Wayne Rooney made two penalty kicks Tuesday to lead 10-man Manchester United a 2-0 road victory over the Romanian club Otelul Galati in the Champions League.
Rooney opened the scoring in the 64th minute, but captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off two minutes later. Rooney’s other penalty kick came during injury time, giving United its first victory in Group C.
Real Madrid routed Lyon 4-0 to maintain its perfect record this season, getting goals from Karim Benzema, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil and Sergio Ramos.
Substitute Sergio Aguero had a late score to lead Manchester City past Villarreal 2-1, earning the Premier League leaders their first victory in Group A. Bayern Munich dropped its first points in the group, held to a 1-1 draw at Napoli.
Inter Milan beat Lille 1-0 to move to the top of Group B. Giampaolo Pazzini scoring the only goal in the 22nd minute.
Elsewhere, Dinamo Zagreb and Basel both lost 2-0 at home to Ajax and Benfica respectively, and CSKA Moscow beat Trabzonspor 3-0.
In Romania, Otelul also finished with 10 men when Milan Perendija was sent off late in the game.
“I think in these away games you have to work, they are not easy,” United coach Alex Ferguson said. “In the second half we improved a great deal. Nani’s performance in the second half was terrific. I’m satisfied with the result. It was a long night and we had to be patient.”
United’s first victory in the group put it in second place, two points behind Benfica after three games. Bruno Cesar and Oscar Cardozo scored to keep the Portuguese club unbeaten this season and deal Basel interim coach Heiko Vogel a loss in his first home match.
In Manchester, City came from behind to beat Villarreal when Aguero met a cross from Argentine compatriot Pablo Zabaleta with a simple tap-in at the far post in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
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Manchester United’s Patrice Evra (left) and Wayne Rooney celebrate after scoring against Otelul Galati. (AP-Yonhap News) |
Cani had put Villarreal in front in the fourth minute at Etihad Stadium, but City equalized through Carlos Marchena’s own goal in the 43rd.
Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini said: “I said before the game it was important to win and I think we deserved to because we had a lot of chances to score. But Villarreal were very dangerous on the counter-attack because they play football very well.
“When you play in the Champions League for the first time you need to improve game after game. We needed to win and I think tonight after this game we can do better.”
City is now within a point of second-place Napoli following the Serie A club’s draw at home against four-time winner Bayern Munich.
Toni Kroos scored on Bayern’s first opportunity, moving through the center of Napoli’s defense unmarked in the second minute.
Napoli equalized in the 39th when Bayern defender Holger Badstuber diverted in a cross from Christian Maggio. Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis stopped a weak penalty shot from Gomez in the 49th.
Benzema was the star for Madrid against his former team. Benzema tapped home the opening goal after Cristiano Ronaldo flicked on a corner in the 19th minute, and he assisted Khedira in the 47th and Oezil’s effort that went in via goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 55th.
Pazzini’s crisp strike earned Inter an uninspiring 1-0 win over Lille. It was only the third win of the season for the Italian giant, which won the competition in 2010.
Ivory Coast striker Seydou Doumbia scored twice for CSKA Moscow.
(AP)
