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UEFA Champions League group stage second round matches started on Tuesday, where almost all the clubs considered favorites celebrated victories - "Arsenal", "Lyon" and "Man Utd" all secured wins, while "Real", "Celtic" and "CSKA" with Deivid Šemberas grabbed their first wins, and both Group H matches, one of which featured "Milan", ended in a draw.
In the earliest match in the Russian capital Moscow, the local "CSKA" players took the field against the visitors from Germany, "Hamburger" team. In a tough first half, the best chances to score were for the Croatian Ivica Olić, whose shot was saved by the Hamburger goalkeeper, and then a header from the Brazilian Dudu, but after the break the latter redeemed himself and scored the only goal of the match after a corner kick.
At the end of the match, "Hamburger" threatened to equalize, while "CSKA" tried to increase their lead on counterattacks, but the visitors' hopes were ultimately shattered by Benjamin Lauth's dismissal from the field in the 85th minute. The "Armymen" maintained their lead and forced "Hamburger" to suffer their second defeat. Defender D. Šemberas played in the first half for the winners.
In the regular time Group G matches, last year's finalist London's "Arsenal" reached a convincing 2-0 victory. In a match against "Porto" at the new "Emirates" stadium, Thierry Henry, the leader of "Gunners," scored the first goal with a header after a precise pass from Emmanuel Eboue, while at the beginning of the second half, Belarusian Aleksandras Hleb scored after a pass from the Frenchman.
The tragic start of the Champions League group stage continues for Kyiv's "Dynamo" team, who had to recognize the overwhelming superiority of "Real" in Madrid. Taking advantage of two goals from the Ukrainian's careless defense in different halves, the "Royal" club's forwards Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raúl scored, followed by a beautiful shot in a row from José Antonio Reyes, and a consolation goal for the visitors was scored by Artem Milevskiy.
Continuing to play powerfully is the French champion "Lyon" - this time the strongest Romanian team from Bucharest, "Steaua," was swept aside. Just like in the first round, the French team saw goals from both Brazilian Fred, who capitalized on a goalkeeper's mistake, and Portuguese Tiago, who defeated the opponents' goalkeeper after a corner kick, and finally Karim Benzema scored the third goal at the end of the match.
In Group F, both British clubs celebrated victories. "Man Utd," after a fierce battle and a precise goal by Louis Saha, defeated Lisbon's "Benfica" away and avenged the painful defeat they suffered last season at "Estadio da Luz," while Glasgow's "Celtic" team secured three points thanks to Kenny Miller's penalty kick in the 36th minute.
No teams lost points in Group H, where there was no winner in either match: "Milan" failed to capitalize on opportunities to score away against "Lille" and had to settle for a goalless draw, while Athens' "AEK" quickly recovered after conceding a goal from Nicolas Frutos and equalized through Júlio César to earn a point against Brussels' "Anderlecht" in a home match.
Tuesday's results and statistics
Group E
5 - 1
20’ [1 – 0] Ruud van Nistelrooy
27’ [2 – 0] Raúl Gonzalez
45’ [3 – 0] Jose Antonio Reyes
47’ [3 – 1] Artem Milevskiy
61’ [4 – 1] Raúl Gonzalez
70’ [5 – 1] Ruud van Nistelrooy (p.)
68’ Olexandr Shovkovskiy ("Dynamo") sent off
0 - 3
43’ [0 – 1] Fred
55’ [0 – 2] Tiago
89’ [0 – 3] Karim Benzema
Standings:
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals, Goal Difference, Points)
1. Lyon 2 2 0 0 5-0 +5 6
2. Real 2 1 0 1 5-3 +2 3
3. Steaua 2 1 0 1 4-4 0 3
4. Dynamo 2 0 0 2 2-9 -7 0
Group F
0 - 1
60’ [0 – 1] Louis Saha
1 - 0
36’ [1 – 0] Kenny Miller (p.)
Standings:
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals, Goal Difference, Points)
1. Man Utd 2 2 0 0 4-2 +2 6
2. Celtic 2 1 0 1 3-3 0 3
3. Benfica 2 0 1 1 0-1 -1 1
4. Kobenhavn 2 0 1 1 0-1 -1 1
Group G
1 - 0
59’ [1 – 0] Dudu Cearense
85’ Benjamin Lauth ("Hamburger") sent off
2 - 0
38’ [1 – 0] Thierry Henry
48’ [2 – 0] Aleksandr Hleb
Standings:
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals, Goal Difference, Points)
1. Arsenal 2 2 0 0 4-1 +3 6
2. CSKA 2 1 1 0 1-0 +1 4
3. Porto 2 0 1 1 0-2 -2 1
4. Hamburger 2 0 0 2 1-3 -2 0
Group H
1 - 1
25’ [0 – 1] Nicolas Frutos
28’ [1 – 1] Julio César
0 - 0
Standings:
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals, Goal Difference, Points)
1. Milan 2 1 1 0 3-0 +3 4
2. Anderlecht 2 0 2 0 2-2 0 2
3. Lille 2 0 2 0 1-1 0 2
4. AEK 2 0 1 1 1-4 -3 1
