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Home  » Sports » Champions League: Ronaldo sets goals record; PSG shake Shakhtar

Champions League: Ronaldo sets goals record; PSG shake Shakhtar

December 09, 2015 09:20 IST
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Cristiano Ronaldo

IMAGE: Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League match against Malmo. Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo set a record for goals scored in the group stage of the Champions League of 11 when he netted four against Malmo in Group A on Tuesday.

Champions League: United crash out in thriller; City finish on top

The Portugal forward made it 3-0 to Real six minutes before halftime at the Bernabeu and added three more goals in the 47th, 50th and 59th minutes.

Ronaldo, who has reached double figures for a fifth consecutive Champions League campaign, extended his all-time Champions League scoring record to 88 goals.

He is the first Real player to score four goals in a Champions League match, with the overall record of five held by Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano, who achieved the feat with Shakhtar Donetsk but now plays for AC Milan.

Ronaldo's first goal on Tuesday improved his surprisingly poor record at free kicks.

It was only the third free kick the FIFA Ballon d'Or holder had netted from in his last 97 attempts in all competitions, according to Spanish Twitter statistician @2010MisterChip.

Ronaldo, 30, has scored 10 free kicks in 146 attempts in the Champions League since 2003-04, according to Opta statistics.

Lucas and Ibrahimovic strike as PSG shake Shakhtar

PSG players celebrate

IMAGE: PSG players celebrate after Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored second goal. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Lucas and Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped a second-string Paris St Germain side beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 as the big-spending French club ended their Champions League Group A campaign on a high on Tuesday.

Brazilian Lucas scored in the 57th minute while Sweden forward Ibrahimovic struck late on as PSG finished second in the table with 13 points from six games, behind Real Madrid (16) who crushed Malmo 8-0 in the Spanish capital.

Shakhtar wasted a few scoring opportunities on Tuesday as they ended in third place on three points, ahead of Malmo on goal difference, to qualify for the Europa League.

PSG coach Laurent Blanc rested several players with captain Thiago Silva and midfielder Marco Verratti not included in the squad and Edinson Cavani, Thiago Motta and Angel Di Maria starting on the bench.

Unbeaten at home in a Champions League group game since 2004, the Ligue 1 title holders had a good opportunity early on when Ibrahimovic intercepted a poor pass by keeper Anton Kanibolotskiy but his lob flew just over the bar.

Lucas opened the scoring in the second half with a low cross-shot from just outside the box following an impressive run through midfield by Blaise Matuidi.

Ibrahimovic wrapped up victory with another low drive in the 86th minute.

PSV reach last 16 after Propper pops up with late goal

 Davy Propper

IMAGE: PSV's Davy Propper celebrates. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

PSV Eindhoven recovered to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and secure a place in the Champions League last 16 after a late winner from midfielder Davy Propper in their Group B clash.

Propper struck on the run from the edge of the area in the 86th minute, six minutes after Luuk de Jong had revived home hopes with his 19th goal of the season. They had gone behind to Sergei Ignashevich's penalty in the 76th.

The win left PSV in second place on 10 points behind group winners VfL Wolfsburg, who have 12 after winning 3-2 at home to Manchester United. The English club finished on eight points and have been relegated to the second-tier Europa League. PSV, who knew they would qualify with a win, or a draw if United lost to Wolfsburg, are the first Dutch club to reach the Champions League knockout stage in the last eight years. CSKA finished bottom with four points from their six games.

Propper’s winner meant PSV were masters of their own destiny although they had some anxious moments before the final whistle.

It had taken almost half-an-hour to produce the first real effort of the night despite the home side probing frequently, especially down the left hand side of their attack.

Lisbon lions Atletico top Group C after win over Benfica

Diego Godin

IMAGE: Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin, centre, in action against Benfica. Photograph: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

Atletico Madrid clinched top spot in Champions League Group C after winning 2-1 at Benfica who only sprung into life in the last 15 minutes.

Saul Niguez and Luciano Vietto put Diego Simeone's side 2-0 up inside an hour before Kostantinos Mitroglou replied to give hope to Benfica with the Portuguese needing a draw to claim first place in the table.

Both teams had already qualified but victory meant Atletico finished with 13 points from six games, three ahead of Tuesday's opponents. Galatasaray drew 1-1 with Astana of Kazakhstan to end up in third place and progress to the Europa League.

Atletico defender Diego Godin had a goal disallowed while Benfica goalkeeper Julio Cesar also had to palm away shots by Niguez and Gabi.

The visitors deservedly went ahead with a well-worked goal in the 33rd minute as Antoine Griezmann fed Vietto down the right and the Argentine produced a clever reverse pass for Niguez to sidefoot the ball into the net.

Benfica brought on Mitroglou at halftime and the Greek made an immediate impact, working an opening in the penalty area and sending a low shot into the side-netting within a minute of the restart.

Atletico struck again when Vietto nipped in at the near post to deflect Yannick Carrasco's low cross between Julio Cesar and his near post in the 55th minute.

Mitroglou reduced the arrears, and brought the hosts to life, with a quarter of an hour to play as he controlled Raul Jimenez's pass and beat Jan Oblak with a shot on the turn.

Benfica failed to create many more clear-cut openings and only once looked like equalising when a cross found Jimenez who headed wide from six metres.

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