Champions League Results 2014: Scores, Group Tables, Standings for Matchday 1

The 2014-15 UEFA Champions League kicked off on Tuesday, and the biggest and most important club competition of the European continent served up plenty of goals, drama and upsets on the very first day of competition.

Defending champions Real Madrid crushed FC Basel, while last year's losing finalists Atletico Madrid suffered an upset loss at the hands of Olympiacos.    

Making their return to the competition, Liverpool needed some late heroics to overcome Ludogorets, while Arsenal were exposed by an opportunistic Borussia Dortmund side.

Here are the full results of Matchday 1, as well as updated group tables:

Group A

Juventus looked flat and uninspired against a feisty Malmo side, but a Carlos Tevez brace in the second half was enough for the Bianconeri to start their Champions League campaign with a win for the first time in five tries.

As shared by Squawka, it took the Argentine more than five years to find the back of the net on this level:

Tevez told the club's official website he was never bothered with the drought:

I wasn’t concerned about my Champions League goal drought. I play for a team and with this one I play every game as if it were the last.

We know we need to win every game. The papers say it’s an easy group, but taking last year’s experience into account we know that’s definitely not the case.

We didn’t get through the groups last year and it was a disappointment. First we’ll look to overcome that hurdle, then we’ll think about how far we can go.

Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid in La Liga during the weekend, but they suffered the shock of the day, losing 3-2 against Greek champions Olympiacos.

Arthur Masuaku and Ibrahim Afellay gave the hosts a surprising two-goal lead, but Mario Mandzukic pulled one back for the Atleti just before half-time.

The inevitable Konstantinos Mitroglou restored the two-goal cushion, but when Antoine Griezmann scored in the 87th minute, it opened the door for a wild finish. The Greeks held on, however, securing three vital points with an eye on the next round.

Group B

Liverpool and Ludogorets served up a drab affair for 80 minutes but gave us plenty of drama and excitement in the last 10.

ESPN FC's James Tyler was not impressed after an hour of play:

Mario Balotelli scored his first goal in a Reds uniform after 80 minutes, controlling the ball between two players and displaying his brute strength to find space and slot the ball home.

The Italian appeared to have won the match for the hosts, but Simon Mignolet left his line too late in the 90th minute, allowing Dani Abalo to round him and calmly finish.

Liverpool pushed forward and Milan Borjan pulled down Javier Manquillo inside the box, giving captain Steven Gerrard a chance to win the match from the spot. The Reds' legend didn't miss, as Anfield exploded in celebration.

Real Madrid and FC Basel had no intention of playing defence, as the teams combined for five goals in the first half. Marek Suchy scored an own goal before Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez all got their names on the scoresheet, the latter scoring his first for Los Blancos.

Derlis Gonzalez pulled one back just before half-time, and Karim Benzema scored the lone goal in the second half, making the final score 5-1.

Group C

Zenit St. Petersburg's two record-transfers Hulk and Axel Witsel both scored to give the Russians a 2-0 win over Benfica Lisbon, who were forced to play over 70 minutes with 10 men after stopper Artur pulled down Danny as he was clear on goal.

AS Monaco surprised everyone by recording a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, with Joao Moutinho scoring after one hour of play. The Germans had the better chances but failed to convert, while Monaco played well as a collective and made the most of their possession.

Group D

Dortmund ran all over Arsenal at the Signal Iduna Park, recording a well-deserved 2-0 win. Die Schwarzgelben dominated the first half and could have scored several goals, but they had to wait until the 45th minute for Ciro Immobile to break the deadlock.

As shared by The Independent's football Twitter feed, the hosts were thoroughly out-playing the Gunners by that point:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 2-0 minutes after the start of the second half, and Arsenal never looked like rebounding from the two-goal deficit.

Galatasaray escaped with a point against Belgian minnows Anderlecht, with star striker Burak Yilmaz scoring the equaliser in injury time.

Anderlecht had taken the lead through Dennis Praet and missed several chances to double their lead, giving the hosts a chance to launch a massive offensive in the final minutes. The ball found its way to Yilmaz with a little luck, who didn't miss from close range.

Group E

Roma got their Champions League campaign off to a fine start against CSKA Moscow as they handed the Russian side a 5-1 drubbing at the Stadio Olimpico.

A Gervinho double, an own goal, and Juan Iturbe and Maicon's first-half strikes contributed to a fantastic performance—and a Roma record per Opta—while Ahmed Musa provided a consolation for the visitors:

In a tough group that also includes Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Roma's goal-difference boost from Wednesday's win could prove invaluable when it comes to qualification for the knockout rounds.

The Sky Blues were beaten at the death by the Bundesliga champions at the Allianz Arena as Jerome Boateng's last-minute winner saw Manuel Pellegrini's side go away with nothing.

Mario Gotze deflected the ball past Joe Hart as City desperately looked to hold on for the draw and the Premier League champions look to have another tricky task on their hands to make it to the last 16.

Group F

Paris St-Germain squandered a bucket-load of second-half chances and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday, Edinson Cavani's opener being cancelled out deep into the second half by Lasse Schone.

Lucas Moura was particularly wasteful at the beginning of the second half as he failed to hit the target despite having only the keeper to beat.

However, PSG were lucky not to lose it in the end as—despite their chances—Ajax finished the game the stronger side, per football writer Michael Cox:

Barcelona got off to a winning—if uninspired—start to the Champions League as they beat Apoel 1-0 through a Gerard Pique header at the Camp Nou.

It was not the goal-fest many expected—although a win none the less—but Barca will need to be better as the tournament goes on. 

Group G

It was one point apiece for all four teams on Wednesday in Group G as Chelsea drew at home with Schalke and Sporting shared the spoils with Maribor, both games ending 1-1.

Stamford Bridge saw an early Cesc Fabregas strike cancelled out in the 62nd minute by Klass-Jan Huntelaar as Julian Draxler impressed immensely, per the Guardian's Dominic Fifield:

Meanwhile, there was late-goal drama in Slovenia as Nani looked to have won it for Sporting with a goal in the 80th minute, only for Luka Zahovic to equalise in stoppage time.

While Chelsea are still favourites to top the group, Jose Mourinho's side did not get off to the best of starts in the competition and Schalke look a force to be reckoned with. 

Group H

Yacine Brahimi scored a hat-trick as Porto thrashed Belarusian side BATE Borisov 6-0 in Portugal to get their campaign off to a flying start.

Jackson Martinez, Adrian and Vincent Aboubakar provided the other goals in a throughly convincing performance which should breed huge confidence in the Porto side.

It was a very different affair in the other Group H game on Wednesday as Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk played out a 0-0 draw in Spain.

Despite the goalless result, there were chances for both sides and enough fine play to make the outcome of the group a difficult one to predict with three teams certain to be vying for qualification.