• Champions League round-up

Disappointment for City and United

ESPN staff
November 22, 2011
Pablo Aimar's goal earned Benfica a point © PA Photos
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Champions League Tuesday gallery

There was frustration and disappointment for Manchester United and Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.

City were beaten 2-1 at Napoli to leave their qualification hopes hanging in the balance, while United were held to a 2-2 draw by Benfica and will have to avoid defeat in Basel next month to secure qualification.

United were without Wayne Rooney on account of injury and they lacked his drive, as Benfica overwhelmed them early on. The Portuguese side pressed forward and were gifted an opening goal on three minutes, as Phil Jones stuck out a leg to clear a cross and shinned it into his own net. It could have been far worse as Bruno Cesar and Javi Garcia went close to adding to the lead.

Rooney's absence handed Dimitar Berbatov a rare start and he took full advantage by planting a superb header into the corner on the half hour to draw United level.

It looked like United had weathered the storm as they started the second half like they had been given a rocket by Sir Alex Ferguson and Darren Fletcher fired United ahead on 59 minutes. The lead lasted just one minute, as a poor kick from David De Gea put United in trouble and Pablo Aimar was on hand to turn the ball home after Rio Ferdinand unluckily failed to make the clearance as Benfica claimed a point that puts them in a strong position to qualify - with a home game against Otelul Galati to come.

City were undone by Edinson Cavani, a player they have been heavily linked with in recent weeks.

Edinson Cavani proved the undoing of Manchester City © Getty Images
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Mancini played down the prospect of signing Cavani in the build-up to the game. The Italian may well be reassessing that statement after the Uruguayan sunk his side in Naples.

City arrived in Italy knowing a win would take them into the knockout stages, but roared on by their vociferous fans Napoli started like a train and Marek Hamsik passed up a great headed chance inside 10 minutes.

Joe Hart produced a brilliant save to tip over Gokhan Inler's stinging drive. But from the resulting corner, City fell behind. Cavani stole in at the near post to flick on a header and with City declining to put a man on the near post, the ball squeezed between Hart and the woodwork.

With City riding high in the Premier League, they believe they belong among Europe's elite and their workrate earned them a leveller - with Mario Balotelli on hand to stab the ball home after the ball was parried into his path by Morgan De Sanctis.

Cavani's opener had a touch of fortune about it, but there was nothing fortunate about the second - with the forward showing superb technique to make crisp contact with a low volley that proved much too hot for Hart to handle.

How the scoreline finished 2-1 is not clear, as Napoli missed a string of chances - Hamsik hit a post and Christian Maggio failed to ram home an opening - while at the other end Balotelli was denied by De Sanctis and Samir Nasri fired over from six yards.

City now face a huge task to qualify, as they must beat Bayern Munich and hope Villarreal, who are without a point in five games, can upset Napoli.

Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich all sealed top spots in their Champions League groups.

Real Madrid had the luxury of leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench as they crushed Dinamo Zagreb to seal top spot in Group D.

With City slipping up, it allowed Bayern to take top spot in Group A courtesy of a 3-1 win over Villarreal.

Inter Milan bagged top spot in Group B thanks to a 1-1 draw with Trabzonspor.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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