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| September 28, 2006 | Thursday | Ramazan 4, 1427 |
Vengeance for Man United, goals for Real
LONDON, Sept 27: Real Madrid got their Champions League campaign on track with a 5-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev, while Manchester United ground out a 1-0 revenge win at Benfica on Tuesday.
Real, rocked by a 2-0 defeat in their Group E opener at Olympique Lyon two weeks ago, were 3-0 up at halftime after goals from Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, captain Raul and Arsenal's on-loan forward Jose Antonio Reyes.
Raul and Van Nistelrooy each added another after the break as Real turned victory into a rout.
United, knocked out of last season's Champions League by a 2-1 group stage defeat at Benfica, had a stunning shot by French striker Louis Saha to thank for a scrappy victory at the Luz stadium in Group F — their first away win in the competition for nearly three years.
Arsenal skipper Thierry Henry scored one and set up the other in a 2-0 home win over Porto that sent last season's finalists two points clear in Group G, following CSKA Moscow's 1-0 win over Hamburg SV.
Lyon, buoyed by their victory over Real, followed up with a 3-0 win at Steaua Bucharest, while Celtic shrugged off a defeat by United two weeks ago to beat FC Copenhagen 1-0.
There were no winners in Group H, where AC Milan had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Lille in northern France and AEK
Athens finished 1-1 with Anderlecht in Greece.
Real and Steaua have three points apiece in a group led by Lyon on six.
“We are halfway to qualifying,” said Lyon's delighted coach Gerard Houllier after goals from Brazilian forward Fred, Portuguese midfielder Tiago and substitute Karim Benzema sealed an emphatic victory in the Romanian capital.
United, who became England's first European Cup winners by beating Benfica in 1968, will feel they too are on course after settling their more recent score with the Portuguese side.
Having beaten Celtic 3-2 two weeks ago at Old Trafford, Saha's superb left-foot shot from the edge of the area leaves United with maximum points from two games.
Striker Kenny Miller converted a penalty to give Celtic a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen and second place in the group.
Arsenal were convincing at the Emirates Stadium, reaching six points with some slick passing and two clinical finishes from midfielder Alexandr Hleb and Henry in the night's other Anglo-Portuguese contest.
Tuesday’s results:
Group E
Real Madrid 5 Dynamo Kiev 1
Steaua Bucharest 0 Olympique Lyon 3
Group F
Benfica 0 Manchester United 1
Celtic 1 FC Copenhagen 0
Group G
Arsenal 2 Porto 0
CSKA Moscow 1 Hamburg SV 0
Group H
AEK Athens 1 Anderlecht 1
Lille 0 AC Milan 0
—Reuters
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