Bayern buoyed by stylish win

The UEFA Champions League Group A contenders enjoyed a successful weekend as three teams won and the fourth, Club Brugge KV, twice came from behind to earna a draw at RSC Anderlecht. Juventus and FC Bayern München both strengthened their places at the summit of their respective leagues with wins, while SK Rapid Wien claimed a morale-boosting derby victory.

US Lecce 0-3 Juventus

Juventus equalled a club record after recording their eighth consecutive league win against US Lecce to stay five points clear at the summit. Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock after nine minutes with his first league goal of the season before Adrian Mutu hit a second for the Bianconeri. Substitute Marcelo Zalayeta added a third late on.

However, victory came at a cost as Juve suffered a double setback with both Ibrahimovic and goalkeeper Christian Abbiati forced off through injury. Ibrahimovic picked up a thigh strain and was replaced at the interval, while Antonio Chimenti played the final ten minutes in place of Abbiati, who will now undergo tests on a knee injury. Gianluigi Buffon (shoulder), Alessandro Birindelli (knee), Patrick Vieira (groin), Jonathan Zebina (thigh) and Lilian Thuram (thigh) are already unavailable, while David Trezeguet was rested.

"I don't think that Ibrahimovic's injury is particularly serious," said coach Fabio Capello. "It was not an easy game especially because of the very heavy pitch. We took out chances well and I think we fully deserved our victory."

FC Bayern München 4-0 MSV Duisburg

Two goals in either half earned Bayern a comprehensive win against MSV Duisburg at the Fußball Arena München to regain a two-point cushion at the Bundesliga summit. After dominating the early stages, Michael Ballack made the breakthrough on 27 minutes and the result never looked in doubt when Zé Roberto doubled the advantage six minutes later. Roque Santa Cruz made it 3-0 just before the hour mark before Claudio Pizarro sealed an impressive win in the dying seconds.

The ease of victory was made all he more impressive considering the list of absentees Bayern had to contend with. Martin Demichelis was suspended following his dismissal at FC Schalke 04 last weekend, while Owen Hargreaves, Philipp Lahm, Andreas Görlitz and Bixente Lizarazu wer all ruled out through injury. Hargreaves and Lahm have returned to training, but Lizarazu could be out for three weeks after picking up a calf injury against Juventus.

"I am really proud of my team," said Bayern coach Felix Magath. "We concentrated on the task at hand and played excellent football. It's a pity Roy Makaay didn't score. He lacks confidence at the moment but we're sure that we will be on target again soon."

RSC Anderlecht 2-2 Club Brugge KV

Club Brugge twice came from behind to secure a share of the spoils at rivals RSC Anderlecht. Despite the visitors having chances through Gaëtan Englebert and Grégory Dufer, it was Anderlecht who took the lead through Serhat Akin on 35 minutes. Sven Vermant brought the scores level with a free-kick immediately after the restart, before Serhat claimed his second of the game to restore Anderlecht's advantage. However, Club Brugge had the final say when captain Gert Verheyen struck on 59 minutes to ensure a share of the spoils.

Suspension ruled Jonathan Blondel out, while Dieter Van Tornhout (hamstring), Glenn Verbauwhede (shoulder), Michael Klukowski(knee), Rune Lange (calf), Manasseh Ishiaku (thigh) and Birger Maertens(hamstring) were all injured.

"I am happy with our performance, but slightly disappointed with the result," said coach Jan Ceulemans. "If we were more composed in front of goal we could have been ahead before the break. Anderlecht converted their first opening, but fortunately we recovered quickly in the second half. I can live with the result, and the good thing is we seem to be improving with every game."

FK Austria Wien 0–2 SK Rapid Wien

Veteran strikers Axel Lawaree and Marec Kincl were both on target as Rapid beat ten-man FK Austria Wien in an intense derby – their first win at the Franz Hoor stadium for 19 years. After a delayed start, Lawaree broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark, by which time the home side were already down to ten men following Markus Kiesenebner's dismissal on 15 minutes.

Czech forward Marec Kincl then sealed the win midway through the second half with his eighth goal of the season as Rapid climbed to fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga. Victory came at a cost, however, with Andreas Dober limping off before half-time though his injury is not thought to be serious.

Rapid coach Josif Hickersberger, who gave goalkeeper Raimund Hedl a rare start as Helge Payer has an Achilles problem, said: "Kiesenebner's red card was the turning point. We have been playing poorly in the past few weeks but even we are strong enough to win with an extra player."