Chelsea draw; Man U lose in Rome

Supporters of English soccer were hoping that Liverpool's demolition of Eindhoven on Tuesday would set the tone for fellow Premiership sides Chelsea and Manchester United. But after Wednesday evening, the current top two clubs in English soccer find themselves in a pinch. Chelsea managed only a 1-1 draw at home against Valencia.

The Spaniards played better soccer for most of the first half as Valencia parried the uncoordinated attacks of the English champs. At the half-hour mark, David Silva let loose a sharp shot from some 20 meters out that was unstoppable for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech -- Valenica led 1-0.

After the interval, Chelsea stormed out of the locker room and quickly took control of the game. In the 53rd minute, the Blues' top scorer, Didier Drogba, headed home the equalizer.

Chelsea, however, retained the pressure for the remainder of the match but Valencia showed little weakness in gaining the draw. With the home result, Chelsea leave themselves in a precarious position for next week's second leg tie in Valencia.

Man U drop match at Roma

In Rome, Premiership leader Manchester United fell to Roma 2-1. ManU coach Sir Alex Ferguson should be satisfied with the result considering his team played for almost one hour with 10 men after German referee Herbert Fendel sent off Paul Scholes.

Roma took advantage of the red card and one minute before halftime, their Brazilian midfielder Taddei scored from 11 metres out with some help from two Manchester defenders who deflected the ball into their own net.

The one-sided nature of this contest was obvious as Roma launched 26 total shots. Manchester waited for counter-attacks, and that's how they scored when Wayne Rooney equalized at the hour mark.

Six minutes later, though, Mirko Vucinic slotted home the ball after ManU keeper Edwin van der Sar was unable to stop a shot. Manchester got the desired one goal that coach Ferguson demanded but will nevertheless have a tough task next week at Old Trafford.

The match was marred by fighting between supporters from both teams before and during the contest. Italian media reported that five people were injured in the clashes.

Bayern still basking after Milan draw

In Germany, the talk of the day was Bayern Munich's 2-2 draw at Milan. The man of the match was most certainly Bayern's two-goal scoring defender Daniel van Buyten who has been oft maligned of late.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was equally pleased with his side's performance, specifically with that of the oft maligned defender.

And if the Munich strikers by any means reach van Buyten's form, a place in the semi-finals against either Roma or Manchester United should be a done deal.