak.

Aubameyang upped the stakes in terms of audacious efforts in the immediate aftermath as he struck the bar from distance before Dries Mertens also got involved as his clever free-kick to the near post almost snuck in.

Dortmund were given hope in the dying moments as Zuniga needlessly swung at a cross into the box to leave Reina no chance of stopping the ball bouncing over the line off the post but the visitors could not launch a late comeback to avoid defeat.

Marseille 1-2 Arsenal

Arsene Wenger's men earned a win in their last visit to the Stade Velodrome back in 2011, and they replicated they feat on Wednesday, Walcott finding the net with a close-range volley before Ramsey wrapped things up with a fine individual effort after the break. 

Jordan Ayew grabbed a late consolation from the penalty spot for the hosts, but Arsenal held on to claim all three points. 

Elie Baup made just one change to the Marseille side that drew 1-1 with Toulouse on Saturday, Andre Ayew replacing Florian Thauvin on the left-hand side of midfield.

Arsenal's only alteration came in defence, with manager Arsene Wenger - who has seen his side win five of their last six competitive outings - opting to select the experienced Per Mertesacker in favour of Carl Jenkinson.

Marseille made a bright start to proceedings with Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena both testing Wojciech Szczesny in the early going.

Arsenal responded quickly however, Theo Walcott forcing Steve Mandanda into a save with a close-range effort after beating left-back Jeremy Morel for pace.

Still, it was the hosts that continued to dictate play. Valbuena volleyed over before Andre Ayew headed narrowly wide after an excellent right-wing cross from Dimitri Payet.

The visitors struggled to gain a foothold in the midfield, with Valbuena and 21-year-old Giannelli Imbula particularly impressive for Baup’s men.

And Marseille almost got their reward for a positive display shortly before the break, Gignac heading just over the bar at the near post after powering onto a Payet corner.

Baup's side continued in the ascendancy straight after the break, Rod Fanni volleying inches wide of the post after good work down the right from Alaixys Romao.

Arsenal remained an attacking threat, though, and they almost took the lead in superb fashion, Kieran Gibbs denied by a fantastic reaction save from Mandanda after latching on to a deft backheel from Mesut Ozil.

The game quickly became stretched, with both sides crafting regular goalscoring opportunities, Payet keeping Szczesny busy with a fierce drive, before Jack Wilshere drew a near-post stop from Mandanda at the other end.

Arsenal never looked settled at the back, and they had Gibbs to thank for keeping them level as he showed great awareness to head a Payet cross off the line after miscommunication between Mertesacker and Szczesny.

But Marseille were finally made to pay for their profligacy 19 minutes into the second half, Walcottfiring a magnificent volley into the top corner after Morel had failed to deal with Gibbs' far-post cross.

Payet and Valbeuna both then went close as the Ligue 1 club searched for an equaliser, but it was Arsenal who proved the more clinical of the two sides, Ramsey securing the points as he jinked through the home defence before sending a precise low shot beyond the grasp of Mandanda.

Marseille did get one back in injury time, though, Jordan Ayew scoring from 12 yards after Laurent Koscielny had felled Andre Ayew in the box.

Chelsea 1-2 Basel

Six years to the day after a 1-1 draw with Rosenborg that represented the final game of Mourinho's first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were stunned by second-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Marco Streller.

Oscar fired the hosts ahead in the 45th minute in the Group E clash with his sixth goal in seven Champions League outings and the Brazilian also hit the bar prior to Salah’s classy left-footed leveller.

That goal prompted Chelsea to throw men forward, yet it was Basel - always dangerous on the break - who struck again when Streller beat Petr Cech with a near-post header from a corner.Willian was handed his Chelsea debut and Marco van Ginkel a first start as Mourinho made five changes from the side beaten 1-0 by Everton at the weekend.

Basel recalled a host of players after fielding a weakened side for their Schweizer Pokal victory against Munsingen.

Mourinho's men unsurprisingly started the game on the front foot, albeit without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

There was a scare for Basel goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 15th minute when he fumbled a corner from the left, but a free-kick was swiftly awarded in his favour.

The pacey Salah - a scorer at Stamford Bridge in last season's Europa League semi-final between the two sides - represented the main threat when Basel launched occasional attacks.

After Eden Hazard had spurned a rare clear sighting of goal for Chelsea following good work from Samuel Eto'o, Salah also proved wasteful when cutting in from the right and curling a shot over the bar.

Despite dominating possession and the corner count, the hosts remained frustrated as half-time approached.

However, Chelsea were lifted on the stroke of the interval as Oscar popped up with a timely goal.

David Luiz set the attack in motion by stepping into midfield and Oscar latched on to a delicate throughball from Frank Lampard to find the bottom-left corner with a first-time shot on the turn.

Streller was close to connecting with a left-wing cross early in the second half before Oscar struck the bar at the other end with a tremendous effort from just outside the area.

Hazard failed to hit the target once again either side of Branislav Ivanovic twice threatening from set-pieces.

Chelsea were then punished for not extending their lead when a cross from the left broke via Streller to Salah, who emulated Oscar by only requiring one touch to find the net.

Although Chelsea poured forward in search of a late winner, it was Basel who finished the stronger and their encouraging play gained reward as Streller shocked the home crowd.

AC Milan 2-0 Celtic

Cristian Zapata's strike deflected off the Bhoys defender to put the hosts ahead after 82 minutes and, with the visitors pushing for a way back into the game, the Ghanaian doubled the Italian side's lead three minutes later to get the Rossoneri off to a winning start in Group H. 

The well-documented Milan injury list meant that Massimiliano Allegri was forced into a number of changes, with Stephan El Shaarawy, Kaka, Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo and Ignazio Abate among the absentees.

Slovenia international Valter Birsa made his debut for the club while Antonio Nocerino partnered Nigel de Jong in midfield for the clash. 

Celtic had injuries of their own to contend with and were unable to name James Forrest or Joe Ledley in their matchday squad, although Adam Matthews shook off an ankle problem to start.

Mario Balotelli was quickly among the action, volleying an effort at Fraser Forster after three minutes, but the Celtic goalkeeper was equal to the task as he palmed the strike away.

Celtic's first chance came from a indirect free kick inside the area following a backpass but Charlie Mulgrew saw his shot deflected over the crossbar.

Alessandro Matri's header then forced another good save from Forster before Nocerino fired narrowly over just after the half-hour mark.

Balotelli again threatened a minute from the break when his low, swerving effort almost deflected into the far corner of Forster's goal.

Giorgos Samaras had the first opportunity of the second half for Celtic, with the Greek firing just past Christian Abbiati's post while Muntari headed just over for the hosts a minute after the hour mark.

After a lengthy period of Milan pressure, Anthony Stokes crashed a free kick against the crossbar for the visitors 10 minutes from time with Abbiati beaten. 

However, two minutes later, Milan had their lead courtesy of a Zapata effort from outside the area that deflected off Izaguirre and in. 

Muntari was then on hand three minutes later to make it two, bundling home from close-range after Balotelli's free kick had come back off the post to ensure that Milan came away with the three points.

Schalke 3-0 Steaua Bucharest

Second half goals from Atsuto UchidaKevin-Prince Boateng and Julian Draxler ensured thatSchalke defeated Steaua Bucharest in a battling Champions League victory on Wednesday.
Uchida struck first midway through the second half, after his looped cross found its way into the net, before Boateng slotted home with a calm finish.
Draxler added a thrid with a well-taken chip five minutes from time, to give the German side an early initiative in Group E.
Schalke named an unchanged side from the one that beat Mainz at the weekend, with Boateng handed his first Champions League start for the club, though Jermaine Jones failed to prove his fitness.
Steaua, the only team from Romania in this year's group stage, had the luxury of having virtually a full-strength squad to choose from, with striker Federico Piovaccari making way for Pantelis Kapetanos up front.
The home side dominated possession in the early exchanges, with Draxler finding space on the left flank on several occasions and it took just nine minutes before Steaua goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu was called into action, getting down well to make a smart save from Adam Szalai's volley.
Tatarusanu was on hand again four minutes later, this time doing well to parry away a Boateng header.
The visitors continued to be deprived of possession as the first half wore on, but remained resolute at the back as Schalke looked to release the pace of both Draxler and Jefferson Farfan.
Farfan was on hand to set up what should have been the opening goal after half an hour, playing a low ball in from the right for Boateng, who could only drag his shot wide from 10 yards out.
The hosts were nearly made to pay for their wastefulness around a minute later, when Cristian Tanase stung the palms of Timo Hildebrand in the Schalke goal from distance, in what proved to be a rare first-half attack for Steaua.
Schalke continued to threaten and were unlucky not be ahead seconds before the break, when a Dennis Aogo corner found its way through to Roman Neustadter, whose shot was deflected just wide.
Steaua looked bright after the break, carving out several opportunities with in the first 10 minutes of the half, with Alexandru Bourceanu causing problems for the home defence.
First a whipped Bourceanu corner found Kapetanos, who fired over, shortly before the winger decided to have a go himself, curling a long-range shot just wide.
Another Bourceanu corner caused yet more problems for the Schalke defence just a few minutes later, with the hosts having Uchida to thank after he headed a deflected ball off the line.
And Uchida's night got even better just 10 minutes later, when the Japan international's deep cross eluded everyone before sailing into the net.
The goal brought a sense of relief among the home fans, and 11 minutes later Schalke doubled their lead, when a perfectly-weighted ball from Draxler found Boateng in the area, who applied a calm finish to score.
Draxler himself got on the scoresheet three minutes later, latching on to a threaded through-ball from substitute Christian Fuchs before chipping over the goalkeeper.
It should have been 4-0 as the game advanced into stoppage-time, but Christian Clemens was denied by the woodwork, on what was a great night for Jens Keller's team.