Shakhtar, United, Valencia star
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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FC Shakhtar Donetsk underlined their ambitions by beating Chelsea FC 2-1, Manchester United FC came back from two behind to win against SC Braga and Valencia CF also impressed.
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FC Shakhtar Donetsk further underlined their ambitions to win the UEFA Champions League by defeating Chelsea FC 2-1 but England's other matchnight representative Manchester United FC came from two behind against SC Braga to maintain their perfect record.
Shakhtar and Chelsea met in Donetsk level at the Group E summit on four points and with both teams in fine domestic form. But for most of the match there was only one likely winner as Alex Teixiera scored on three minutes and Fernandinho added another early in the second half, though Oscar managed a consolation. FC Nordsjælland looked on course for a first UEFA Champions League victory but at least managed a maiden point as a late Juventus equaliser secured a draw – their third in the group.
It appeared that Manchester United's Group H lead would disappear when Alan scored twice without reply early on for Braga at Old Trafford. Javier Hernández, though, pulled one back and later made it 3-2 to take United onto nine points, five clear of CFR 1907 Cluj, who were pegged back to 1-1 with 13 minutes left on a damp night at Galatasaray AŞ.
FC BATE Borisov's perfect start was curtailed in emphatic fashion as a Roberto Soldado hat-trick gave Valencia CF a 3-0 success in Minsk. BATE and Valencia were joined on six points by FC Bayern München, 1-0 victors at LOSC Lille, their third defeat.
FC Barcelona seemed set to drop points for the first time in Group G but deep into added time Jordi Alba secured a 2-1 win against Celtic FC. Barcelona are five points ahead of Celtic, who in turn sit one clear of FC Spartak Moskva who ended an unhappy opening to the group phase by beating SL Benfica 2-1.
The reversals of these fixtures are on 7 November, and Groups A to D continue tomorrow.
Group E
FC Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Chelsea FC
FC Nordsjælland 1-1 Juventus
Group F
FC BATE Borisov 0-3 Valencia CF
LOSC Lille 0-1 FC Bayern München
Group G
FC Spartak Moskva 2-1 SL Benfica
FC Barcelona 2-1 Celtic FC
Group H
Galatasaray AŞ 1-1 CFR 1907 Cluj
Manchester United FC 3-2 SC Braga
