Real Madrid won the battle of the European bug guns on Tuesday when beating AC Milan 2-0 in Champions League Group G.
Jose Mourinho’s side made it three wins out of three at the Bernabeu and went five points clear of Milan and Ajax. Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a 13th minute lead with a free-kick and, just a minute later, Mesut Ozil saw a shot deflect in off Daniele Bonera as no more goals ensued.
Ajax got their first win as they handed Auxerre their third defeat from three on a score of 2-1. Denny De Zeeuw and Luis Suarez put the hosts clear in Amsterdam before they had Andre Ooijer sent off and Valter Birsa pulled one back for the French outfit. But, they also finished with ten men as Dennis Oliech was dismissed, while unused substitute Jean-Pascal Mignot also, amazingly, saw two yellow cards.
Basle caused a shock in Group E when they won 3-1 against Roma in Rome. Veteran Switzerland striker Alexander Frei put them in front before Marco Borriello’s equaliser. But goals late in each half from Samuel Inkoom and Adilson Cabral completed the surprise for the visitors.
Last year’s runners-up Bayern Munich beat CFR Cluj-Napoca of Romania in the same group, but only after falling behind to a Ricardo Cadu goal. The same player then put through his own net though and Cristian Panin did likewise to give Bayern a half-time lead. Mario Gomez made it 3-1 before Emanuel Culio’s late consolation. The Germans now have maximum points with the other three teams all on three.
In Chelsea’s Group F, a goal from former Charlton Athletic defender Souleymane Diawara gave Marseille a 1-0 win over MSK Zilina and brought them back into the race to get out of the group, while in Arsenal’s Group H there were also a first three points for Sporting Braga.
The Portuguese outfit enjoyed a 2-0 home win over Partizan Belgrade, with Rodrigo Lima and Nascimento Matheus netting.