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The second day of the first round of UEFA Champions League group stage matches on Wednesday did not stand out for a multitude of goals, but there were no shortages of dramatic endings - victories were snatched in added time by "Arsenal" and "Benfica", while "Ajax" managed to secure a point in the final minutes. In Group A, both favorites secured narrow away victories. Turin's "Juventus" defeated "Brugge" in Belgium - the winners scored twice in the last half-hour through P. Nedved and D. Trezeguet, while the home team found some consolation through Y. Matondo. Munich's "Bayern" crushed the local team "Rapid" in Vienna. The only goal of the match, played for an hour, was scored by P. Guerrero after coming on as a substitute. There were almost major surprises avoided in Group B: in the tenth minute of the second half, London's "Arsenal" players surged ahead with a goal by Brazilian Gilberto, and although N. Ferreira equalized the score with a cunning strike shortly after, D. Bergkamp's goal in the 92nd minute broke "Thun's" resistance. Amsterdam's "Ajax" had an even tougher time, falling behind in Prague against "Sparta" after M. Matusovic's goal, but W. Sneijder's long-range strike in added time secured a point. "Udinese" made a splendid debut in the Champions League by crushing long-time tournament participant "Panathinaikos" at home. All three goals for the Italians were scored by V. Iaquinta, for whom, unbelievably, it was also a debut in such high-level matches. In the other Group C match, Spanish champions "Barcelona" defeated "Werder" Bremen with a two-goal advantage. The creative duo of Deco and Ronaldinho stood out for the Catalan team. Only one goal was scored in Group D, and it had to be awaited until the 92nd minute when in Lisbon, home team "Benfica" forward F. Miccoli headed the ball into the net and knocked out the "Lille" team. The match between "Villarreal" and "Man Utd" ended in a draw. Towards the end of the match, the Spaniards were close to scoring a decisive goal against the "Man Utd" team, who were down to ten men due to the expulsion of W. Rooney, but in the 90th minute, M. Senna's shot hit the crossbar. Results of the Champions League matches on Wednesday: Group A "Brugge" 1 - 2 "Juventus" 66' [0 - 1] Pavel Nedved 75' [0 - 2] David Trezeguet 85' [1 - 0] Yulu-Matondo 89' Patrick Vieira ("Juventus") sent off "Rapid" 0 - 1 "Bayern" 60' [0 - 1] Paolo Guerrero Group B "Sparta" 1 - 1 "Ajax" 60' [1 - 0] Miroslav Matusovic 90+1' [1 - 1] Wesley Sneijder "Arsenal" 2 - 1 "Thun" 51' [1 - 0] Gilberto Silva 53' [1 - 1] Nelson Ferreira 90+2' [2 - 1] Dennis Bergkamp 45' Robin van Persie ("Arsenal") sent off Group C "Udinese" 3 - 0 "Panathinaikos" 28' [1 - 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta 73' [2 - 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta 76' [3 - 0] Vincenzo Iaquinta "Werder" 0 - 2 "Barcelona" 13' [0 - 1] Deco 76' [0 - 2] Ronaldinho (pen.) Group D "Benfica" 1 - 0 "Lille" 90+2' [1 - 0] Fabrizio Miccoli "Villarreal" 0 - 0 "Manchester United" 64' Wayne Rooney ("Man Utd") sent off
