ALESSANDRO FLORENZI scored an incredible goal from near the halfway line to earn Roma a 1-1 draw against title-holder Barcelona in Group E of the Champions League on Wednesday.

    Elsewhere, European minnow Dinamo Zagreb shocked 10-man Arsenal 2-1 to win for the first time in Champions League last 16 matches.

    Chelsea also cruised, routing Maccabi Tel-Aviv 4-0.

    “It is not the way we wanted to begin the competition,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told BT Sport.

    “We have enough games to come back. We focus to win our next home game and I’m sure we can beat Zagreb at home.”

    In Rome, Florenzi’s equalizer came just after the half-hour mark after an opening goal from Luis Suarez.

    Two strides after dribbling past the halfway line on the right flank, Florenzi looked up and saw goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen far out of his goal and launched a shot from more than 60 meters over the German’s head that went in off the post.

    “It will be something to remember,” Florenzi said. “It’s not something that happens often.”

    In the 21st, Suarez met a cross from Ivan Rakitic by the far post and headed into an empty net. Roma protested for a perceived foul moments earlier by Lionel Messi on Lucas Digne.

    Messi, making his 100th Champions League appearance, hit the crossbar in the 78th — the closest either side came to a winner.

    Suarez, who gained notoriety for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at last year’s World Cup, later appeared to kick Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the chest after being denied by the Poland international.

    It’s not the first time ter Stegen has conceded a goal while out of position this season.

    It also happened in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao, when Mikel San Jose lobbed a long clearance back over the goalkeeper’s head with a shot from inside the center circle.

    “You can concede a goal when you least expect it, as we showed,” said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, who managed Roma for the 2011-12 season. “But it was a very good match for Barcelona and I’m very satisfied with what I saw on the pitch.”

    In the other Group E match, Bayer Leverkusen beat BATE Borisov 4-1.

    “It’s a draw that’s worth as much as a victory,” Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi said.

    Barcelona won four of six away games in last season’s competition, going on to beat Juventus in the final. But defeating Italian clubs on the road has been a different story.

    Barcelona has won just one of their last seven matches in Italy — 3-2 at AC Milan in the 2011-12 group stage. Their overall record from 20 away matches against Serie A sides is six wins, eight draws and six losses.

    Roma, meanwhile, appears vastly improved from last season when it was routed 7-1 at home by Bayern Munich. The Giallorossi already beat four-time defending champion Juventus 2-1 in Serie A.

    With an impressive array of new players in Edin Dzeko, Iago Falque, Mohamed Salah and Szczesny, Rudi Garcia’s club now looks for real in Europe, too.

    “We’ve improved,” Roma coach Garcia said. “The experience we had last year in the Champions League helped.”

    (SD-Agencies)