Champions League:Michael Carrick's late winner completed Manchester United's 2-1 victory over resilient VfL Wolfsburg in their Group B Champions League match at Old Trafford tonight while Chelsea secured a 1-0 win away to Apoel Nicosia tonight.
Midfielder Michael Carrick struck the winner 12 minutes from time after Ryan Giggs's deflected free kick had cancelled out a fine header from Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko which had handed the German champions a shock lead soon after halftime.
United, seeking to reach the final for the third season in a row, started slowly and striker Michael Owen, struggling with a groin injury, had to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov after just 19 minutes.
United's threat was limited in the opening period and the closest they came to breaking the deadlock was a Carrick shot that was blocked by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.
Nine minutes after the restart, Dzeko rose above Patrice Evra to nod Makato Hasebe's cross past Tomasz Kuszczak and give Wolfsburg a shock lead in their first Champions League campaign.
But Giggs's free kick flew in off Chrstian Gentner to pull United level and the veteran midfielder then laid the ball off for Carrick to curl it into the top corner and secure United's eighth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Chelsea stuttered to an unconvincing victory over Apoel Nicosia thanks to a first-half goal from Nicolas Anelka.
The Blues, hammered 3-1 by Wigan in the Barclays Premier League last Saturday, produced another lacklustre performance against the Cypriot champions.
But victory keeps Chelsea top of Group D with a 100 per cent record, even if the performance does not bode well for their home clash with title rivals Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Boss Carlo Ancelotti certainly did not get the reaction he wanted following their defeat at Wigan and better opponents would have given the English side much more to deal with.
The Cypriots, playing their first Champions League game at home, began the game full of passion and desire.
They sprayed the ball around with confidence in the opening moments but for a team that had already beaten Partizan Belgrade and FC Copenhagen in the qualifiers, some self-assurance was only to be expected.
But despite their bright opening, they created little to concern the English side who began to take control of the midfield.
Chelsea went ahead in the 18th minute though when Juliano Belletti made a fine run down the right flank before pulling the ball back superbly for Anelka to send a curling drive into the roof of the net.
Anelka’s fourth goal of the season was his second in this Champions League campaign, the France international having scored the only goal of their opening round victory over Porto at Stamford Bridge.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille.
Marseille had effectively contained their hosts until early in the second half when the Portugal winger inspired his side to three goals in six minutes.
Ronaldo raced through to break the deadlock in the 58th minute, and was then brought down for a penalty a minute later, when visiting defender Souleymane Diawara was sent off.
Kaka converted from the spot and Ronaldo slotted away the third from Karim Benzema's pass in the 64th, to leave Real with two wins from two.
Hannu Tihinen's audacious flick gave FC Zurich a 1-0 win at AC Milan, piling more agony on beleaguered Rossoneri coach Leonardo.
The Finnish centre back expertly turned in a 10th minute corner with his heel while both feet were off the floor to hand the Swiss champions their first points in Group C.
Milan won at Olympique Marseille in their group opener but otherwise it has been another sorry start to the season under new boss Leonardo, with only one goal scored at home.
They again lacked penetration and were often forced to send hopeful balls into the box with even the introduction of Ronaldinho at halftime failing to have much effect.
Tonight’s Champions League Results
Group A
Bayern Munich 0 Juventus 0
Bordeaux 1 Maccabi Haifa 0
Group B
CSKA Moscow 2 Besiktas 1
Man Utd 2 Wolfsburg 1
Group C
AC Milan 0 FC Zurich 1
Real Madrid 3 Marseille 0
Group D
Apoel Nicosia 0 Chelsea 1
FC Porto 2 Atletico Madrid 0
