Premier League title rivals Manchester United and Manchester City both closed on the Champions League knockout phase on Wednesday, as Real Madrid sealed their place in the last 16. United won 2-0 at home to Romanian champions Otelul Galati in Group C, which means that last season's beaten finalists can make sure of a place in the next round with victory at home to Benfica in their next game on November 23.
--- Cristiano Ronaldo reached 100-goal milestone
--- Hit-and-miss Milito seals Inter win
Having lamented the 6-1 "derby debacle" against City last month in his programme notes, Sir Alex Ferguson sent out an ultra-attacking United side that took an early lead when Antonio Valencia converted Phil Jones' low cross. The hosts' momentum was punctured by the loss of Michael Owen to injury in the first half and they struggled to press home their advantage until Wayne Rooney, playing in a new midfield role, scored with a late deflected shot.
"Winning was important. Our opponents were very aggressive and defended very well, but it's down to us now," said Ferguson. "If we beat Benfica, we'll win the group. The incentive is fantastic with the history between the clubs." Benfica looked destined for the round of 16 after Rodrigo put them ahead in the fourth minute against Basel, but Benjamin Huggel's equaliser meant the Portuguese giants finished the night level on points with United.
City muscled into position in Group A with a 3-0 victory at injury-ravaged Villarreal - their first away win in the competition's history. Yaya Toure broke the deadlock in the 30th minute at El Madrigal, bending a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner from David Silva's pass. As ever, Mario Balotelli made sure of a share of the headlines, diving to win a penalty in first-half injury time and rolling away the spot-kick, before Toure danced through the home defence to make the game safe in the 71st minute. "We know in the Champions League anything can happen, but we are going very well and want to improve if possible," said City coach Roberto Mancini, after his side's seventh straight victory.
The win lifted City into second place in the group, above a Napoli team whose last-16 hopes took a blow in a 3-2 defeat at Bayern Munich. In rampant form domestically, group leaders Bayern went 3-0 up through a first-half Mario Gomez hat-trick.
City now lead third-place Napoli by two points and could book their place in the knockout phase with victory over Walter Mazzari's side at Stadio San Paolo later this month. Having seen his eternal rival Lionel Messi score his 200th and 201st goals for Barcelona on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo reached the 100-goal milestone for Real Madrid with both goals in a 2-0 success at Lyon.
He broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a low free-kick through the wall and made the points safe with a 69th-minute penalty that secured Real's first ever win at Stade Gerland and a place in the last 16. Defeat for Lyon was doubly damaging, as it coincided with a 4-0 victory for Ajax at home to Dinamo Zagreb that lifted the Dutch giants three points clear of OL ahead of the two sides' meeting at Gerland on November 22.
Inter Milan put their domestic woes behind them to beat French champions Lille 2-1 and open up a four-point lead in Group B. Inter, currently 17th in Serie A, took an 18th-minute lead through Walter Samuel, with his Argentine compatriot Diego Milito extending the hosts' advantage before Tulio de Melo dinked in a late consolation.
Diego Milito atoned for one of the most extraordinary misses of the season by scoring the decisive goal in a 2-1 Champions League win for Inter Milan over French champions Lille on Wednesday. Inter's third successive win in the group kept them top with nine points from four games and within touching distance of the last 16 as they put their dismal domestic form behind them.
Bayern Munich beat Napoli 3-2 with a first half hat-trick by Mario Gomez to stand on the brink of qualification into the knockout stage of the Champions League although a broken collarbone for Bastian Schweinsteiger marred the victory. Gomez scored three times in 25 minutes to take his Champions League goal tally to 17 and become his country's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Michael Ballack's 16.
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