Champions League glance: Gotze shines for Bayern, Aguero double lifts City

BAYERN MUNICH 5-0 VIKTORIA PLZEN Franck Ribery scored twice as defending champion Bayern Munich thrashed Viktoria Plzen 5-0 on Wednesday to take a big step toward the Champions League knockout stage. Bayern utterly dominated the game, with 35 efforts on goal - 22 on target - compared with none from the visiting Czech champion. “Bayern were a significantly better side tonight and if it had not been for (goalkeeper Matus) Kozacik, the result would have been even crueler for us,” Plzen coach Pavel Vrba said. “Our ceiling was probably the qualification to the group stage which we handled well, but the difference between the top teams and average, or under average ones, is great and the gap is growing.” David Alaba made it 2-0 in the 37th, when he controlled Mario Mandzukic’s header on his chest, took it past a defender with his left thigh, and unleashed a shot past Kozacik with his right boot. [caption id=“attachment_1191079” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gotze did well as a second half substitute. AP[/caption] Such was the home side’s dominance that Ribery’s memorable second, when it came in the 61st, seemed inevitable. Robben and Mandzukic combined to set up the Frenchman, who eluded two defenders and then dinked the ball over the goalkeeper. Mario Gotze came on as a substitute and immediately set up Bastian Schweinsteiger for Bayern’s fourth in the 68th, and Robben picked him out with a deep cross to complete the rout in injury time. CSKA MOSCOW 1-2 MAN CITY Sergio Aguero scored twice in the first half as Manchester City came from a goal down to earn a 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow. Zoran Tosic put CSKA ahead in the 32nd minute after lobbing goalkeeper Joe Hart following a pass from Keisuke Honda, but the visitors were quick to equalize two minutes later. David Silva surged into the box before crossing for Aguero who guided the ball past Igor Akinfeev. Number Cruncher: Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic shatter Champions League records Man United impressive but wasteful in UCL win Majestic Ibrahimovic scores four as PSG rout Anderlecht Unstoppable Ronaldo scores two as Real beat Juventus Aguero put the visitors ahead, heading in Jesus Navas’ cross in the box in the 42nd minute. “It’s a very important victory. The team that wins today has a lot of chances to go to the next round,” Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. “It’s not the last match of the group, but now I think we have to play the next game at home to decide whether we can qualify for the next round, and that’s very important for us.” BENFICA 1-1 OLYMPIAKOS Oscar Cardozo equalized five minutes from full time as Benfica rallied late for a 1-1 home draw against Olympiakos. The result put the clubs level on four points in Group C, five points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain which routed Anderlecht 5-0. Alejandro Dominguez received a neat backheeled pass from Kostas Mitroglou on the left of the Benfica penalty area and wrongfooted his marker before coolly slotting the ball past Artur for a 29th-minute opening goal. The goal was a reward for the Greek champion’s slick play in Lisbon as the home team rarely got out of first gear in the first half. LEVERKUSEN 4 - 0 SHAKHTAR Stefan Kiessling scored twice as clinical Bayer Leverkusen defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 to leapfrog the Ukrainian side in Group A. Kiessling scored with his side’s first real chance in the 22nd minute, when he rose above his marker to meet Giulio Donati’s deep cross. The home side dominated possession but was unable to extend the lead with Kiessling missing another good chance in the 44th. Then Alex Teixeira had a great chance to equalize before the break, when Douglas Costa played him through, only for the Brazilian to hit the side-netting with just the goalkeeper to beat. Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu introduced the highly rated Brazilian playmaker Bernard for the second half, but his side suffered a setback when Kiessling was awarded a penalty after falling in a tussle with Darijo Srna. Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes duly scored from the spot in the 50th, and Son Heung-Min sprung the offside trap for Sidney Sam to effectively seal the result seven minutes later. GALATASARAY 3-1 FC COPENHAGEN Goals by Felipe Melo, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba gave Galatasaray a convincing 3-1 win over Copenhagen in Group B of the Champions League on Wednesday. Copenhagen’s Brazilian forward Claudemir scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute. The win allowed Galatasaray to climb into second place on four points in the group, five points behind leader Real Madrid. Juventus is third with two points after losing 2-1 to Madrid on Wednesday while Copenhagen is last with one point. Sneijder had Galatasaray’s first attempt in the sixth minute but his effort was saved by Johan Wiland. Three minutes later, however, Brazilian international Melo headed home a ball from Dany Nounkeu to put Galatasaray ahead. The home team continued pressing, and Sneijder doubled the lead in the 38th after a pass from Emmanuel Eboue. Eboue also helped fellow Ivory Coast international Drogba to add Galatasaray’s third in first-half stoppage time. AP