By IAN HOLLIDAY
He didn't get on the score sheet this time, but Gareth Bale was once again the best player on the pitch for Tottenham Hotspur against Inter Milan, assisting on goals from Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko and giving Maicon fits all night.
Rafael Van Der Vaart opened the scoring in the 18th minute and Samuel Eto'o added to his competition-leading goals total to spoil the shutout as Spurs earned an impressive 3-1 win over Inter in group A. The win leaves the two clubs level on 7 points at the top of the group.
It wasn't a good day for Maurice Edu and Rangers, who fell to Valencia, 3-0, in Spain. Edu played 84 minutes before being subbed out.
In other Champions League action:
In group B, Benfica jumped out to a 4-0 lead at home over group leaders Lyon. The visitors mounted a furious comeback, scoring 3 goals after the 74th minute, but the French club ultimately fell short, losing 4-3.
Barcelona got a goal from Lionel Messi to take a 1-0 lead at FC Copenhagen in the 31st minute, but Copenhagen leveled the score just one minute later, and the teams wound up splitting the points. The draw is great for Copenhagen's chances of reaching the round of 16, as the Danish club now has 7 points through four matches, four better than third-placed Rubin Kazan.
For Barca, which could have secured passage to the next round with a win, the draw is disappointing, particularly for a match they dominated.
Here is a rundown of all of Tuesday's scores:
GROUP A:
Tottenham 3, Inter Milan 1
Werder Bremen 0, FC Twente 2
GROUP B:
Benfica 4, Lyon 3
Hapoel Tel Aviv 0, Schalke 04 0
GROUP C:
Bursaspor 0, Manchester United 3
Valencia 3, Rangers 0
GROUP D:
Rubin Kazan 0, Panathinaikos 0
FC Copenhagen 1, Barcelona 1
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What did you think of Tuesday's results? Surprised neither Barca nor Inter clinched a spot in the next round? Think Copenhagen has a real chance to advance?
Share your thoughts below.