Dida hit as Celtic sink Milan, Liverpool lose

MILAN – AC Milan’s season went from bad to worse on Wednesday after a last-minute goal by Scott McDonald condemned the holders to a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Celtic where goalkeeper Dida was hit on the face by a fan.

Milan have made a poor start to their Serie A season but their fortunes took a dramatic turn in injury time when the supporter ran on to the pitch and hit the Brazilian. However, Milan do not want a replay or the points.Striker Didier Drogba helped ease Chelsea’s recent blues with the winner in a 2-1 victory at Valencia after David Villa had put the home side in front early on.Joe Cole handed Chelsea an equaliser before Drogba struck after 71 minutes to settle the Group B match and boost new coach Avram Grant after a sticky period following the departure of popular Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho two weeks ago.Last season’s beaten finalists and 2005 winners Liverpool suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Marseille in Group A with Mathieu Valbuena bagging a classy goal after 77 minutes.Goran Pandev scored a superb brace to cancel out Ruud van Nistelrooy’s double in Lazio’s 2-2 draw with Real Madrid while Ricardo Quaresma grabbed the winner deep into stoppage time as 2004 champions Porto won 1-0 at Besiktas.Werder Bremen, who battered Arminia Bielefeld 8-1 in the Bundesliga at the weekend, looked to be cruising at home before Olympiakos stormed back to win the Group C clash 3-1.Germany did have a winner though with Jermaine Jones and Kevin Kuranyi scoring second half goals to give Schalke a 2-0 win at Norway’s Rosenborg Trondheim.Benfica, beaten 2-1 at AC Milan two weeks ago, lost 1-0 at home to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk with Jadson grabbing the goal just before the interval in their Group D match.Scottish champions Celtic are likely to face a Uefa probe after a fan got on the pitch and hit Dida, who gave chase before dramatically collapsing and being carried off on a stretcher.The Brazilian was struck by a flare in a Champions League quarter-final second leg with Inter Milan in 2005.On that occasion the match was abandoned and handed to the Italians, who were 3-0 up on aggregate at the time.Nampa-ReutersHowever, Milan do not want a replay or the points.Striker Didier Drogba helped ease Chelsea’s recent blues with the winner in a 2-1 victory at Valencia after David Villa had put the home side in front early on.Joe Cole handed Chelsea an equaliser before Drogba struck after 71 minutes to settle the Group B match and boost new coach Avram Grant after a sticky period following the departure of popular Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho two weeks ago.Last season’s beaten finalists and 2005 winners Liverpool suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Marseille in Group A with Mathieu Valbuena bagging a classy goal after 77 minutes.Goran Pandev scored a superb brace to cancel out Ruud van Nistelrooy’s double in Lazio’s 2-2 draw with Real Madrid while Ricardo Quaresma grabbed the winner deep into stoppage time as 2004 champions Porto won 1-0 at Besiktas.Werder Bremen, who battered Arminia Bielefeld 8-1 in the Bundesliga at the weekend, looked to be cruising at home before Olympiakos stormed back to win the Group C clash 3-1.Germany did have a winner though with Jermaine Jones and Kevin Kuranyi scoring second half goals to give Schalke a 2-0 win at Norway’s Rosenborg Trondheim.Benfica, beaten 2-1 at AC Milan two weeks ago, lost 1-0 at home to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk with Jadson grabbing the goal just before the interval in their Group D match.Scottish champions Celtic are likely to face a Uefa probe after a fan got on the pitch and hit Dida, who gave chase before dramatically collapsing and being carried off on a stretcher.The Brazilian was struck by a flare in a Champions League quarter-final second leg with Inter Milan in 2005.On that occasion the match was abandoned and handed to the Italians, who were 3-0 up on aggregate at the time.Nampa-Reuters

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