The Hindu : Sport : Lyon, Real Madrid advance

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Lyon, Real Madrid advance

Kaka scores hat-trick; Manchester United loses

— Photo: AP

OVER THE MOON: AC Milan's Kaka celebrates one of his three strikes against Anderlecht.

LONDON: Lyon and Real Madrid made it to the second round of the Champions League with 1-0 wins on Wednesday. Kaka's hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Anderlecht put AC Milan within a point of the knockout phase.

Lyon edged Dynamo Kiev, and Real Madrid needed an own-goal against visiting Steaua Bucharest for their 1-0 victories in Group E.

Lyon and nine-time champion Madrid joined Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia in the last 16 with two more games to go.

Benzema nets winner

Karim Benzema scored the winner in the 14th minute to keep Lyon in first place in the group, the only team in the competition with the maximum 12 points from four games.

It was not so easy for Madrid, however. Ruud van Nistelrooy missed a penalty, and Steaua provided the only goal in the 70th when a back pass from Benal Nicolita found goalkeeper Cornel Cernea out of position and rolled into the net.

``I think they gave us a gift with the goal,'' Madrid coach Fabio Capello said.

Madrid has nine points, while Steaua has three and Dynamo has none.

Kaka scored Milan's first three goals and Alberto Gilardino added the other in the 88th at San Siro. Roland Juhasz scored in the 61st for Anderlecht, which still has a chance to advance.

``In my opinion, he's the best player in the world at the moment,'' Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said of Kaka. ``He keeps it very simple and is very determined.''

AEK Athens edged Lille 1-0, with Nikos Lymberopolous scoring in the 74th. Milan now has 10 points, followed by Lille with five, AEK with four and Anderlecht with two.

English sides struggle

Manchester United and Arsenal both unexpectedly dropped points and still haven't qualified for the second round.

United, which won its first three matches, lost 1-0 at FC Copenhagen with Marcus Allback scoring in the 73rd.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who celebrates 20 years at Old Trafford next Tuesday, said his team wasted many chances.

``I think we had enough possession and opportunities to win the match, but you do have to take your chances,'' Ferguson said. ``We have really thrown it away. Maybe we were careless in our finishing but I think it was a comfortable performance up until the goal.''

Benfica outplays Celtic

Celtic was outplayed 3-0 by Benfica — the opposite of their meeting in Glasgow two weeks ago.

A 14th-minute own-goal by Gary Caldwell and goals by Nuno Gomes and Andrei Karyaka gave Benfica a comfortable victory. The results mean that both Benfica and Copenhagen are back in contention for places in the next round.

United remains in first place with nine points, while Celtic has six and Benfica and Copenhagen have four each.

Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Tomasz Rosicky all missed close-range chances in Arsenal's 0-0 draw against Group G leader CSKA Moscow. The result means three clubs are in contention for the two qualifying spots for the second round.

CSKA still leads the group with eight points, while Arsenal and third-place FC Porto have seven each.

Porto beat last-placed Hamburg 3-1 with goals by Lucho Gonzalez, Lisandro Lopez and Buno Moraes. Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart replied for Hamburg, which is yet to open its account.

The results: Group E: Olympique Lyon 1 bt Dynamo Kiev 0; Real Madrid 1 bt Steaua Bucharest 0.

Group F: Benfica 3 bt Celtic 0; FC Copenhagen 1 bt Manchester United 0.

Group G: Arsenal 0 drew with CSKA Moscow 0; Hamburg SV 1 lost to FC Porto 3.

Group H: AC Milan 4 bt Anderlecht 1; AEK Athens 1 bt Lille 0. — Agencies

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