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Champions League Rewind: Manchester clubs win, Madrid rolls by Lyon & more

Aguero (Reuters pictures)


By JOHN BOSCHINI

Sergio Aguero rescued Manchester City with a goal with the last kick of the game as the UEFA Champions League newcomers retained hope of advancing to the knockout rounds with a 2-1 win over Villarreal.

Pablo Zabaleta fired a low cross in front of goal in the third minute of stoppage time and David Silva failed to make contact at the near post but the ball found its way to Aguero, who made no mistake from close range. Aguero came off the bench midway through the second half and is still recovering from injury. 

Cani put visiting Villarreal ahead in just the fourth minute after Joe Hart failed to secure New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi's shot and the rebound was smashed home. City were flat-footed for the majority of the first half but the introduction of Garreth Barry for Adam Johnson revitalized their attack. Aleksander Kolarov crossed it towards Dzeko, but Carlos Marchena turned the ball into his own net just before halftime to equalize for City.

The home side had most of the chances in the second half but had to wait for Aguero's last-gasp winner to secure the three points.

In other Champions League results from Tuesday:

MANCHESTER UNITED 2, OTELUL GALATI 0

Two Wayne Rooney penalties were enough for Manchester United to get their first Champions League win of the season. Held scoreless for over an hour, the Red Devils' English striker converted a penalty that he drew on a handled cross much to the relief of United's fans. There was reason for Sir Alex Ferguson to worry after Nemanja Vidic was sent off five minutes later, but a Galati red card reduced both sides to 10 men and Rooney put the result beyond all doubt with an insurance PK in stoppage time.

REAL MADRID 4, LYON 0

Real Madrid continued their domination of Group D with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Lyon. The Spanish giants have historically struggled against the French side, but goals from Karim Benzema, Sami Khedira and Sergio Ramos coupled with a Hugo Lloris own goal accounted for the rout. Lyon registered only one shot on goal while Real Madrid had 27 attempts over the course of the 90 minutes.

NAPOLI 1, BAYERN MUNICH 1

Bayern Munich failed to stay perfect in group play as the Germans slumped to a 1-1 draw at Napoli despite a multitude of quality chances. Toni Kroos put Bayern Munich ahead in the first minute by finishing off Jerome Boateng's cross. Holger Badstuber headed the ball into his own net just before halftime to gift Napoli an equalizer. Mario Gomez should have won it for Bayern but his penalty shot was saved by Morgan De Sanctis.

INTER MILAN 1, LILLE 0

Inter Milan are on top of Group B with a 1-0 victory over Lille. Giampaolo Pazzini's goal in the 20th minute was all Inter Milan needed to secure an away victory. Inter Milan, which has now won twice as many games in Europe as they have in domestic play, defended feverishly in the second half and Lille are now bottom of Group B with two points from three games.

BENFICA 2, FC BASEL 0

Benfica rolled to a comfortable victory as FC Basel failed to capitalize on the momentum gained from their dramatic draw with Manchester United. Bruno Cesar and Oscar Cardozo scored in the win, which puts the Portuguese side atop Group C.

CSKA MOSCOW 3, TRANZONSPOR 0

CSKA Moscow put themselves in a good position to move on to the knockout phases with a 3-0 win over former group B leaders Tranzonspor. Seydour Doumbia scored a brace and Aleksandrs Cauna added a goal in the second half to give the Russians a comfortable victory.

AJAX 1, DINAMO ZAGREB 0

Ajax move level with Lyon for second place in Group D after a comfortable victory over Dinamo Zagreb. Derk Boerrigter scored just after the half and Christian Erikson added an insurance goal scored very late on. The loss virtually eliminates the Croatians from the competition with only one point from three games.

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What did you think of the results? Impressed with Manchester City's resilience? Concerned Bayern couldn't earn a victory? Do you see anyone stopping Real Madrid?

Share your thoughts below.

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