AC Milan wins 3-2 at Real Madrid on late Pato goal
Pato broke an 88th-minute tie with his second goal of the game, giving AC Milan a 3-2 victory at high-spending Real Madrid on Wednesday night in a Champions League matchup between two of Europe’s powers.
Pato broke an 88th-minute tie with his second goal of the game, giving AC Milan a 3-2 victory at high-spending Real Madrid on Wednesday night in a Champions League matchup between two of Europe’s powers.
Manchester United and Chelsea each moved closer to the second round by improving to 3-0. The Red Devils won 1-0 at CSKA Moscow on Antonio Valencia’s 86th-minute goal, and the Blues routed visiting Atletico Madrid 4-0 on two goals by Salomon Kalou and one by Frank Lampard. Chelsea also got an own goal from Luis Perea.
Bordeaux defeated visiting Bayern Munich 2-1 to take the lead in Group A despite failing to convert two penalty kicks.
At Madrid, Pato volleyed Clarence Seedorf’s cross past goalkeeper Iker Casillas moments after Thiago Silva’s apparent goal on a header waved off because of a foul.
“It gives us a lot of strength winning here,” AC Milan coach Leonardo said. “Even after they tied we never thought about losing. I saw always a chance to win. It was an incredible victory.”In a highly anticipated matchup that saw former Milan star Kaka play against his old club, Madrid was without world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, sidelined with an ankle injury.
Raul Gonzalez had put Madrid ahead in the 19th minute. His 68th European goal, which tied Filippo Inzhagi’s record, came after Milan goalkeeper Dida fumbled the ball while looking to get it upfield quickly.
Andrea Pirlo tied the score with a curling 30-yard shot in the 62nd minute, and Pato beat Casillas to Massimo Ambrosini’s long pass in the 66th and slotted the ball into an empty net to give the Italian club a 2-1 lead.
Substitute Roysten Drenthe retied it when slotted home from outside the penalty area in the 76th.
“Until they tied it 1-1 we played a good game, we were in control,” Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini said. “We then got disorganized and Milan took advantage to win the game.”
AC Milan and Real Madrid are both 2-1 for six points in Group C, while Olympique Marseille and Zurich are 1-2 for three points following the French club’s 1-0 win in Switzerland on Gabriel Heinze’s 69th-minute goal. The top two teams in each group advance.
Manchester United, which rested several stars ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match at Liverpool, leads Group B by five points over Wolfsburg (1-1-1), which tied 0-0 against visiting Besiktas (0-2-1).
In Group D, Chelsea has a three-point lead over Porto (2-1), which won 2-1 at APOEL Nicosia (0-2-1) on two goals by the Brazilian forward Hulk. Atletico Madrid also is 0-2-1.
In Group A, Bayern went ahead on Michael Ciani’s own goal in the sixth minute but Ciani tied the score in the 27th minute and Marc Planus put Bordeaux ahead in the 40th. Two Bayern players were ejected: Thomas Muller for receiving his second yellow card in the 30th minute and Daniel Van Buyten for fouling Marouane Chamakh in the 87th.
Yoann Gourcuff missed the net on a penalty kick in the 66th, and goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt saved Jussie’s penalty kick in the 88th.
In the other Group A match, Juventus won 1-0 at Maccabi Haifa (0-3) on Giorgio Chiellini’s goal in the 47th minute. The Israeli team finished a man short following Tiago Dutra’s foul on Chiellini in the 69th.
Bordeaux (2-0-1) leads with seven points, two ahead of Juventus (1-0-2) and three in front of Bayern Munich (1-1-1).