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Group A
Manchester United confirmed their passage to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in style after a five-star performance against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany on Tuesday.
Antonio Valencia opened the scoring for the English champions in the 22nd minute after he found himself at the end of a fine cross from Wayne Rooney. United’s advantage was doubled just eight minutes later when Leverkusen defender Emir Spahic put the ball in his own net from a Rooney free-kick.
After the break, it got even worse for the German side as Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Nani were on target to round off a convincing 5-0 win for the Red Devils.
This victory will come as a huge moral booster for David Moyes who has faced so tough times so far this season.
In the other Group A game, Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa scored a brace as Shakhtar Donetsk posted an easy 4-0 victory over a woeful Real Sociedad side. Luiz Adriano and Alex Teixeira were the other goalscorers for the Ukrainian club.
Table (after 5 matches):
1. Manchester United: 11 points (+8)2. Shakhtar Donetsk: 8 points (+2)3. Bayer Leverkusen: 7 points (-2)4. Real Sociedad: 1 point (-8)
Matchday 6 Fixtures – 11th December
Manchester United v Shakhtar Donetsk (at Old Trafford)Real Sociedad v Bayer Leverkusen (at Estadio Anoeta)
Group B
Juventus secured their first win in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage to jump to second place in Group B.
Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored a hat-trick for the Old Lady, with two of his goals coming from the penalty spot. Antonio Conte would have been nervous after watching Olof Mellberg equalise for Copenhagen in the 56th minute to cancel out Vidal’s first half penalty.
After Mellberg’s goal for the visitors, Juventus found an extra spring in their step as Vidal scored his 2nd penalty in the 61st minute and then followed it up with a delightful header just 2 minutes later to make it 3-1 and ease things down for the Italians champions.
Arturo Vidal scores his second penalty of the game
Meanwhile, at the Santiago Bernabeu, a Real Madrid team without Cristiano Ronaldo posted a routine 4-1 victory over Galatasaray despite being reduced to ten men as early as the 26th minute when Sergio Ramos was sent off for bringing down Umut Bulut and in the process stopping a goalscoring opportunity.
Gareth Bale opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick, but the Turkish champions were back on level terms just a minute later when Bulut scored past Iker Casillas. The teams went into the break at 1-1.
Early in the second half, Alvaro Arbeloa put Los Blancos back into the lead when he tapped in from close range. The Spanish right-back had a brilliant game in truth and was rightly adjudged as the man of the match.
Angel Di Maria and Isco scored later on to secure another comfortable win for Carlo’s Ancelotti’s men.
Table (after 5 matches):
1. Real Madrid: 13 points (+13)2. Juventus: 6 points (+1)3. Galatasaray: 4 points (-7)4. FC Copenhagen: 4 points (-7)
Matchday 6 Fixtures – 11th December
FC Copenhagen v Real Madrid (at Parkstadion)Galatasaray v Juventus (at Türk Telekom Arena)
Group C
The ten men of Paris Saint-Germain required a late goal from summer signing Edinson Cavani to confirm their status at the top of Group C standings after a narrow 2-1 win over Olympiakos.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring for the French champions as early as the 7th minute. The match took a huge turn in the first minute of the second half, when Italian midfielder Marco Verratti was sent off after receiving his second yellow card of the game.
Kostas Manolas seemed to have gained a crucial point for Olympiakos when he scored following a corner in the 80th minute, but Cavani had other ideas as the Uruguyan striker scored in the final minute of regulation time to hand Laurent Blanc’s side all three points.
The other game in Group C also saw a last minute winner as Spanish striker Rodrigo scored in the 90th minute to give Benfica a crucial 3-2 victory over Anderlecht in Brussels.
Earlier in the game, Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba scored past both goalkeepers. Nemanja Matic and Massimo Bruno were also on the scoresheet for their respective sides.
Table (after 5 matches):
1. Paris Saint-Germain: 13 points (+12)2. Olympiakos: 7 points (0)3. Benfica: 7 points (-1)4. Anderlecht: 1 point (-11)
Matchday 6 Fixtures – 11th December
Benfica v Paris Saint-Germain (at Estadio da Luz)Olympiakos v Anderlecht (at Karaiskaki Stadium)
Group D:
Mario Gotze is congratulated by teammates Thomas Muller and David Alaba for his goal
In an early kickoff in Moscow, Bayern Munich beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 to maintain their 100% record in the Champions League this season.
Arjen Robben scored in the 17th minute to give Pep Guariola’s team the lead in freezing conditions at the Khimki Arena.
Mario Gotze doubled the lead with a brilliant solo goal in the 56th minute for the Bavarians. Keisuke Honda converted a spot-kick just 6 minutes later to give the Russian side hope but Bayern recieved a penalty of their own soon after. Thomas Muller made no mistake from 12 yards out to secure an easy win for the defending champions.
At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City won 4-2 despite Viktoria Plzen twice coming from behind to draw level.
Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Alvaro Negredo were on target for the Citizens while Tomas Horava and Stanislav Tecl scored past Joe Hart, who was starting his first game for City since his howler against Chelsea last month.
Table (after 5 matches):
1. Bayern Munich: 15 points (+13)2. Manchester City: 12 points (+7)3. CSKA Moscow: 3 points (-8)4. Viktoria Plzen: 0 points (-12)
Matchday 6 Fixtures – 11th December
Bayern Munich v Manchester City (at Allianz Arena)Viktoria Plzen v CSKA Moscow (at Doosan Arena)
