Tuesday, November 5, 2013

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS

Juventus drew with Real Madrid in an entertaining encounter while Manchester United were frustrated at the Anoeta Stadium and Manchester City reached the second stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history.Juventus played out a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in Turin as the hosts sunk to the foot of Group B but kept their qualification hopes in their own hands.Juve looked the better side for much of the first half and, though Iker Casillas kept the hosts at bay for a time, he could do nothing to deny Arturo Vidal when he was presented with a penalty five minutes before the break after Raphael Varane had brought down Paul Pogba.However, Juve ceded their advantage on 52 minutes, with Martin Caceres' careless pass picked up by Karim Benzema, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to run clear and fire past Gianluigi Buffon. The visitors could have been ahead in the immediate aftermath, but Xabi Alonso saw his fine shot strike the crossbar.On the hour mark, Madrid were ahead -- and in some style -- with Gareth Bale receiving the ball from Ronaldo before driving at the defence and then drilling into the corner. Yet Juve hit back, with Fernando Llorente heading home to clinch a share of the points.The Bianconeri could also take encouragement from the news that Copenhagen beat Galatasaray 1-0 in Denmark.Daniel Braathen's sixth-minute backheel gave the hosts a win that leaves both sides on four points, edging just ahead of Juve on three.Manchester United missed a penalty and had Marouane Fellaini sent off as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Real Sociedad.United appeared in control throughout much of the first half but struggled to carve out opportunities. Less than five minutes into the second period, they should have taken the lead when Shinji Kagawa played the ball across the face of goal for Javier Hernandez; the Mexican, however, blazed improbably over the bar.On 65 minutes, substitutes Ashley Young and Robin van Persie came close to providing the breakthrough, with the Dutchman arriving at the far post only to cannon a shot against the post. Less than five minutes later, the same duo nearly combined again: United were awarded a penalty after Ashley Young was deemed to have been tugged back by Markel Bergara, but Van Persie saw his spot kick crash back off the same post.A frustrating evening for United concluded as Fellaini collected a second yellow card for a foul on David Zurutuza.In the same group, Shakhtar Donetsk also played out a goalless draw in their game at home to Bayer Leverkusen, leaving United a point clear of the German side at the summit.Manchester City booked their place in the second round for the first time as they defeated CSKA Moscow 5-2.City made the perfect start as Zoran Tosic brought down David Silva in the area with barely two minutes played, and Sergio Aguero made no mistake in firing home from the spot.The Argentina forward had his second soon afterwards, collecting a pass from Samir Nasri in the area before turning and sliding the ball beyond Igor Akinfeev's reach, and with half an hour gone he turned provider, providing a slide-rule assist across the face of goal to allow Alvaro Negredo the simplest of finishes.CSKA hit back in the dying moments of the first half, with Pontus Wernbloom feeding Seydou Doumbia, who danced past Costel Pantilimon before slotting into the empty net, but City swiftly restored their three-goal advantage when Negredo took advantage of another easy chance following Nasri's neat flick.Doumbia then reduced the arrears a second time, winning a penalty from Gael Clichy before tucking it into the bottom corner, but Negredo completed his hat trick in injury time, heading home James Milner's cross.Group D rivals Bayern Munich maintained their 100% record as they won 1-0 at Viktoria Plzen.Bayern had come close to taking the lead on 16 minutes when Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the post, but the breakthrough came when substitute Mario Mandzukic headed home on 65 minutes from a Philipp Lahm cross.Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Anderlecht in Group C.The visitors took the lead through Demy De Zeeuw with a little over 20 minutes remaining before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the equaliser two minutes later. Things got harder for the visitors when Sacha Kljestan was dismissed with eight minutes remaining, but they held out for a draw.Olympiakos, meanwhile, beat Benfica 1-0 to move three points clear of the third-placed Portuguese side. Kostas Manolas scored the only goal of the game on 13 minutes.

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