Champions League: Angel Di Maria seals Real Madrid victory
For 80 minutes it looked as if Real Madrid were about to record their third 0-0 away draw of the season, but Angel Di Maria popped up in the closing stages of the club’s Champions League match against Auxerre to seal José Mourinho’s side all three points in France.
The Argentina international, who joined the Spanish giants in the summer, came on as a second-half substitute and rifled in the match’s only goal as Real retained their spot at the top of Group G.
Meanwhile, fellow Group G contenders AC Milan looked to keep the pressure up on Mourinho’s men with a win against Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. Mounir El Hamdaoui gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half, but former Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic got himself on the scoresheet not long after with a superb strike.
The scores stayed level at 1-1, although Kevin-Prince Boateng spurned a glorious chance to seal Milan maximum points after being teed up by Ibrahimovic.
After yesterday’s earlier kick-off, Spartak Moscow now look odds on to reach the knockout rounds after beating MSK Zilina 3-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium. Brazilian striker Ari grabbed a brace in the win, while his compatriot Ibson scored the third and final goal of the match in the last minute.
With Chelsea also winning their second consecutive Champions League win, both Zilina and Marseille have a real job on their hands to qualify for the next round.
Elsewhere, Group H’s Braga also appear doomed following their 3-0 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk last night. It was another pair of Brazilians who scored the goals at the Estádio Municipal. Luiz Adriano netted a second-half brace, before Douglas Costa made sure of the win by scoring a stoppage-time penalty.
That win lifted Shakhtar to second in the group, level on points with Arsenal, who beat Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in Serbia.
And in Group E there were wins for both Bayern Munich and AS Roma.
An 89th-minute strike from Bastian Schweinsteiger secured a 2-1 win against a resilient FC Basel side in Switzerland and lifted the Germans to the top of the group. While goals from Philippe Mexes and Marco Borriello proved enough for Roma to beat CFR Cluj at the Stadio Olimpico for their first Champions League victory of the campaign.
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