Roma draws 1-1 at Porto in Champions League playoff 1st leg
GENEVA (AP) - Roma hung on to draw 1-1 at Porto in a Champions League playoff first-leg on Wednesday after having defender Thomas Vermaelen sent off before halftime on his debut.
Seeking to improve on Italian clubs' dire run in the playoff round, Roma began strongly and led in the 21st minute when Porto defender Felipe diverted a cross into his own net.
Porto dominated the second half against 10 Roma men but only scored through Andre Silva's penalty in the 61st, awarded for handball against substitute Emerson Palmieri .
Monaco won 2-1 at Villarreal in a rare loss for a Spanish team at this stage of the competition, and Celtic beat Champions League newcomer Hapoel Beer Sheva 5-2.
Irish minnow Dundalk lost 2-0 to visiting Legia Warsaw, and Ludogorets Razgrad beat Viktoria Plzen 2-0.
Return matches are played on Tuesday, and winners advance to the 32-team group-stage draw in Monaco on Aug. 25.
Italian clubs have failed in the playoffs for five of the last six seasons, typically leaving Serie A with only two representatives among Europe's elite.
Roma looked to exploit shaky Porto defending, including one handling error by goalkeeper Iker Casillas that almost gifted Edin Dzeko a goal.
When a weak Casillas punch teed up Mohamed Salah, the Spanish veteran saved twice from the Egypt winger and again when the loose ball fell to Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan.
The game turned when Vermaelen was shown a second yellow card in the 41st minute of his first match since moving on loan from Barcelona last week.
The Belgium defender struck Andre Silva with a raised boot on the edge of the penalty area with his eyes fixed on a lofted pass and not the Porto forward.
Porto thought it had levelled in the 50th but a goal awarded to Adrian Lopez was then disallowed for offside after Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers consulted with two assistants.
"It's a positive result," Nainggolan said. "We regret not scoring more goals in the first half, when we were on top."
While Italy has struggled in the Champions League, Spain would again have five teams in the group-stage draw if Villarreal advances.
Monaco led from a third-minute penalty by Fabinho, before another Brazilian, Alexandre Pato, equalized with a close-range header in the 36th. Monaco led for good in the 72nd through Bernardo Silva.
Celtic raced to a 3-0 halftime lead against its Israeli visitors, started by Australia midfielder Tom Rogic and capped by a stoppage-time free kick by Leigh Griffiths - his second goal in just over six minutes.
The perennial Scottish champion lost in the playoff round the past two seasons, and was pegged back by two Hapoel goals in three minutes, by Lucio Maranhao and Maor Melikson. The three-goal lead was restored by substitute Moussa Dembele and Scott Brown.
Dundalk would be the first team from Ireland to advance from the qualifying rounds in 25 seasons since the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League.
Playing at the national stadium in Dublin, Dundalk was undone by second-half goals for Legia: a Nemanja Nikolic penalty in the 56th, and Aleksandar Prijovic in stoppage time.
Ludogorets also played at its national stadium, in Sofia, because the Bulgarian champion's own stadium does not meet UEFA standards. It led through defender Cosmin Moti's 51st-minute penalty and Dutch forward Virgil Misidjan added a second in the 64th.