England host WI, Australia and SA

England will play three-testseries against West Indies and South Africa next year separated by a five-match one-day series against Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.

The home side, who replaced India as the world's top-rankedtest nation this year, will play 14 one-day internationals,including a match against Scotland, and four Twenty20 games during a crowded summer.

"With England looking to maintain its position as the numberone side in the ICC's World Test rankings and also preparing todefend the world T20 title in Sri Lanka next autumn, interest innext summer's international programme will be intense," ECBchief executive David Collier said in a statement.

"A record number of people attended this season'sinternational fixtures and with an exciting summer in prospectagain in 2012, we would urge spectators to buy tickets early inorder to avoid disappointment."

Test match schedule:
West Indies
First test, Lord's, May 17-20
Second test, Trent Bridge, May 25-29
Third test, Edgbaston, June 7-11
South Africa
First test, Oval, July 19-23
Second test, Headingley, Aug. 2-6
Third test, Lord's, Aug. 16-20

Younis resignation affected Pakistan: Mishbah

Pakistan have been affected by the sudden resignation of coach Waqar Younis ahead of series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England, captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Wednesday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board will draw up a shortlist for the vacant position on Thursday after Younis stepped down as head coach following the recent tour to Zimbabwe, citing personal and medical reasons.

"He was a good coach and I had a good understanding with him. He was there always to assist me in pressure situations and in taking hard decisions," Misbah said in an interview.

"So his going has made a difference to us. But mentally we are now prepared to work with a new coach. It is the board decision whether they appoint a local or foreign coach.

"But it is true we will require time to settle down with the new coach and understand him and this is never easy for any team."

Misbah, 37, said Pakistan aimed to reach the top four in the world Test rankings and qualify for the International Cricket Council world Test championship.

"I am confident we have the ability to win these series because our team has gelled well we have some good bowlers and it is a case of players realising their responsibilities," he said.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj unlikely for England series

The India squad may miss out Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh for their upcoming home series against England

India will play its first ODI series at home after winning the World Cup in April when it takes on England next month in five ODIs starting in Hyderabad, 

Yet, rather than the series being a welcome return home for the current world champions, the squad is likely to look very different from the one that won the title as injury problems that stalked the team on its tour of England show no signs of abating.

The team will be announced on Thursday but it can be traced that Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh are unlikely to be fit in time, while Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel are also set to miss out.

Tendulkar continues to struggle with his toe injury and his absence raises the question of how much more ODI cricket he will play, especially considering that outside of the World Cup, he has played only two ODIs this year.

Rohit's broken finger that ruled him out of the Champions League Twenty20 should also keep him out against England, while the ligament damage to Yuvraj's finger is not healing fast enough. Meanwhile Ishant's ankle is still ginger and he's unlikely to be risked for the series.

Ishant has said the ankle needs surgery but he is holding off until after the tour of Australia. Keeping him out of the series could be a precautionary measure to have him ready later in the year. Munaf injured his ankle during the ODIs against England and missed the Champions League.

On the plus side, Gautam Gambhir has recovered from his concussion and is playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Champions League.

With so many players out, Ajinkya Rahane, who impressed in England, should keep his place. It could also open the door for Yusuf Pathan to make a return to the side after he was not selected for the tour of England.

Given that Zaheer Khan is already missing, the big question is the composition of India's pace attack. Do the selectors fall back on Ashish Nehra, who has declared himself fit (no one from the board has spoken to him though) and has been bowling at full tilt in the nets over the last six weeks?

Or do they plump for a completely new line-up fashioned around Praveen Kumar, with the likes of Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay Kumar in the reckoning? The choices the selectors make will indicate how they plan to restock India's bowling resources and whether they are thinking about the future.

The identity of the spinners is also open to question, though to lesser degree. Harbhajan Singh is fit again and is the conventional, safe choice, but the pair of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha could be worth a gamble. Ashwin played in the 0-3 series loss to England and the selectors might want to see how effective he is in helpful conditions.

India won the World Cup in April in grand style but have struggled somewhat since. They won the first three ODIs on the West Indies tour but lost the two dead rubbers, before going down 0-3 to England, though they did manage a tie in the fourth game of that series.

Bravo blasts Chennai Super Kings to victory

Chennai Super Kings got their title defence back on track with a chase that covered the spectrum from blue to yellow and all the colours in between against Cape Cobras.

Michael Hussey got the pursuit of 146 off to a positive start, but JP Duminy's four wickets wrested the advantage back, and put the Cape Cobras in the pound seat. MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo's 43-run partnership helped Chennai recover but Vernon Philander dismissed Dhoni to give the Cobras another sniff, 

Then, Bravo made a mockery of Dale Steyn, scoring 17 runs off his last over, the 19th of the innings, to paint the Chidamabaram Stadium in the colour of the home team.

With 23 runs required off the last two overs, Chennai needed someone to launch them over the line, and Bravo took it upon himself to do so.

First, he mowed a Steyn slower ball which turned into a full toss over midwicket, and carved the next delivery behind point for four, before playing a classy inside-out cover drive to ensure the Super Kings succeeded in a tricky chase on a slow pitch.

Hussey set the tone when he picked up from where he left against the Mumbai Indians with an authoritative knock upfront. In M Vijay's company, he put the Super Kings on the right path before Duminy came on to bowl.

He started bowling in the Powerplay and did not hesitate to flight the ball, drawing Hussey forward and giving Dane Vilas enough time to complete the stumping.

Justin Ontong extracted good turn and bounce from his end, and Duminy capitalised on the pressure he was creating. In his second over, Duminy enticed S Badrinath to play a lofted drive straight to short cover.

A quiet third over was followed by an eventful fourth in which Duminy got rid of Wriddhiman Saha who swept to deep square leg, and Suresh Raina who played too early and handed a return catch.

MS Dhoni held himself back and came out at No.6, at a time when the Super Kings needed to play catch-up. Dhoni and Bravo played cautiously for three boundary-less overs against Robin Peterson's crafty spin, Philander's slower balls and Justin Kemp's offcutters.

Bravo broke the drought when Philander got his line wrong and allowed the pull to fine leg.

Duminy then turned from hero to villain by over-running a Dhoni catch at deep cover, and the Cobras' fortunes worsened from that moment. Bravo unleashed a six over extra cover off a Philander slower ball to keep the asking-rate under control. Even Dhoni's departure did not affect his resolve, and he hauled Chennai to their first win.

The Cobras would have rued not scoring enough runs after being dragged back from a position where they looked set to score over 170. They had a stuttering start, when R Ashwin trapped Richard Levi lbw with his first delivery. Herschelle Gibbs fizzed for a while, but fell after trying to pull a length ball from Doug Bollinger.

Thereafter, Owais Shah's responsible, yet busy knock and his partnership with Duminy troubled Chennai. The pair complemented each other, with Duminy the energiser and Shah the sage. Albie Morkel removed both in the same over to peg the Cobras back just when they looked set to take off.

With the pressure building and the Super Kings deploying a series of slower deliveries, some of which were a touch short, the Cobras became edgy.

Bravo's variations proved particularly problematic and the innings ended with the Cobras unable to find a boundary off any of the last 29 deliveries. Bravo's real contribution, however, came much later in the piece.

Johnson dropped from T20 in SA tour

Australia have dumped Mitchell Johnson from their Twenty20 side for their upcoming South Africa tour after the paceman endured a poor tour in Sri Lanka.

The 29-year-old Queenslander was expensive in Australia's 2-0 series loss to the Sri Lankans and his struggles continued in the one-day and Test series wins that followed.

"Mitchell has struggled in this format of the game to date," Andrew Hilditch, the outgoing chairman of selectors said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Most Twenty20 internationals have been at the start of tours and Mitchell has not always been at his best in these matches.

"Obviously Mitchell has a great skill set for Twenty20 cricket and we are sure he will put a lot of pressure on us to pick him in the future in the Twenty20 team."

Johnson's omission means a recall for Doug Bollinger, who will join Brett Lee, James Pattinson and teenager Pat Cummins in the 14-man squad's pace quartet for the two T20 matches in South Africa next month.

Cummins, an 18-year-old and the youngest ever Australian player to be handed a central contract, had also forced his way into the one-day side after John Hastings was ruled out by injury.

Brad Haddin's retirement from Twenty20 last week and an injury to stand-in Tim Paine paved the way for a promotion for Victoria state wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade in the Cameron White-captained T20 squad.

Mitchell Marsh, a 19-year-old all-rounder, had also been included after a solid tour for Australia A in Zimbabwe, Hilditch said.

Johnson has retained his place in the Michael Clarke-led one-day squad which will play a three-match series after the T20 matches, meaning he will likely be in the frame for the following two-match Test series despite his form slump.

The swing bowler took 16 wickets at an average of 25 in the Australians' 2-1 victory over hosts South Africa in the 2009 Test series and interim coach Troy Cooley said getting the erratic bowler back into the groove was a top priority.

"I will be picking up quite quickly with (bowling coach) Craig McDermott and (Test captain) Michael Clarke on what transpired over there (in Sri Lanka)... and make sure Mitchell Johnson is up and running," he said on Tuesday.

Twenty20 squad: Cameron White (captain), Shane Watson, Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Stephen O'Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

One-day squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson, Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Brad Haddin, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Steven Smith, David Warner.

BCB Green take 170-run lead

BCB Green led by 170 runs with four wickets remaining going into the final day of their four-day practice game against BCB Red.

By stumps at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday, BCB Green were 174 for six in their second innings. Raqubul Hasan was batting on 48 and Elias Sunny on five not out.

BCB Red, who resumed on 215-7, took their first innings total to 285 with Nasir Hossain unbeaten on 93. BCB Green made 281 in their first innings.

BCB Green got off to reasonable start in their second innings with the opening pair putting 70 runs.

They slumped to 107-5 before making a slight recovery when the sixth-wicket pair of Raqibul Hasan and Junaed Siddique added 57 runs.

Opener Shahriar Nafees was the next best BCB Green scorer with 46.

Mahmudullah and Suhrawadi Shuvo both claimed two wickets.

Man City suspend 'finished' Tevez

Manchester City suspended Carlos Tevez on Wednesday while they investigate his conduct in their Champions League match at Bayern Munich in which manager Roberto Mancini said the striker had refused to come on as a substitute.

Mancini told reporters that the Argentine had ignored his instruction to warm up early in the second half of Tuesday's 2-0 defeat and that Tevez was "finished" while he was manager.

Tevez, who has found controversy follow him from club to club, denied refusing to play and the Premier League outfit are now trying to get to the bottom of what happened.

"Tevez has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks," the club said in a statement on their website (mcfc.co.uk).

"The player's suspension is pending a full review into his alleged conduct during Tuesday evening's 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.

"The player will not be considered for selection or take part in training whilst the review is under way."

Tevez, who is ruled out of Saturday's league trip to Blackburn Rovers before the two-week international break, earlier sought to placate City fans whom he has already angered over the past year with his open desire to leave the club.

"There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood," he said in a statement, according to local media.

"I would like to apologise to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich.

"They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club. In Munich on Tuesday, I had warmed up and was ready to play.

"This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play. Going forward, I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations."

If Mancini sticks to his guns, Tevez's words will fall on deaf ears at a club whose patience he has tested several times.

Last December he put in a transfer request that the club turned down, while he lodged another at the end of last season citing family reasons.

He made scathing comments about Manchester on an Argentine chat show in June, saying the city "has nothing" and is "very expensive" and that he was "never going back to Manchester, not even on holiday".

'DISGRACE TO FOOTBALL'

He nevertheless returned after a planned return to Brazilian club Corinthians fell through but was stripped of the club captaincy and found himself relegated to the bench as compatriot Sergio Aguero was paired with Edin Dzeko up front.

It is a major fall from grace for the player who won City fans' hearts with his work rate and goals after a controversial move across the city from Manchester United in 2009.

His arrival in the blue side of the northwest English city created a storm when City posted a giant 'Welcome to Manchester' billboard following his defection.

It was a sign of things to come and also the latest in a chain of headline-grabbing issues that Tevez has been at the centre of during his time in England, despite City breaking a long trophy drought by winning the FA Cup in May.

His first English club West Ham United were fined for breaking rules on third-party agreements regarding player transfers when signing him from Corinthians in 2006.

There followed a protracted legal battle with Sheffield United, who sued West Ham for the cost of relegation saying the Londoners should have faced the drop instead because they ought to have been given a points deduction as well as the fine.

After two years, the clubs settled out of court. In the meantime, Tevez joined Manchester United in another controversial deal involving more player ownership issues.

He then upset United fans by moving down the road to City.

That transfer provided Tevez with a platform he never had at United to be the team's main goalscorer and it looked like the flow of controversy around him might have been stemmed.

He became popular with City fans and even last season finished joint top scorer in the Premier League despite his wish to leave the club.

What happens next remains to be seen as Mancini said he would be talking to the club's owner Sheikh Mansour, who is likely to be unimpressed by the widespread criticism of the player from the footballing world and British media.

"He is a disgrace to football," former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, now a Sky television pundit, said. "The owners need to get him as far away as possible because that type of behaviour can spread."

Young brigade fire Brazil to victory against Argentina

Two second half goals to teenage forwards Lucas and Neymar inspired Brazil to a 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Argentina in a friendly played only with home-based players in Belem on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Sao Paulo forward Lucas, one of the leading lights in the South American under-20 title earlier this year, capped off an exhilarating run from Brazil's own half with a well-placed shot nine minutes after the break.

Neymar added the second for the hosts in the 76th minute from close range after a low cross from the left from substitute Diego Souza to thrill home fans in the Amazonian city.

While Argentina had virtually no senior players on the field, Brazil were boosted by former FIFA player of the year Ronaldinho and 19-year-old Neymar, who has become a first-choice player in the national team despite his youth.

Brazil missed out on an early goal when Neymar just failed to connect with a cross in front of the goal line. Captain Ronaldinho also had a chance go begging from a free-kick that sailed just over the bar.

Ronaldinho, who has been in fine form for Brazilian championship contenders Flamengo, was recalled to the national side earlier this month for the 1-0 friendly win over Ghana in London, his first start in nearly a year.

The former Barcelona forward, a World Cup winner in 2002, is now seen by Brazil coach Mano Menezes as a mentor for the new generation of players being groomed in the leadup to the 2014 World Cup on home soil.

"It's wonderful to play with Neymar and Lucas, the young talents ... I was called here for that, to give support to these young people," Ronaldinho told reporters, adding that he was targeting a spot on the team for the London Olympics next year as one of the three permitted over-23 players.

"I go step by step, my dream now is to win the Olympic gold that is missing in my career, and then get really well in the 2014 World Cup," he added.

The match in Belem was the second leg of a friendly tournament held annually with only home-based players. The teams drew 0-0 in the first on Sept. 14 in Cordoba, Argentina.

United and City eye Premier League redemption

Midweek European disappointment for both Manchester clubs could lead to United and City taking out their frustrations on Premier League lesser lights Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers respectively on Saturday.

Norwich, who have eased up into mid-table after back-to-back wins, should be in for a testing time against the league leaders at Old Trafford (3 p.m. British time) where Alex Ferguson will have made it quite clear that a second successive slip-up will not be tolerated.

United were cruising with a 2-0 lead at home to Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday but in a stunning turnaround, conceded three times before rescuing a draw with a late Ashley Young goal.

Ferguson blamed a "lax attitude at the back" for his team's loss of concentration, although he pointed out that United's attacking instinct had left his midfield and defence exposed.

Norwich are unlikely to cause as many problems as Basel, although the East Anglian side, back in the Premier League for the first time since 2005, have been boosted by wins over Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland.

United are set to again be without injured striker Wayne Rooney as he recovers from a hamstring injury but fellow frontman Javier Hernandez could return after suffering a dead leg in the 1-1 draw with Stoke last weekend.

"It can be difficult to assess a hamstring injury. Obviously we hope we have him back quickly," Ferguson said.

"(Hernandez's injury) is straightforward, it's a dead leg. He should be ready for next Saturday."

While Ferguson waits on news of his key strikers' fitness, his opposite number across the city, Roberto Mancini, again finds himself embroiled in a row over controversial front man Carlos Tevez who was suspended by the club late on Wednesday.

Mancini was also annoyed by his side's slack defending in a 2-0 Champions League loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday but was even more irked by Tevez's apparent refusal to come on a second-half substitute, a move that may have seen him play his last game for a club he desperately wanted to leave over the summer.

BAD SITUATION

"He refused to come on the pitch. For me that is a bad situation. It's impossible for a player to refuse to help the team. I can't accept that one player refused to go in," Mancini told the club's website.

Argentine Tevez later denied he did not want to play, saying: "There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood."

Tevez is suspended for up to two weeks suspension "pending a full review into his alleged conduct" by the club.

City, level with United on 16 points but with a worse goal difference, will be confident of quickly returning to winning ways at Ewood Park (1400) against a Blackburn side with just one league win from six games.

Third-placed Chelsea will be without suspended striker Fernando Torres for their trip to bottom club Bolton on Sunday (1230) following the Spaniard's red card against Swansea City.

Elsewhere, it's derby day on Merseyside and in North London.

Everton host Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday (1145) where Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard should get more playing time after two brief runouts following a six-month layoff with a groin problem.

Liverpool captain Gerrard played 15 minutes in the League Cup win at Brighton and 10 minutes in the 2-1 league victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

A red-hot atmosphere is guaranteed at White Hart Lane on Sunday (1500) where in-form Spurs, with three successive league wins under their belt, will look to secure bragging rights over an Arsenal side still searching for consistency.

Spurs winger Aaron Lennon, out for a month with a groin injury, is set to return in the Europa League against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday and manager Harry Redknapp said he could be ready for Arsenal depending on how he gets on against the Irish.

Bramble held over alleged sex assault

Sunderland defender Titus Bramble has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and drug possession, police said on Wednesday.

Bramble, 30, who played for Sunderland in their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Norwich on Monday, is now being held at a police station while detectives investigate the allegations.

"A 30-year-old man from Wynyard has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and possession of a Class A drug," said a spokeswoman for Cleveland Police in northeast England.

"He is currently being questioned by police and enquiries are ongoing."

Last September, Bramble was arrested by Northumbria police on suspicion of rape following an incident at a hotel in Newcastle but he was subsequently released without charge.

Messi enters Barca record books

Lionel Messi scored twice and moved higher up the record books as Barcelona crushed BATE Borisov 5-0 away for their first win in Champions League Group H on Wednesday.

The World Player of the Year headed the third just before the break and smashed the fourth high into the net to equal Ladislau Kubala as Barca's second highest scorer of all time with 194 goals.

Messi, 24, is now only 41 goals behind top scorer Cesar Rodriguez.

"As (coach) Pep Guardiola said on the weekend we are watching history being made," Barca's other Argentine Javier Mascherano told Spanish radio.

"We should try and enjoy it, because we know it will be very difficult to see another player like him."

An own goal from BATE's Aleksandr Volodko in the 19th minute and a header from Pedro three minutes later had set Barca on course for a victory in which they barely broke a sweat. David Villa wrapped up the scoring at the end.

Barca had started their title defence with a 2-2 draw at home to AC Milan two weeks ago and went level on four points with the Italians at the top of the group after Milan won 2-0 at home to Viktoria Plzen.

BATE set their stall out with 10 yellow shirts staying back and former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman a very lonely figure up front as Barca were utterly dominant.

The visitors at first found it crowded and did not get a clear sniff of goal until Daniel Alves floated a cross in towards the back post and Volodko turned the ball into his own net under pressure from Messi.

BATE were quickly two behind when an similar move, this time from left to right, saw Villa dink a ball over the defence and Pedro arrived before hesitant home keeper Aleksandr Gutor to head home.

The visitors were almost playing at walking pace when Gutor gifted them a third, fumbling a straightforward cross under his bar and Messi nodded into the open net in the 38th.

It was only Messi's second headed goal in the Champions League, after the one he scored in the final win over Manchester United two years ago.

After a lengthy period of possession in the 56th minute, Alves pulled the ball back for Messi, who despite being surrounded by five defenders rifled a shot into the top corner.

Villa rounded off the scoring, breaching the offside trap to slide home the fifth in the 90th minute as Barca matched their biggest ever away win in the Champions League.

"It was a comfortable result, we hardly had any problems but that was because we took it very seriously from the first minute," Mascherano added.

Barca make it look easy, Milan take their time

Holders Barcelona barely broke a sweat in a ruthless 5-0 hammering of BATE Borisov while former champions AC Milan made harder work of finding the net before overcoming new boys Viktoria Plzen 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi drew level with Ladislau Kubala as Barca's second highest scorer of all time thanks to a double in a dominant performance on a rainy night in Minsk as the Spaniards went joint top of Group H along with Milan.

Seven-times champions Milan needed second-half goals to break the deadlock against Czech side Plzen at the San Siro with Zlatan Ibrahimovic converting a 53rd-minute penalty and setting up Antonio Cassano for the second 13 minutes later.

On a good night for former European champions, Olympique Marseille distanced themselves from a poor domestic campaign to demolish Borussia Dortmund 3-0 as the German champions matched their lacklustre early Bundesliga form.

"It was not perfect but we've got six points," was the verdict of Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, who watched a sour end to the game when substitute Jordan Ayew was sent off in stoppage time, picking up a second yellow card for diving.

Brother and Ghana forward Andre Ayew scored twice for the hosts and France striker Loic Remy got the other as they maintained their perfect start in Group F, where they have a two-point lead over second-placed Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger's side enjoyed a better outcome to fellow English club Chelsea in nervy endings to their games, holding on to an early lead to beat Olympiakos Piraeus 2-1 while Andre Villas-Boas' men conceded a late penalty to draw 1-1 in Valencia.

While Wenger watched the game from the stands as he served the last match of his touchline ban, teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a dream start to his European debut with an eighth-minute opener.

The injury-hit London side were two up after 20 minutes through Brazilian left back Andre Santos before the Greek visitors got back into the game with a David Fuster header on 27 minutes and from then on Arsenal merely hung on.

EFFORTLESS CLASS

Many miles away in Belarus, Barcelona made no such meal of their early lead as the champions seemed to barely let their hosts touch the ball.

BATE helped Barca on their way with Aleksandr Volodko's 19th-minute own goal and a header from Pedro followed three minutes later.

Argentine World Player of the Year Messi headed in just before the break and smashed a fourth high into the net to reach 194 club goals. Still aged only 24, Messi is now only 41 goals behind top scorer Cesar Rodriguez.

"As Pep Guardiola said at the weekend (after Messi scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid), we are watching history being made so we should try and enjoy it, because we know it will be very difficult to see another player like him," Barca's Javier Mascherano said.

David Villa wrapped up the scoring against BATE, who despite effectively playing 10 at the back could not contain Barca's effortless class.

Back in Spain, Barca's La Liga rivals Valencia were anything but effortless against Chelsea, looking nervous despite their home advantage and they fell behind to a Frank Lampard first-time strike in the 56th minute.

The English side had plenty of chances to go further ahead but instead wiped out all their good work when substitute Salomon Kalou needlessly flapped an arm at a Valencia cross and the referee pointed to the spot with three minutes left.

Roberto Soldado struck the ball in low for the equaliser as Chelsea watched the three points evaporate on Juan Mata's return to his old stomping ground.

"I think it was more deserved for us to win this game," Chelsea boss Villas-Boas told Sky Sports. "To be so near to win the game and to be in such a good position leaves us a little bit with a feeling we don't like.

"It's useless and pointless to go on about it right now. These are referees decisions, it's nothing new for Chelsea."

Chelsea lead Group E with four points, one ahead of Bayer Leverkusen who beat visitors Racing Genk 2-0 with Chelsea old boy Michael Ballack making sure of the points with a stoppage-time goal after Lars Bender's first-half strike.

In the night's other games, Zenit St Petersburg beat 10-man Porto 3-1 in Group G with Roman Shirokov netting a double in Russia, while in the same group Shakhtar Donetsk drew 1-1 at home with surprise group leaders APOEL Nicosia.