A poor opening goal handed Eintracht Frankfurt a head start as Premier League champions Chelsea went down 2-1 in Germany.

With Patrick Ochs bearing down on goal, John Terry sent a misjudged backpass to Hilario who tried to beat the 26-year-old but instead allowed him to nip in and dispossess the Portuguese goalkeeper at the edge of the area. The German then traded passes with a team-mate before lobbing the ball into the net midway through the first half.

Chelsea fielded a strong starting line-up including Terry, Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka as well as Yossi Benayoun, who was making his debut following his arrival from Liverpool.

With Petr Cech ruled out with a calf injury that will see him miss the start of the season, Hilario started in goal.

Chelsea drew level after 65 minutes when Frank Lampard burst through but the hosts scored the winning goal through Halil Altintop's penalty with seven minutes remaining, awarded for a shirt pull by Branislav Ivanovic.

A late goal by Matt Lowton saw Sheffield United claim a 1-0 win over South American champions Estudiantes at Bramall Lane.

Lowton guided the ball home from eight yards with five minutes remaining as the npower Championship side overcame the 2009 Copa Libertadores winners.

The game started cagily and there were few clear-cut chances with the South American champions coming closest through Diego Auzqui's free kick.

The midfielder sent the ball over the Blades wall only to see it hit the right-hand post with goalkeeper Steve Simonsen completely beaten.

Guido Marcello Carrillo and Leonardo Jara came close for the Argentinians with the Blades threatening through Jamie Ward, Stephen Quinn and Mark Yeates before Lowton's decisive intervention.

The Argentinian side are currently managed by Alejandro Sabella, who spent two seasons at Bramall Lane from 1978 before moving on to Leeds.

Sabella, however, was not in South Yorkshire this afternoon as he is on the brink of replacing Diego Maradona as Argentina coach.