LONDON: European football greats Xavi Hernandez and Francesco Totti set Champions League records for appearances and oldest goal-scorer on Tuesday but neither could cap that personal landmark with victory for their sides Barcelona and AS Roma respectively.

Xavi, now no longer first choice after a career at Barcelona that has brought him three Champions League trophies among many other winners medals, broke compatriot Raul Gonzalez’s appearances record of 142 when he came on as a substitute in the second-half of their game with Paris St Germain.

However, the 34-year-old was unable to help turn around a gripping encounter as the French champions overcame goals from Lionel Messi and Neymar to prevail 3-2 at the Parc des Princes to inflict Barcelona’s first loss of the season.

PSG, who have endured a subdued start to their Ligue 1 title defense, took control of Group ‘F’ with victory over the La Liga leaders.

PSG — who were only denied a semi-final spot by Barcelona on away goals two years ago — top the group on four points with Barcelona a point back while Ajax, who were held 1-1 by APOEL Nicosia, are third on two points.

PSG inflict Barcelona’s first loss of the season

“You are made to pay for errors at this level and we made a few mistakes at the beginning,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “Later we saw some strategic moves which they execute with great strength and they hurt us.”

It was also a record-breaking night for 38-year-old Totti, who became the oldest scorer in the competition’s 22-year history to give Roma a 1-1 draw at Manchester City.

Bayern Munich lead Group ‘E’ after winning 1-0 at CSKA Moscow, whose stadium was empty as a punishment for racist abuse.

Chelsea also beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 to lead Group ‘G’, with Schalke held to a 1-1 draw by Maribor.

FC Porto lead Group ‘H’ after a 2-2 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk that was played in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv due to the conflict in the east. BATE Borisov climbed to second place by beating Athletic Bilbao 2-1.

It was a star-studded occasion in the French capital — even in the stands, with celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce watching with former PSG midfielder David Beckham.

And it was the perfect start for the hosts, with David Luiz becoming the first player to score against Barcelona this season in the 10th minute after connecting with Javier Pastore’s free kick.

But Messi levelled inside two minutes, slotting into the bottom corner of the net for his 402nd career goal and 68th Champions League goal — putting him three behind all-time leading scorer Raul.

Slack defending by Barcelona allowed Verratti — one of the smallest players on the pitch — to drift in unmarked and head in his first PSG goal on his 62nd appearance in the 26th minute.

PSG’s lead was extended at the start of the second-half when Van der Wiel’s firmly struck cross was met by Blaise Matuidi at the back post.

Although PSG’s defensive vulnerability was exposed by Neymar knocking the ball into the net off the post, the hosts held on to collect three points.

“I am very satisfied. It was an extraordinary match and what I will take away from it was our collective performance,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc. “I think for those who like Paris St Germain and French football it was a good evening.”

In the other game in Group ‘F’, Lucas Andersen put Ajax in front but Gustavo Manduca scored from the penalty spot to give APOEL Nicosia a draw.

That was the same outcome in Manchester where Sergio Aguero put English champions City in front from the penalty spot in the fifth minute after being dragged down by Maicon.

But after a quick Roma break, Radja Nainggolan slipped a pass through a hole in City’s defence and Totti raced onto the ball, clipping a delicate shot over goalkeeper Joe Hart and into the corner.

By scoring at 38, Totti broke the record held by Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, who was 37 years and 9 months when he scored in 2011.

“When you talk about Totti, you can only say really banal things [in comparison with what he does],” said Roma coach Rudi Garcia.

“I took great pleasure from his goal today. His talent is what made the difference in front of the goalkeeper. I hope it’s the start of a fantastic story for Roma.”

Bayern Munich top the group with six points from two matches after beating CSKA. Thomas Mueller scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the first half after Mario Goetze was fouled by Mario Fernandes.

Roma are on four and City, struggling to avoid bowing out in the group stage for the third time in four years, with just one point.

In Lisbon, the victory margin belied Chelsea’s dominance but reflected their profligacy, with the only goal coming when Nemanja Matic sent a looping header into the net from Cesc Fabregas’ free kick.

Both Schalke and Maribor drew their opening Group ‘G’ matches at Chelsea and Sporting respectively, and had to settle for a point again. Damjan Bohar put the Slovenian visitors in front in the first half before Klaas-Jan Huntelaar levelled for Schalke after the break.

Group ‘H’ may lack the star quality in terms of glamorous clubs but it looks like being a thriller as Sporting’s rivals Porto showed real character to come from 2-0 down and draw with Shakhtar.

Colombian star Jackson Martinez was their saviour, netting in the 89th minute and then converting a penalty in the third minute of time added on, a s Shakhtar Donetsk threw away a 2-0 lead after goals from Brazilian duo Alex Teixeira and Luiz Adriano.

They top the group by one point from Belarus champions BATE Borisov who pulled off a remarkable home win over a hopelessly out of form Athletic Bilbao with goals from Denis Polyakov and Aleksandr Karnitski.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd , 2014