When youve got Cristiano on the pitch youve always got a chance
Manchester: Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a stoppage-time winner as Manchester United came from behind to secure a fortunate 2-1 Champions League Group F win over Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
On the night he set the new record for the most appearances in the competition, the 36-year-old Portuguese delivered the killer blow to save his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from another disappointing result and the inevitable inquests.
“When you’ve got Cristiano on the pitch, you’ve always got a chance,†the Norwegian said.
“Seriously, he’s so so good in front of goal. Its a massive result for the team and for the spirit of the team.â€
United had fallen a goal behind to Paco Alcacer’s 53rd-minute opener before drawing level with a brilliant volley from Alex Telles but failing to make the most of the momentum shift.
After three defeats in their last four games, including the loss in Bern to Young Boys in the group opener, United could ill-afford another slip-up.
Cristiano Ronaldo, left, celebrates his stoppage-time winner with Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot.Credit:AP
But for long stretches of the game an upset looked very much on the cards and had the visitors been sharper in front of goal, the contest might have been over by the break.
Villarreal had beaten Solskjaer’s team on penalties in last season’s Europa League final and Unai Emery’s side’s excellent organisation and ability on the break again posed problems for a disjointed United.
Five-time winner Ronaldo played his first game in the Champions League in 2003 during his first spell at United. He has scored 136 goals in the competition, another record.
In Lisbon, Barcelona were humbled 3-0 by Benfica to pile the pressure on coach Ronald Koeman with the Spanish club’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
Champions League matchday 2 resultsBarca are bottom of Group E with no points from two games, six behind leaders Bayern Munich and four adrift of Benfica.
Things started badly for the Catalans as Darwin Nunez opened the scoring after three minutes with a neat near-post finish.
Lucas Verissima made a last-ditch block to deny Luuk de Jong from close range as Barca looked to get back into the game, but they were second best throughout.
Nunez almost added a second five minutes after the break when he hit the post from distance after beating Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a through ball, but with 21 minutes left Jorge Jesus’s side got their reward as Rafa Silva fired in from close range.
Barcelona remain rooted to the bottom of their group with no points, no goals and six goals against following a 3-0 loss to Benfica in Lisbon.Credit:Getty
Nunez doubled his tally from the penalty spot on 79 minutes, before a bad night turned worse for Barca when Eric Garcia was sent off for a second yellow card three minutes from time.
“At the end of the day, they easy thing is getting rid of the coach, but we are all responsible. The truth is we’re in a critical situation,†Barca captain Sergio Busquets said.
“We’re only two games into the group stage. We need to focus on improving.
“We need to win our next two games against Dynamo Kiev and see how the other two get on. There’s a long way to go and we need to try and be positive.â€
Leonardo Bonucci celebrates Juve’s 1-0 win over defending champions Chelsea.Credit:Getty
In Turin, Juventus forward Federico Chiesa’s strike 10 seconds into the second half earned his side a hard-fought 1-0 win over holders Chelsea in their Group H clash.
After a subdued first half, Chiesa exploded into life immediately after the restart, rifling in what proved to be the winner on the end of Federico Bernardeschi’s clever pass.
Chelsea continued to dominate possession but struggled to create a killer chance, while Bernardeschi wasted a glorious opportunity to make it 2-0 after Chiesa again breached the Blues’ backline.
The one big Chelsea opening came and went late on as Romelu Lukaku, who had a very quiet evening, blazed over after turning Leonardo Bonucci inside out.
Zenit St Petersburg players toast their huge Champions League win over Malmo in Russia.Credit:AP
Juve held on to continue a fine start to their Champions League campaign under returning coach Massimiliamo Allegri as they sit top on six points from two games, while Chelsea stay second on three points.
Earlier, Zenit St Petersburg notched the first win of their campaign with a 4-0 victory over Swedish side Malmo FF, who had Anel Ahmedhodzic sent off as they slumped to their second defeat in a row in the competition.
The Russian side, who lost 1-0 to Chelsea in their opening game, took the lead in the ninth minute when Brazilians Douglas Santos and Claudinho combined for the latter to fire home a superb first-time finish.
Malmo captain Andreas Christiansen had a glorious chance to net Malmo’s first goal in the group stage 10 minutes later, but he blazed his effort over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
The Swedes found themselves two down four minutes after the break as Yaroslav Rakitskyi twisted and turned before crossing for Daler Kuzyaev to send a looping header beyond the dive of Johan Dahlin and into the net.
Any slim hopes Malmo had of making a comeback were dashed four minutes later when centre-back Ahmedhodzic was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity with a deliberate handball.
Zenit’s Aleksei Sutormin scored in the 80th and Wendel added another in stoppage time to make it two consecutive defeats for bottom side Malmo.
AP, Reuters
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