Chelsea, Real, Bayern, Arsenal stay 100 per cent

By Peter Auf der Heyde Oct 20, 2010, 11:58 GMT

   Berlin - English Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea as well as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid stayed on course Tuesday for a place in the knock-out stage in the Champions League as they each won their third of three matches so far.

   In Munich, Romanian visitors CFR Cluj scored four of the five goals, but two of them went into their own net as the home side won 3-2, while Real Madrid laid the foundation for their 2-0 victory against AC Milan in the first half with two goals.

   Arsenal proved much too strong at home against Shakhtar Donetsk, running out 5-1 winners, while Chelsea won 2-0 in the early game at Spartak Moscow.

   In Munich, 64,000 spectators saw Portuguese defender Cadu stun the home side with an opening goal in the 28th minute, but just four minutes later he turned from hero to goat as he turned a Toni Kroos shot into his own goal.

   Bayern took the lead in the 37th minute when a Bayern corner hit Cristian Panin on the knee and bounced into the goal.

   Mario Gomez put Bayern two goals up in the 77th minute when Cadu tried to clear the ball, but his shot hit Gomez and the ball bounced over the line.

   Juan Culio found the net for his side with four minutes to go, but it was too late for the visitors to come back.

   Even Bayern scorer Gomez admitted that his goal was more like an own goal than his. 'We really need to thank Cluj for all of our three goals. But that is football, sometimes things just go your way,' he said.

   'You saw today that it is difficult when the opponents play so defensively, but I am just very happy that I am scoring goals and that I am allowed to play again.'

   Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said his side deserved some good fortune: 'We have not had much luck this season, so a bit of luck in the game is welcome. It is difficult when the opponents play with 10 men behind the ball. I think our midfield did well. They let the ball run and put the other side under pressure.'

   As the other Group E match saw Basel score an upset 3-1 victory at AS Roma, Bayern are well placed to advance to the knock-out stage. They lead the table with nine points, while the three other teams are on three points.

   Real Madrid scored twice through Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Oezil within the space of a minute early in their Group G game against AC Milan, and then allowed the Serie A visitors virtually no chance.

Ronaldo said they went into the game feeling confident: 'We knew that we were playing against an experienced opponent and that we had to come at them, and if we did, they would not be able to keep up with us.'

His coach, Jose Mourinho, complimented his side: 'I am more than happy with the result and happy with the performance and the effort. I think the team played a very complete match.'

German international Sami Khedira, who joined Real from VfB Stuttgart at the beginning of the season, said he thought the side did well: 'I think we can happy with the team performance. The players did what the coach expected from us. It was a terrific game from all of us.'

   The La Liga team is on nine points, while Milan have four. Ajax Amsterdam beat Auxerre 2-1, though they played most of the second half with 10 men after Andre Ooijer was sent off, and are also on four points.

   Auxerre had Dennis Oliech sent off in the 85th minute for a second bookable offence.

   The biggest win of the night belonged to Arsenal, who trounced Donetsk 5-1 in London in their Group H game.

   The Premier League side was ruthless in the taking of their chances as they scored five times from their first six shots at goal, with Alexandre Song and Sami Nasri scoring before the break.

   Cesc Fabregas converted a penalty after the break, and Jack Wilshire and Marouane Chamakh added goals to give the home side a comfortable five-goal lead.

   Former Arsenal player Eduardo, who left the club after failing to come back into the side following a horrific injury that saw him break his leg in two places, scored a late consolation goal for the Ukrainian visitors that saw him cheered by the home fans.

   Sporting Braga secured their first-ever Champions League points as they beat Partizan Belgrade 2-0 in Portugal in the other group game.

   In the early game, Chelsea moved to the top of Group F with a 2-0 victory at Spartak Moscow.

   Both goals were scored in the first half, with Russian international Juri Zhirkov and Nicolas Anelka finding the goals that took Chelsea very close to the knock-out stage of the lucrative competition.

   Olympique Marseille moved onto three points in the group with a hard-fought, 1-0 victory against Slovakian visitors Zilina.