• Champions League

City cruise in Spain as United edge past minnows

ESPN staff
November 2, 2011
Mario Balotelli marked his first Champions League appearance for Manchester City with a goal © Getty Images
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Yaya Toure scored twice as Manchester City hit top gear in the Champions League with a 3-0 win against Villarreal.

City, whose performances in Europe had not matched the standard of their Premier League form this season, claimed back-to-back wins to move up to second in Group A after becoming the first English team to win at El Madrigal.

Toure, who had not scored since the FA Cup final in May, chipped up with another timely goal to fire City ahead on the half-hour mark before sealing the win with 20 minutes remaining after Mario Balotelli scored from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.

City had failed to score in their last three away games in Europe, but Toure ended City 's drought after half-an-hour, collecting the ball from the ever-lively David Silva before slotting the ball past Diego Lopez.

Balotelli marked his first Champions League appearance for City with a goal, dusting himself off to score from the spot after he was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty area by Mateo Musacchio.

Villarreal looked well beaten in the second half, and only a deflected effort from Borja Valero troubled City keeper Joe Hart. And Toure sealed an impressive away victory after a slick City move down the left, Samir Nasri finding Balotelli, the striker releasing Toure, who showed the poise of a striker to dodge a defender and stroke the ball past Lopez.

Also in Group A, Mario Gomez hat-trick proved just enough to see Bayern Munich to a narrow 3-2 victory over Napoli at the Allianz Arena. Gomez had seemingly put the hosts in complete control after scoring three times in the first 42 minutes, but two goals from defender Federico Fernandez made for a nervous final few minutes for the hosts.

Antonio Valencia gave Manchester United an early lead © Getty Images
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Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney were on target as Manchester United edged past Otelul Galati 2-0 at Old Trafford. United dominated possession, but squandered a host of chances as a late deflected effort from Rooney sealed the victory with three minutes remaining.

Sir Alex Ferguson named an attacking line-up with Rooney playing behind Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen up front, with Nani and Valencia also starting, and he was rewarded for his aggressive tactics as United grabbed an early lead.

Berbatov released Phil Jones on the right, whose ball across the face of the goal evaded Owen at the near post, but Valencia was on hand to bury the ball from close range after just eight minutes.

Owen hobbled off with a thigh injury for his efforts in the opening goal, and United's lead was nearly short-lived, as the Romanian minnows Galati were straight up the other end, but Marius Pena's header flew wide from Liviu Antal's cross.

With a single-goal cushion at the break, United looked to increase their advantage, and Hernandez's through-ball found Berbatov, whose attempted cross to Anderson was blocked by keeper Branko Grahovac.

Anderson thought he had done enough after playing a rapid one-two with Berbatov, but he was denied on the line by Sergio Costin. Berbatov then had a one-on-one opportunity with Grahovac after a poor back-pass by Cornel Rapa, but the Bulgarian could only find the sidenetting.

But Rooney's 87th-minute goal sealed the win, the England striker's long-range effort ballooning off Cristian Sarghi and past a helpless Grahovac.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal in a Real Madrid shirt © PA Photos
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The 2-0 win left United top of Group C after FC Basel grabbed another valuable away point, this time with a 1-1 draw against Benfica. The Swiss champions had already drawn at Old Trafford this season and Benjamin Huggel ensured they also left the Stadium of Light with a share of the spoils - his right-foot finish equalising Rodrigo's opener.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the glory as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Lyon. Ronaldo fired Madrid into the lead with an excellent free-kick in the first half before winning and converting a penalty in the 69th minute to remove any doubts over the destination of the points.

Jose Mourinho's side are now through to the knockout stages with two games to spare, having won all four of their games so far, and Ajax are behind them in second place in Group D after thrashing Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 in Amsterdam.

Inter Milan moved a step closer to the Champions League knockout stages with a tight 2-1 win against French champions Lille. The Nerazzurri are top of Group B and strengthened their grip through Walter Samuel's header and Diego Milito's second-half strike before Vinicius De Melo pulled a late goal back for Lille. Trabzonspor and CSKA Moscow shared a goalless draw to leave the two sides fighting it out for second place behind Inter.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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