European champion Barcelona will quickly renew acquaintances with its former striker Samuel Eto'o when it begins the defense of its trophy at Inter Milan in its opening Champions League match next month. The draw also brought together AC Milan and nine-time European champion Real Madrid in another mouthwatering Italian versus Spanish clash with Brazil forward Kaka facing his old club at his new Bernabeu home on Matchday Three. Eto'o left Barca for Inter in the close season in a swap deal worth $94.14 million with Zlatan Ibrahimovic moving in the opposite direction. The Cameroon forward scored for Barcelona in the Champions League Finals of 2006 and last May when it won the trophy for the third time and, just like his Swedish counterpart, will now be looking to put one over on his former team mates. Kaka, the subject of another seismic transfer in the close season will also relish facing his former club. Kaka won the European Cup with Milan in 2007, but is now set on bringing Real a 10th European title in its own Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the venue for this season's final on May 22. Real hosts Milan on Oct. 21 with the return leg in Madrid two weeks later. Inter, managed by Jose Mourinho who worked under the late Bobby Robson as a coach at the Nou Camp in the 1990s, has met Barcelona six times in European competition with the Spaniards winning three times and Inter once. Drawn alongside Milan and Madrid in Group C are former European Cup winner Olympique Marseille, who beat the Italian side in the 1993 final, and FC Zurich, back in the elite competition for the first time in 28 years. Barcelona and Inter will also face Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and Russian newcomer Rubin Kazan in Group F. Manchester United, last season's beaten finalist, faces three clubs for the first time in Group B where it has been drawn alongside CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and VfL Wolfsburg. Chelsea, bidding to win the competition for the first time under new coach Carlo Ancelotti - a previous winner as player and coach with Milan - will meet Porto, Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia, who are taking part for the first time. Another intriguing battle will take place in Group A with former winners Bayern Munich taking on Juventus while Girondins Bordeaux and Maccabi Haifa complete the group. Despite their successes in Europe, Bayern and Juve have only clashed four times, all in the Champions League group stage, with their last meeting coming in 2005-06 when both teams won 2-1 at home in the group stage. The competition starts with Matchday One on Sept.15/16. Tevez scores for City Carlos Tevez scored his first Manchester City goal to round off a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace that clinched a spot in the third round of the League Cup Thursday. The Argentina striker celebrated the 71st-minute header by cupping his ears to the crowd just as he did after scoring against City in May in an apparent protest against the Old Trafford hierarchy before defecting from Manchester United. On Wednesday, Wigan was knocked out of English football's League Cup by a humiliating 4-1 second-round loss at Blackpool. Blackpool, which is mid-table in the second-tier League Championship, eased into a 3-0 halftime lead over its Premier League opponent and added a fourth goal after the break before debut-making defender Antonio Amaya struck in the last minute for a team that has conceded nine goals in two games. Four-time League Cup winner Tottenham started its attempt to reach a third straight final with an easy 5-1 win at Doncaster, while Newcastle won 4-3 to also reach the third round – where the winners will be joined by those Premier League sides excused from a second-round match because they are also participating in European competition. Crouch rejoined Spurs during the offseason in a $14.8m transfer, nine years after leaving the club without having made a first-team appearance. Premier League side Stoke won 1-0 at Leyton Orient after extra time, while Newcastle rallied from 3-1 down to beat Huddersfield 4-3. Also, West Bromwich Albion needed extra time to beat Rotherham 4-3, Carlisle won 2-0 at Bristol City and Cardiff beat Bristol Rovers 3
