Barcelona's Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after Inter Milan picked up a point in a dramatic night at the Nou Camp.
Xavi had ramped up the importance of Wednesday night's game by declaring it a "final" as the Catalans looked to get their European campaign back on track. They were undone in a hotly-tempered affair at San Siro last week and the Italians battled to secure the point that puts them in pole position to make the last 16.
Barcelona had taken the lead courtesy of Ousmane Dembele as they dominated the opening 45 minutes. However, Inter turned the game on its head within 20 minutes of the second period as Nicolo Barella, and then Lautaro Martinez, scored for the Serie A outfit.
Robert Lewandowski set up a grandstand finish as he scored his 90th goal in the competition with less than ten minutes remaining, but as the Catalans piled forward Inter were able to hit them on the break and secure, what they thought, was the winner.
Lewandowski equalised for a second time but, with five minutes of stoppage time left, Barcelona could not find the winner as Inter boss Simeone Inzaghi was sent-off in the final stages. Domestically Xavi's side have been largely faultless, but the Nou Camp's atmosphere went from fever pitch to a stunned silence as Barcelona's European ambitions were put on hold.
Raphinha showed his frustration when he was hauled off on what was a night of regrets. Frenkie de Jong was sent on by his manager as he sought the goals that ultimately never came. Instead the home crowd, who saw their arch rivals Real Madrid claim another European crown last season, were sent home disappointed.
Bayern's rout
They may be copping criticism domestically, but Bayern Munich have certainly saved the best for Europe this term. Julian Naglesmann saw his side squander a 2-0 lead to drop points at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, but four days later and he'd seen his side rip through Viktoria Plzen.
The Germans were 4-0 up by half-time with Sadio Mane beginning the rout after just ten minutes. Thomas Muller and Leon Goretzka also got in on the act. The Czech side did pull two back in the second-half to restore an element of pride, but their point-less campaign continues.
Alonso's opening night
Xabi Alonso took his first steps into management when he was appointed the Bayer Leverkusen boss. The Spaniard spent time in Germany as a player and enjoyed the dream start at the weekend, seeing his side hit four past Schalke at the BayArena.
Leverkusen were again in action at home as Alonso, who won the Champions League twice as a player, enjoyed his first taste of the competition as a manager. FC Porto were in town and had to intention of reading the script as they ran out 3-0 winners.
Elsewhere in Europe, Club Brugge secured their place in the last 16 with a draw against Atletico Madrid. Marseille saw off Sporting Lisbon with Alexis Sanchez finding the back of the net and Napoli kept up their perfect record thus far with a win against Ajax in Italy.
