United fielded an experimental side dropping eight of the players that beat Bolton Wanderers 5-0 in the English Premier League at the weekend.
Unsurprisingly Benfica were by far the more fluid of the two teams, with the South American triumvirate of Oscar Cardozo, Pablo Aimar and Nicolas Gaitan bamboozling United's defense with some beautiful, intelligent movement.
And it was Benfica that took a deserved lead when the impressive Gaitan lifted the ball for Cardozo to put the Portuguese team in front.
But just before half time veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs scored a fine individual goal to equalize and although Manchester United stand-in keeper Anders Lindegaard made several excellent saves, neither side could find the breakthrough as the game ended 1-1.
That goal means that 37-year-old Giggs has now scored in a remarkable 22 consecutive seasons for Manchester United. He also broke his own record as the oldest player to score in the Champions League.
If Tuesday's Champions League matches were all about Brazil -- Brazilian players netted nine of the 17 goals scored -- the City Of Manchester Stadium had a decidedly Argentine feel as Manchester City made their Champions League debut against Napoli in Group A.
All eyes were on Manchester City's Sergio Aguero who is in fine form after scoring a hat-trick in the English Premier League at the weekend. But it was his famous family connection that had dominated the build up to the game.
Aguero is Diego Maradona's son-in-law, and it was at Napoli that a young Maradona arguably enjoyed the finest form of his career.
Despite the connection Maradona wasn't in attendance -- he his preparing for the start of the UAE league season where he will be taking charge of Dubai-based club Al Wasl -- and it was Napoli that had the best of the early stages.
Fellow Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi hit the bar after a powerful run and fierce right footed shot. And although City themselves rattled the crossbar it was Napoli that took first blood through another South American.
Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani beat the offside trap to coolly slot through the legs of Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart.
But the lead didn't last long.
Shortly after Aguero had rattled the crossbar, Serbian defender Aleksander Kolarov curled in a perfect free kick.
Argentina international Carlos Tevez was introduced with ten minutes left but he could not break through Napoli's defense as the match finished 1-1.
Real Madrid got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start by beating Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in Group D, the goal coming from yet another Argentine, winger Angel Di Maria.
But the result of the night came in Group B at a deserted San Siro where Turkish side Trabzonspor stunned Inter Milan.
Trabzonspor had lost their earlier Champions League qualifying match against Benfica and were preparing for life in the Europa League.
But a match fixing scandal that has enveloped Turkish football saw champions Fenerbahce withdrawn from the competition and Trabzonspor promoted in their place.
Czech right-back Ondrej Celustka scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game with 15 minutes to go, heaping more pressure on beleaguered Inter coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
Also in Group B CSKA Moscow fought back from two goals down to earn a deserved draw against French side Lille thanks to Ivory Coast striker Seydou Doumbia, who scored twice.
Bayern Munich got off to the perfect start in Group A beating Spain's Villarreal 2-0 whilst Ajax and Lyon saw out a 0-0 draw in Group D.
Romanian side Otelul Galati lost on their debut in the Champions League against Basle of Switzerland in Group C. Veteran striker Alexander Frei scored the deciding goal from the penalty spot.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.
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