PARIS, Oct 18: Past and present Champions League winners Manchester United and Bayern Munich had mixed fortunes Wednesday night with the Englishmen having the worst time, falling 3-2 at home to Deportivo La Coruna.
Olympiakos’ 2-1 defeat of Lille in the other Group G match meant Alex Ferguson’s men, two points behind leaders La Coruna, are still on course to go through however.
Bayern meanwhile thrashed Spartak Moscow 5-1 in a goal spree at their Olympic stadium to exorcise the ghosts of Germany’s harrowing defeat by England in the same stadium and by the same scoreline last month.
Peruvian Claudio Pizarro and Brazilian strike partner Giovane Elber both scored twice in a major boost for the defending champions for only their second win in four fixtures.
Bayern remain two points behind Group H leaders Sparta Prague, 2-0 winners at Feyernoord, who are the only team in the competition yet to concede a goal thanks to the impregnable defence in front of keeper Petr Cech.
United have work to do however at home to Olympiakos next Tuesday and at French club Lille the following Wednesday.
Their defensive woes flared up again as a series of blunders handed Deportivo La Coruna victory in a thrilling clash.
On a night United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez will want to forget, the Spanish visitors had the hosts chasing shadows for long periods with quick movement and slick passing.
Barthez put further pressure on his team by playing a part in two of Deportivo’s three goals.
An early strike by Dutch international Ruud van Nistelrooy gave United the lead after a dazzling run by Ryan Giggs, but the Spaniards came storming back with goals in the 37th and 39th minutes.
Sergio cashed in on a mix-up between Wes Brown and Barthez to tap home the equaliser and then Diego Tristan’s looping header put Deportivo 2-1 in front.
Their joy was short-lived, however, with van Nistelrooy’s exquisite chip from an acute angle levelling the scores five minutes from the break.
United, who lost 2-1 away to Deportivo in September, fell behind once again on the hour when Barthez needlessly came running out of his goal, allowing Tristan to tuck away the winning goal.
Ferguson said Barthez’s error for the second goal was costly.
Bayern Munich, who lost 2-1 to Manchester in the 1999 final after leading 1-0 with a matter of seconds remaining, took an emphatic step towards qualifying for the second round.
Pizarro and Elber were both twice on target and Alexander Zickler hit a late fifth for the defending champions. Vladimir Beschastnykh scored a consolation for Oleg Romantsev’s men in the second half.
Wednesday’s collated Champions League results:
GROUP E
In Oporto:
Porto 3 Celtic 0
In Turin:
Juventus 1 Rosenborg Trondheim 0
GROUP F
In Barcelona:
Barcelona 2 Bayer Leverkusen 1
In Lyon:
Olympique Lyon 3 Fenerbahce 1
GROUP G
In Athens:
Olympiakos Piraeus 2 Lille 1
In Manchester:
Manchester United 2 Deportivo Coruna 3
GROUP H
In Munich:
Bayern Munich 5 Spartak Moscow 1
In Rotterdam:
Feyenoord 0 Sparta Prague 2
—AFP/Reuters