There were a few surprises and shocks during the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Celtic are on the precipice of falling out of the Champions League after losing to Braga 3-0.

The Scottish side failed to muster a single shot on target in sweltering conditions despite facing unheralded opponents.

Manager Neil Lennon had insisted he would field winger Aiden McGeady - who is rumoured to want to leave - unless he was ordered not to pick him by the club's hierarchy.

In the end, four players were handed their competitive debuts, with summer signings Joe Ledley, Charlie Mulgrew, Efrain Juarez and Cha Du-Ri all in the starting XI, and McGeady left out of the crucial clash.

Celtic's terrible away record in the Champions League continued when the hosts were awarded a controversial penalty after Ki Sung-Yeung was adjudged to have handled Miguel Garcia's cross, earning a booking. Alan fired the spot-kick into the roof of the net to put Braga ahead.

The Portuguese side doubled their lead in the 76th minute when Nigerian defender Uwa Elderson Echiejile headed in a corner, and when Brazilian substitute Nascimento Matheus scored a sensational free-kick from 35 yards in the 88th minute, Celtic had been left with a mountain to climb at Parkhead in the return leg next week.

Fellow European giant Ajax Amsterdam could only manage a draw against lowly PAOK FC, despite having the lion's share of chances and playing at home in the Amsterdam Arena.

Manager Martin Jol took a gamble on the fitness of his World Cup stars and started with Uruguayan Luis Suarez, Dutchman Nigel De Jong, and Netherlands number one Maarten Stekelenburg despite worries about their match fitness after returning from South Africa.

His gamble on Suarez paid off handsomely as the striker came close to scoring several times, and hit the net in the 13th minute of the match to give the Dutch side the lead. 

Ajax were unable to hold on to their lead though, with the veteran Vladimir Ivic popping up from the middle of the park to score an equalizer for the Greeks in the 73rd minute. 

There were plenty of missed opportunities for Ajax even after that, but fading legs meant that PAOK took home a valuable away goal in the draw.

On the other hand, Partizan Belgrade took a huge step closer to the play-off round with a 3-0 home win over HJK Helsinki of Finland with goals from Ivica Iliev, Sasa Ilic and Cleo.

The Serbian Superliga champions crushed the Finnish side and made the best of their numerous chances, while Helsinki had problems making any meaningful forays into their opponent's half in Belgarde.

The final score reflected accurately the number of shooting chances created by both sides, and Partizan will be confident that they can hold on to their lead in the second leg of the qualifying round.

Turkish side Fenerbache had been surprised by Swiss side BSC Young Boys, who snatched a 2-2 draw when Moreno Costanzo scored a late penalty for the Swiss hosts that prevented ten-man Fenerbahçe from taking a lead into next week's decider.

Young Boys, who came in second after bring pipped to the Super Swiss League title by Basel FC last season, put the Turkish side under tremendous pressure several times, with 11 shots on goal.

But Fenerbache made their chances count, scoring twice with the two clear chances they got in the first half.

Karim Richards 43rd minute sending off for the Turkish side proved to be an influential factor in the match, with tired legs towards the end contributing to a late equaliser from the penalty spot scored by the 22-year-old Moreno Costanzo in the 89th minute.

Elsewhere, Swiss side FC Basel defeated Hungary's Debrecen 2-0, while Dinamo Zagreb and Sheriff Tiraspol could only manage a 1-1 draw.

Aktobe Lento took a one goal advantage in the tie against Hapoel, winning 1-0, while BATE Borisov's clash with FC Cophenhagen ended in a stalemate at 0-0.