Malta Independent

Real beaten in Moscow

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stands after getting his first red card in the competitio­n in the previous round, Dybala rediscover­ed the scoring form that saw the Argentina internatio­nal score 22 Serie A goals last season.

It was Juventus' ninth win in nine matches this season as the Italian club remained perfect in all competitio­ns.

It also saw Juventus take control of Group H with a two-point lead over Manchester United, which drew 0-0 against Valencia.

It took Dybala less than five minutes to give Juventus the lead with a delightful chipped volley after a long ball over the Leonardo Bonucci.

Von Ballmoos was punished for a mistake in the 33rd when he pushed away Blaise Matuidi's fierce shot and Dybala was on hand to tuck the rebound into the bottom left corner.

Dybala did get his hat trick in the 69th, finishing off a long passing move by Juventus after being unselfishl­y teed up by Juan Cuadrado.

Lyon rallied from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk and stay top of its Champions League group.

Brazilian striker Junior Moraes scored twice for the Ukrainian side, but Lyon salvaged a point with second-half goals in quick succession from striker Moussa Dembele and defender Leo Dubois.

Lyon could have won as Dembele and substitute Memphis Depay missed good chances. But so could Shakhtar, with Nigerian forward Olarenwaju Kayode hitting the crossbar in the last minute.

Substitute Alfa Semedo rescued 10-man Benfica with a late goal to beat AEK Athens 3-2 yesterday as the Greek champion was punished for chaotic defending with a second Champions League defeat.

Left unchalleng­ed, the 21-yearold Semedo fired past goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas in the 74th minute at Athens' Olympic Stadium.

Benfica looked set to secure the Group E match early, scoring twice in the opening 15 minutes through Haris Seferovic and Alex Grimaldo.

But Benfica lost control after dropping to 10 men when Ruben Dias received a second booking before the break for a foul on Roma-loaned Ezequiel Ponce.

Viktor Klonaridis scored twice in the second half but missed a clear chance for the winner moments before Semedo's goal.

Manchester United turned up top from late for the match and produced another lackluster performanc­e in a 0-0 home draw with Valencia in the Champions League yesterday, increasing the scrutiny on underfire manager Jose Mourinho.

Kickoff was delayed by five minutes at Old Trafford because United's team bus got stuck in traffic on the way to the ground, arriving just 45 minutes before the scheduled start time of the Group H game.

United's players never really got going on the field, either, with a late rally failing to yield a goal that would have secured a second straight win in group play. The English club is in second place on four points, two behind Juventus which heads to Old Trafford for the teams' third match in three weeks.

UEFA said the delay was because of "heavy traffic en route to the stadium" but the incident will be viewed by critics as symptomati­c of the commotion engulfing England's biggest team amid its struggles under Mourinho.

Valencia looked more dangerous and sprightly going forward, especially down the left and in behind United right back Antonio Valencia, but didn't have the cutting edge to match its build-up play.

In the 85th minute, Marcus Rashford — United's best attacker on the night — sent in a fiercely struck free kick that crashed against the crossbar and bounced away from danger.

Lukaku wasted United's final chance, heading over at a corner.

Edin Dzeko can't stop scoring against Viktoria Plzen.

The Bosnia and Herzegovin­a striker netted a hat trick to raise his tally to nine goals in eight matches against the Czech side as Roma revived its Champions League campaign with a 5-0 rout yesterday.

Turkey winger Cengiz Under added another for Roma — having previously hit the crossbar — and 19-year-old forward Justin Kluivert also knocked in a rebound.

A surprise semifinali­st last season, Roma is building confidence after its emotional 3-1 win over Lazio in the Rome derby on Saturday.

The first goal came when Dzeko was set up by Aleksandar Kolarov to beat the offside trap three minutes in, enabling the Roma No. 9 to place a shot in the far bottom corner.

Under, Roma's 21-year-old winger, rocked the goalframe with a long shot near the half-hour mark and Kluivert then protested to no avail for a penalty when the ball appeared to go off a defender's arm.

Before the break, Dzeko scored his second with an expert chest control and half volley from close range following a cross from Under. He nearly had another later on but goalkeeper Matus Kozacik denied him with his boot.

Under scored with an angled shot after being set up by Lorenzo Pellegrini, who maintained his exceptiona­l form from the derby.

Pellegrini also helped set up Roma's fourth goal with a crossfield pass to Under, whose shot was palmed away by Kozacik into the path of the waiting Kluivert.

Kluivert — the son of former Netherland­s standout Patrick Kluivert — became the youngest Roma player to score in the Champions League.

After Kluivert scored, he held up a shirt featuring the name of former Ajax teammate Abdelhak Nouri, who recently emerged from a year-long coma.

Dzeko completed his hat trick in stoppage time by rising above the defense for a header from a cor

Bayern Munich held on to a 1-1 draw against Ajax in the Champions League as the German team's recent wobbles continued.

Noussair Mazraoui scored for the visitors after Mats Hummels headed Bayern into an early lead, and the home side was fortunate to secure a point after Lasse Schone rattled the crossbar in injury time. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer got his fingertips to the shot.

Bayern won its first seven games of the season across all competitio­ns but has now failed to win in three games.

Hummels got the home side off to a perfect start with a header from Arjen Robben's cross in the fourth minute.

Ajax seemed shaken by the setback as Bayern dominated the first 15 minutes. But the visitors grew in confidence after Dusan Tadic fired their first chance over the bar.

Mazraoui equalized in the 22nd after playing a one-two with Tadic.

Hakim Ziyech almost put the visitors in front before the break but Neuer saved his powerful shot.

David Silva scored late for Manchester City to end its four-game losing streak in the Champions League with a 2-1 win at Hoffenheim.

The Spanish forward struck from a narrow angle with three minutes remaining after pouncing on a loose ball ahead of 21-year-old defender Stefan Posch.

City bounced back from its opening 2-1 home loss to Lyon in the competitio­n despite falling behind inside the first minute, when Ishak Belfodil shot past Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson after Kerem Demirbay played the ball through the visitors' defense.

Sergio Aguero equalized minutes later with a simple finish after Germany winger Leroy Sane capped a good team move to set the Argentine up.

City defender Kyle Walker was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for a bad challenge on Pavel Kaderabek in the second half, while the visitors thought they should have had a penalty when Baumann appeared to bring down Sane after missing the ball. Referee Damir Skomina did not award the spot kick.

 ??  ?? Paolo Dybala - hat trick for Juve
Paolo Dybala - hat trick for Juve
 ??  ?? CSKA Moscow players celebrate their victory
CSKA Moscow players celebrate their victory
 ??  ??

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