Inter Milan survived a Gareth Bale inspired Spurs comeback, Man Utd edged out Bursaspor, while Rangers were held by Valencia.
Bale hat-trick not enough, Nani sees off Turks, Edu scores at both ends
Inter Milan survived a Gareth Bale inspired Spurs comeback, Manchester United edged out Bursaspor, while Rangers were held by Valencia on a mixed night for British sides in the UEFA Champions League.
Ten-man
Tottenham almost pulled off one of the greatest comebacks ever as they rallied only to lose 4-3 to Champions League holders
Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Harry Redknapp's men got off to the worst possible start when Inter broke the deadlock after just 68 seconds through Javier Zanetti.
Samuel Eto'o played in Zanetti inside the box and the veteran Argentine curled his shot superbly into the far corner to become the oldest player ever to score in the Champions League.
Things got worse for Spurs six minutes later when Wesley Sneijder cut open the visitors defence with a sublime pass to Jonathan Biabiny who was brought down in full-flight by Heurelho Gomes to give the home side a penalty
Gomes was sent off for the offence forcing Redknapp to sacrifice Luka Modric for replacement goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini and his first task was to pick the ball out of the net after Eto'o converted the spot-kick.
Spurs were all at sea and Inter made it 3-0 on 14 minutes when Dejan Stankovic played a neat one-two with Eto'o before drilling the ball into the bottom corner.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs before the break when the impressive Coutinho slipped in Eto'o inside the box and he slotted his shot under the body of Cudicini.
Spurs improved after the break, with Bale the star of the show with a brilliant hat-trick.
Bale pulled a goal back on 52 minutes with a superb solo effort as he raced past Zanetti and Walter Samuel just inside the Inter half before smashing a brilliant shot into the bottom corner past Julio Cesar.
Welsh ace Bale reduced the arrears further in the final minute with a carbon copy of his first goal as he found the bottom corner with another unerring left-footed finish.
Seconds later Bale completed his hat-trick when he smashed home Aaron Lennon's pass, but Inter held on to secure the three points.
In the other game in Group A
FC Twente and
Werder Bremen shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw in Holland.
Somewhat against the run of play Twente went in front 15 minutes from time when Theo Janssen pounced from close-range to score.
However, the lead proved short-lived as Marko Arnautovic came back to haunt his old club with the equaliser just five minutes later when he scored from close-range after working a one-two with Claudio Pizarro.
Manchester United put the Wayne Rooney issue to one side to overcome Bursaspor 1-0 at Old Trafford to put a smile on their fans' faces after a difficult last 48 hours.
United scored the only goal of the game after just seven minutes when Nani picked up the ball in midfield and ran unchallenged to the edge of the box before curling his shot beyond Bursaspor keeper Dimitar Ivankov.
Rangers could count themselves unlucky not to take all three points from their clash with
Valencia after an action-packed 1-1 draw at Ibrox.
Maurice Edu made their domination count on 34 minutes when he rose highest above Valencia goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez to head home Vladimir Weiss' corner.
American star Edu went close to adding a second soon after when his thumping long-range strike came back off the post and from the rebound Kenny Miller blazed over with the goal at his mercy.
Edu turned from hero to villain at the start of the second half when he unfortunately headed into his own net to draw Valencia level.
Barcelona moved to the top of Group D with a hard-fought 2-0 win over
FC Copenhagen at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi smashed home from the edge of the box after being picked out by Andres Iniesta.
Barcelona survived a major scare midway through the second half as Dame N'Doye saw his shot come back off the underside of the crossbar and Cesar Santin missed the rebound with a header just wide of the target.
Messi made the game safe in stoppage time when he scored from close-range to end the Danes' brave fight.
Panathinaikos and
Rubin Kazan remain winless after a goalless draw in the other game in Group D.
Lyon maintained their 100 per cent record in Group B with a 2-0 victory over ten-man
Benfica at Stade Gerland.
Jimmy Briand gave Lyon the lead on 21 minutes when he headed home Michel Bastos' cross and Benfica suffered a major blow two minutes before the break when Nicolas Gaitan was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Lyon made their numerical advantage count six minutes after the break when Lisandro Lopez scored from close-range after his initial attempt was saved.
Raul equalled Gerd Muller's all-time record for goals in European competition with a clinical brace in
Schalke's 3-1 success over
Hapoel Tel-Aviv to take his tally to 68 goals in Europe.
The Spanish ace set Schalke on their way with the opener after just three minutes with a cool finish after a sublime dummy by strike partner Klass-Jan Huntelaar.
Raul doubled the lead just before the hour mark when he converted Ivan Rakitic's cross after a flowing move from the home side.
Jose Manuel Jurado added a third on 68 minutes with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box.
Etey Schechter pulled a goal back for Hapoel in stoppage time, but it was nothing more than a mere consolation.
