Shev's in from the cold.
Porto 1 Chelsea 1
For me the first name on the team sheet for Porto is a healthy Lucho Gonzalez. For others it might be winger Ricardo Quaresma (he'd be second for me). For Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira, you suspect, the first two players are central defenders Pepe and Bruno Alves.

Throughout this season, whether in Europe or domestically, the duo at the heart of the Porto defence have been pillars at the back. Unheralded outside Portugal, and probably largely unheard of and unseen among fans of the bigger, more popular leagues, they are arguably one of Europe's premier central defensive combinations. Thanks to their efforts, Porto have kept three clean sheets in the group stage of the Champions League, and 10 clean sheets (in only 18 games) while conceding just 10 goals in the Campeonato.

Unfortunately, Andriy Shevchenko picked this game to remind everyone that he is indeed (still) a world class striker. Whereas, normally, one would expect Porto to shut up shop after Raul Meireles' opener (deliciously deflecting off Frank Lampard of all people) and rally around their two defensive lynchpins; they were quickly pegged back by the Ukrainian striker within minutes of taking the lead, and so had to abandon those plans.

Thereafter, there was a refreshing look to the game as both sides seemed intent on attacking and scoring. Chelsea were second best for large parts of this game. Michael Ballack was notably anonymous yet again, picking up a yellow card in another mediocre performance. Porto really should have made the Londoners pay for their lapses at the back (Claude Makalele seemed to be a little off), especially once defensive talisman John Terry was carried off with an ankle injury.

If Jose Mourinho had taught Porto how to defend their way to titles, then this return to his launching pad was crucial in being a refresher course on how to attack. Interestingly, rather than advocating a defensive approach, Mourinho responded to the gauntlet being thrown down by Ferreira, by going on the attack himself.

Predictably, Arjen Robben was thrown on once Terry had to leave and Porto had taken the lead. Fittingly, he was decisive in securing the equaliser. Rather less exciting was Robben himself going off for the dire Jon Obi Mikel within half an hour of coming on.

Porto had more chances, Chelsea counter-punched and the game ebbed and flowed as both teams seemed to enjoy the space afforded by the other. On the left Quaresma was in imperious form, coming close to snatching back the lead twice, first off a free kick, Petr Cech needing two tries to collect, and then hitting the bar.

However, rather than going for the jugular, Porto decided to opt for a more defensive approach 10 minutes into the second half with Marek Cech coming on for goalscorer Raul Meireles. This allowed Chelsea to slowly impose themselves and Lampard and Drogba both had shots on target.

Was Ferreira afraid of conceding another goal off a counterattack? Why not try and score one yourself - which I feel would have happened had Porto not abandoned their initial approach. At the end a fair result, better for Chelsea in getting the away goal while not losing. Ominously, Chelsea's  Michael Essien, Makalele and Ballack all picked up yellow cards.

Olympico No Show
Roma 0 Lyon 0
This was supposed to be two attack-minded teams filled with accomplished and entertaining players orchestrating brilliance in a spontaneously choreographed foot-ballet. Far from it. Francesco Totti, Juninho Pernambucano, Florent Malouda, Rodrigo Taddei, Alessandro Mancini, Sidney Govou - more than enough firepower to turn a match on its head. Far from it.

If you told me that the Porto-Chelsea game would finish 0-0 with 11 yellow cards, I'd have believed you. Not this game, though. It promised more sparks and came loaded with more firecrackers. Looking at Lyon's left side line up - Abidal, Juninho and Malouda - one can conclude that they surely are one of the best left sided teams in Europe. Meanwhile Totti is enjoying an Indian summer and is running away with the scoring title in Serie A.

Of course, having the game constantly interrupted by that doyen of refereeing, Mike Riley, did not help. Still, with so many free kicks being taken, one would have expected a peach of a delivery from either Juninho or Totti. For their 16 shots on goal, only five were on target for Lyon and crucially, none went in.

They edged the game overall and had a real period of dominance around the middle of the match but could not find a way to score. Govou and Juninho were both just off while Alexander Doni ensured Malouda's shot was caught - eventually. Other than Totti and Stefano Perrotta no one else from Roma really seemed up for the game - perhaps still suffering the hangover from the weekend defeat in Serie A.

Lyon, for their part, were just a little jaded from their come-from-behind win over Lille. As Manchester United found out, overcoming the muscular Lille is no easy task. It's so hard to talk about a game in which the talking point was the lack of action and the flurry of cautions. One can only hope that the return leg delivers more.

Post Script: Overall, the Champions League first legs have been a downer. Five of the games yielded just four goals - a combination of caution, defensive tactics, a loss of form and a lack of fluency contributing to more busts than one would have liked. On the other hand, several away teams emerged with credit - none more so than the English duo of Manchester United an Liverpool who both recorded away wins - the latter impressively so.

Valencia beat Inter at their own game and notched two away goals in a draw. Chelsea left Porto with a precious away goal but without their captain and defensive anchor.  Arsenal, Lyon and Roma all failed to rise to the occasion; while other than David Villa's free kick and Edison Mendez's goal, there was little to write home about.

Finally, I may be wrong here, but I think Lille's Tony Sylva is the first African goalkeeper to feature in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The bigs boys have done the sparring - they'll be going for each others' throats next time round.

Were the first -leg games so disappointing? We'd like to hear your views at Sportingo.