Pato settles thriller in Madrid
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Italian AC Milan players celebrate a goal during match against the hosting Spanish Real Madrid at the European Champions League group stage on Oct. 21, 2009. AC Milan beat Real Madrid 3-2.[Xinhua/Chen Haitong] |
In the classic between Real Madrid and AC Milan, Brazalian striker Pato shot home the decider with two minutes left, helping the Serie A side grabbing three points from Bernabeu.
Real Madrid broke the deadlock on 19 minutes when Raul Gonzalez clipped in his 66th Champions League goal. But Andrea Pirlo and Pato scored successively within four minutes in the second half to put the visitors ahead.
A low shot from Royston Drenthe brought Madrid back to parity but Pato volley in the 88th minute decided Milan's win.
Milan and Madrid led Group C with six points each followed by Zurich and Marseille with three points separately. Zurich was overcame 1-0 by the French side.
Premier League top teams Manchester United and Chelsea both claimed third consecutive win at the European Champions League group stage while AC Milan beat hosting Real Madrid 3-2 with Pato's late goal on Wednesday.
Although Salomon Kalou squandered a few chances in front of the visiting Atletico de Madrid , the 24-year-old Ivorian finally proved that he was the right one to replace banned countryman Didier Drogba with one goal each half.
With four minutes remaining in the first half, Kalou drilled in Ashley Cole's cross. Then, seven minutes after the restart, the striker headed home Frank Lampard's corner to make it 2-0.
The visitors seemed losing their determination to fight with two goals behind, giving the Blues more chances to consolidate their dominance at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard played a one-two with Essien in the 69th minute before beating the 20-year-old goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo from the edge of the box. The fourth goal of Chelsea came from Luis Pereathe as the Colombian veteran headed Florent Malouda's free kick into his own net in the stoppage time.
Man United were without five first team regulars against CSKA Moscow as Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Park Ji-sung and Ryan Giggs all stay in Manchester due to injuries. Besides, the Premier League champions have never overplayed any Russian side in Europe after five attempts.
However, the "Red devils" showed great ambitions in the artificial pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium especially with Nani playing energetically. Their patience and consistency was finally rewarded a late winner in the 86th minute when Antonio Valencia slotted in after Dimitar Berbatov had flicked on Nani's cross.
With nine points in pocket, Man United enjoyed a five-point advantage in Group B over second placed Wolfsburg as the Bundesliga champions drew 0-0 with Besiktas from Turkey.
Chelsea took the first position in Group D after the three-game winning streak with Porto trailed behind in six points. Porto defeated Apoel Nicosia 2-1 home, leaving the visitors stay with only one point just as the struggling Atletico de Madrid did.
In Group A, Bordeaux conquered Bayern Munich 2-1 home and Juventus sent off Maccabi Haifa 1-0. Bordeaux led in the group with seven points while Juve followed in five points.
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