Chelsea held by Juventus, Messi rescues Barca

Chelsea's Oscar (L) celebrates with team mate Ashley Cole after scoring a goal against Juventus during their Champions League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London September 19, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Chelsea found a new Champions League hero as Brazilian Oscar scored twice for the holders in a 2-2 draw against Juventus and Barcelona had yet another command performance from Lionel Messi to thank for a 3-2 win over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich banished some demons in their first European fixture since their bitter final defeat by Chelsea in May with victory over Valencia and Manchester United, with plenty to prove after last season's woes, also began with three points.

Oscar's first taste of Champions League football since joining from Internacional will linger long after he fired the London club into a 2-0 lead, the second of his goals a rare gem, but Juventus ruined his script, hitting back to earn a point  in the Group E opener through Arturo Vidal and Fabio Quagliarella.

Barcelona were heading for their first Champions League defeat at the Nou Camp for 17 matches when a Dani Alves own goal and Romulo's 59th-minute effort put Spartak 2-1 ahead in the Group G game but Messi restored order with his 52nd and 53rd goals in the competition.

"Things got complicated but we kept pressing and we managed to turn it around," Messi told Spanish television having spared the blushes of coach Tito Vilanova in his first Champions League game since following the glittering reign of Pep Guardiola.

Manchester United began Group H with an unconvincing 1-0 victory over Galatasaray but the home jitters that cost them a place in knockout round last season were evident again as their Turkish opponents were denied by the woodwork three times.

The hosts failed to build on Michael Carrick's early goal and Nani's 53rd-minute penalty miss added to the nerves.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (L) scores his second goal against Spartak Moscow's Dmitri Kombarov (R) and goalkeeper Andriy Dykan during their Champions League Group G soccer match at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, September 19, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Nordin Amrabat and Hamit Altintop hit the woodwork for the Istanbul club before halftime while Selcuk Inan shaved the post for the visitors after the break.

"Three points in the opening game are very important, especially when you look at what happened to us last season," United boss Alex Ferguson, whose side drew at home to Basel and Benfica last season, told Sky Sports.

"We were careless in the first half, it was unusual for us to be so frivolous with the ball," Ferguson said after overseeing United's 100th Champions League win.

Bayern enjoyed a 2-1 victory over visiting Valencia in Group F with Bastian Schweinsteiger, who missed a vital kick in the penalty shootout defeat by Chelsea in May, and Toni Kroos on target for the Bundesliga club.

Two of the Champions League's makeweights, BATE Borisov and CFR Cluj, enjoyed encouraging starts.