Real Madrid put four past Lyon

Real Madrid continued their 100 per cent record in the Champions League with a fine attacking display against a lacklustre Lyon side yesterday evening. Jose Mourinho started Karim Benzema ahead of the free-scoring Gonzalo Higuain and the Frenchman repaid the faith shown in him with a poachers finish after 18 minutes.Benzema turned provider early in the second-half for Sami Khedira to double Madrid’s lead and quell any threat from Lyon and it was three not soon after when Mesut Ozil fired home. Sergio Ramos completed the rout eight minutes from time to send Real Madrid five points clear at the top of Group D.

In the other Group  D match Ajax have recorded a crucial 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at Stadion Maksimir.
Both sides had a number of chances to open the scoring in the opening 45 minutes, with Ajax the better side of the two. However, it took until the 49th minute for the Amsterdam giants to break the deadlock via Derk Boerrigter, and Zagreb were unable to bounce back. Christian Eriksen then added a second in the 90th minute.

In Group B a superb double from Seydou Doumbia gave CSKA Moscow a convincing 3-0 win over Trabzonspor.
A volley from Aleksandrs Cauna sealed the win for Leonid Slutsky’s men, and condemned the Turkish visitors to their first loss of the campaign.

In the other Group B match, Inter managed to forget about their horrible domestic campaign and defeat Lille 1-0.
Giampaolo Pazzini scored what turned out to be the winning goal with a well-executed volley in the 22nd minute to stop his side’s rot after two consecutive league defeats at the hands of Napoli and Catania. This victory puts Inter at the top of Group B.

Manchester United edged a tight Champions League encounter with minnows Otelul Galati in Group C, as Wayne Rooney bagged a brace from the penalty spot while captain Nemanja Vidic was controversially sent off.
It was far from the easy match that many had predicted, and the referee was at the centre of the game, handing United two deserved penalties that Rooney dispatched with ease as well as sending off Vidic and the home side’s Perendija and handing out a host of bookings.

In the other Group C match, Benfica recorded a confident 2-0 victory over Basel at St Jakob-Park, thanks to a first-half strike by Bruno Cesar and a second half free-kick from Oscar Cardozo.
Both sides had a number of opportunities but it was Jorge Jesus’ men who made them count. The first came after 20 minutes when some slick passing by Pablo Aimar and Nicolas Gaitan allowed the young Brazilian Cesar to slot home from the edge of the area.

In Group A Manuel Neuer’s streak of minutes without conceding a goal ended at 1147 on Tuesday, as Napoli came back from a goal behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich at San Paolo.
It took less than two minutes for the visitors to take the lead, which came through Toni Kroos. Napoli recovered from a rough opening half hour, however, and drew level as Holger Badstuber redirected Christian Maggio’s cross into his own net.
Mario Gomez’s second-half penalty could have won the match for the Bavarian giants, but his effort was saved by Morgan De Sanctis, and in the end both sides settled for a share of the spoils.

In the other Group A match, Sergio Aguero sealed Manchester City’s first win in the Champions League group stage with the final action of the match, coming from behind to record a 2-1 victory over Villarreal.
Cani had shocked the hosts by striking in the fourth minute, but a Carlos Marchena own goal just before half-time restored parity, before the substitute Aguero snuck the winner.