MANCHESTER, England (AFP) — Francesco Totti became the oldest goal-scorer in Champions League history as Roma held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in an entertaining Group E encounter yesterday.
The Roma talisman, who turned 38 on Saturday, struck midway through the first half to earn Rudi Garcia’s Serie A high-fliers a point after Sergio Aguero had put City ahead with a fourth-minute penalty.
Totti’s goal broke a record previously held by former Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs and saw him end a run of nine matches without scoring in club games on English soil.
In another match, Paris Saint-Germain overcame the absence of their injured talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic to beat Barcelona 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Parc des Princes.
The Catalans, who had not even conceded a goal all season in seven matches before this one, fell behind inside 10 minutes when David Luiz prodded in his first PSG goal.
Barcelona needed just two minutes to draw level thanks to a marvellous Lionel Messi strike, but Marco Verratti headed the hosts back in front after 26 minutes and Blaise Matuidi added another in the 54th minute.
Neymar reduced the deficit, yet Paris held on for their first win in the group after a 1-1 draw at Ajax two weeks ago, while Barca failed to build on a narrow 1-0 win over APOEL of Cyprus in their first outing.
It was the first time in seven games that Roma had not won this season, but they left the Etihad Stadium the more satisfied team following a result that left them two points below group leaders Bayern Munich.
City, beaten 1-0 by Bayern in their first game, could not make their dominance of possession count and may need maximum points from their forthcoming double-header with CSKA Moscow if they are to avoid a third group-stage exit in four years.
A hamstring injury to Morgan De Sanctis obliged Roma to hand a competition debut to 23-year-old Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski and his first duty was to pick the ball out of the net.
City old boy Maicon blatantly hauled Aguero back by the shoulder as he looked to latch onto David Silva’s chipped pass and the Argentine got up to send Skorupski the wrong way from the spot.
It was an unfortunate return to the Etihad for Maicon, a City player from 2012 to 2013, but he almost atoned within a minute by slamming a shot against Joe Hart’s crossbar from Totti’s feathered pass.
Roma continued to press, unsettling City with their pace in wide areas, and after Hart was called into action by Gervinho and then Radja Nainggolan, the visitors equalised in the 23rd minute.
Totti’s milestone finish from Nainggolan’s pass was delightful — a stabbed effort with the outside of his right foot that sailed inside the right-hand post — but Vincent Kompany had lost track of him in the build-up and Hart slipped as he came out to meet him.