Champions League round-up: Real Madrid’s winless record at San Siro continues
It’s one of the most surprising statistics in European football: despite their incredible record in the Champions League, Real Madrid are still looking for their first win at the San Siro.
And their barren spell at the home of Italian giants AC Milan and Internazionale continues following last night’s dramatic 2-2 draw against the Rossoneri.
Milan were just seconds away from taking a precious three points off the Spanish heavyweights after a Filippo Inzaghi second-half brace had cancelled out Gonzalo Higuain’s opener but, in the 93rd minute of the match, Pedro Leon popped up to slam the ball through Christian Abbiati’s legs for the vital equaliser.
It proved an important goal. Not only did Leon’s strike secure Real’s passage into the Champions League knockout rounds, it also ensured coach José Mourinho maintains his unbeaten record since arriving at the Bernabeu in the summer.
Meanwhile, their despondent opponents knew they’d spurned a guilt-edged opportunity to move closer to the next round. Still five points behind Real Madrid in second place in Group G, it now seems set in stone that Mourinho’s men will claim top spot.
But the race for the next qualifying place remains very much undecided. Milan lead the way, although they’re closely followed by Ajax and Auxerre - with just two points separating the trio.
An 84th-minute goal from Steeven Langil earned the French side their first three points of the campaign at the expense of their Dutch opponents, giving themselves a fighting chance of staying in the competition past the group stages.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich will compete in the last 16 after securing their fourth consecutive Champions League victory against Cluj in Group E. A stunning hat-trick from Mario Gomez and another late goal from Thomas Muller earned last season’s finalists a comfortable win in Romania.
And Roma edged closer to qualification thanks to an important 3-2 away win over Basle. Goals from Jeremy Menez and Francesco Totti gave the Italians a 2-0 half-time lead, but Alexander Frei pulled one back for the hosts. Claudio Ranieri’s side then regained their two-goal advantage after substitute Leandro Greco came on and made an instant impact, before Xherdan Shaqiri netted a late consolation.
The biggest scoreline of the night came at MSK Zilina’s home ground, although it proved a humiliating evening for the Slovakian hosts. Marseille crushed the Champions League debutants 7-0 to put themselves level on points with Spartak Moscow, who were resoundly beaten by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
André-Pierre Gignac was the star of the show for Marseille – the France international scoring a hat-trick in Zilina – while Gabriel Heinze, Loic Remy and a brace from Lucho González sealed the biggest ever Champions League away victory.
Meanwhile, Braga must have felt they’d drawn level on points with Shakhtar Donetsk after securing their second consecutive Champions League victory against Partizan Belgrade. However, Shakhtar produced a superb performance to beat group leaders Arsenal in Ukraine. The result means neither side have yet qualified for the knockout rounds, but Braga could still upset the odds if they pick up points from their two remaining matches.
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