Champions League: Top clubs win big as Juv overcome Real
22/10/2008 17:27
Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Arsenal maintained their charge
towards the Champions League knockout stages with comfortable wins yesterday as
Juventus beat Real Madrid 2-1.
Dimitar Berbatov scored twice and Wayne Rooney
was on target to help the United beat Celtic 3-0 in a free-scoring night across
Europe which saw a total of 36 goals in eight games.
While Villarreal are
level on seven points with the United, crushing Danish AaB Aalborg 6-3 thanks to
substitute Joseba Llorente's hat-trick, the English side lead Group E on goal
difference.
Arsenal consolidated their position at the top of Group G with a
magnificent 5-2 victory over Fenerbahce in Istanbul and Bayern Munich shrugged
off shaky domestic form to see off Fiorentina 3-0.
Former Spain chief Luis
Aragones was left in heaped misery as his Fenerbahce were deeply-rooted to
bottom of Group G with only one point from three games. Dynamo Kiev are two
points behind leaders Arsenal after beating Porto 1-0.
Bayern now top Group F
on seven points, two points ahead of Lyon who upset Steaua 5-3 with two goals
each from Karim Benzema and substitute Fred.
Juventus moved to the top of
Group H after the Real Madrid win thanks to goals from captain Alessandro del
Piero and Amauri.
The match was overshadowed by a traffic accident in the
Italian Alps which claimed the lives of two fans, and players of both sides
observed a minute's silence prior to kick-off.
Juventus have seven points
while the Spaniards are only one point behind.
Zenit St Petersburg and BATE
Borisov both look unlikely to qualify from Group H after playing out a 1-1 draw
in an early kick-off with the Russian UEFA Cup champions at bottom with only one
point.
Berbatov was the hero of Old Trafford with suspicion about his two
goals though.
He looked offside when he flicked home a close-range finish to
put United ahead after 30 minutes and similar doubt was given to his second,
turned in on the rebound after Celtic keeper Artur Boruc could not hold
Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick.
Rooney emphasized the gulf in class between
the sides and demonstrated his talents with a 20-yard shot on the turn with 14
minutes left.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan was magnanimous after defeat,
refusing to criticise match officials.
"The (first) two goals were offside
but I'm not going to scream about them," said Strachan, "I'm a football man and
I know when I'm and well beaten."
"You need a decision when you come in
London and to get two like that was a blow."
Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo
Walcott gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead in the first 11 minutes.
Fenerbahce got a
goal back when Dani Guiza's volley was poked into his own net by Mikael
Silvestre, but Abou Diaby and Alexandre Song fired the visitors into 4-1 by the
48th minute.
Daniel Guiza made it 4-2 but the 17-year-old Wales international
Aaron Ramsay drilled a deserved fifth in the final minute.
Xinhua
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