Cristiano Ronaldo equaled with Raul as the top scorer in Real Madrid’s history, as the Portuguese winger scored a brace against Swedish minnows Malmo. Manchester United came from a goal behind to register a 2-1 win against their German opponents Wolfsburg. Manchester City scraped past Borussia Monchengladbach, as Sergio Aguero coolly slotted home a last-minute penalty at Borussia Park.
It was always going to be an easy evening for the Spanish giants Real Madrid against rank outsiders Malmo but it was all about Cristiano Ronaldo, who had the chance to break the legendary Raul’s record as Real Madrid leading goalscorer. Ronaldo scored his first of the evening in the 29th minute, when he latched on to Isco’s brilliant pass and the three-time Ballon d’Or winner made no mistake with only the ‘keeper to beat. Although Real were expected to rip their opponents apart, Malmo made their visitors toil for a two-goal cushion and it was only in the dying stages of the match that Ronaldo scored his second. Substitute Lucas Vazquez slipped in an inviting cross inside the box and Ronaldo poked the ball in from close range to equal Raul’s record of 323 goals in a Real Madrid jersey, as the match ended 2-0. Raul, who is plying his trade for the New York Cosmos, hit his 323 goals in 741 appearances for Real Madrid, while Ronaldo has required a mere 308 games to equal the Spaniard’s record, since joining from Manchester United in the summer of 2009.
Manchester United hosted the tricky Germans Wolfsburg at Old Trafford and were in for a shock when they conceded a goal, with only 4 minutes gone on the clock. Daniel Caligiuri opened the scoring when he was played in by Max Kruse, after the United defence were caught in no-man’s land while Antonio Valencia played Caligiuri onside, who finished with only De Gea to beat. But Caligiuri turned villain 30 minutes later, when he handled Mata’s cross inside the 18-yard box. Mata, instead of Wayne Rooney, stepped up to take the spot-kick and coolly sent Diego Benaglio the wrong way to make matters level. After the interval, Juan Mata produced a moment of individual brilliance, when he put in an outrageous back-heel flick over the Wolfsburg defence to centre-back Chris Smalling, who finished with a sleek touch past Benaglio to give his side the lead. Wolfsburg piled on the pressure with 20 minutes to go but United held on to register their first win of the group stage, as all teams in Group B have 3 points from 2 games.
Manchester City rode on Sergio Aguero’s injury-time winner, as Manchester City mounted a comeback against Monchengladbach to record a crucial victory in Group D. Joe Hart, who watched his side being dismantled by Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend from the bench, returned to the starting eleven and made an instant impact by saving Raffael first-half penalty. In the second-half, an unmarked Lars Stindl’s exquisite finish from 15 yards side-footed Hart, as the hosts took the lead. Nicolas Otamendi’s volley from the edge of the box leveled terms, although TV replays showed that Martin Demichelis’ initial effort had crossed the line. City completed the comeback when Aguero was tripped in the box and the Argentine striker almost nonchalantly converted the penalty, as his side will return home with all 3 points in the bag.
Other Champions League results:
Group A
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-3 Paris Saint Germain
Group B
CSKA Moscow 3-2 PSV Eindhoven
Group C
FC Astana 2-2 Galatasaray
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Benfica
Group D
Juventus 2-0 Sevilla
Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester City Real Madrid
