Tuesday's Uefa Champions League Developments

Four matches were played in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday, with last season’s beaten finalists Manchester United stumbling, while Real Madrid firmed up with a fine performance.

Group A

Bayern Munich 2 (Gomez 38’, 45’) def Manchester City 0

The Germans confirmed they are the team to beat in Group A with a fine win over the Sky Blues, who had their own issues with Carlos Tevez reportedly refusing to play as a substitute.

Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes said: “The whole team played completely flawlessly in the second half, and Franck Ribéry and Bastian Schweinsteiger were simply world class tonight. At the beginning we were very nervous, but the players recovered the situation during the first half. We played against an outstanding team, but we dominated them in the second half. Altogether, it was a very cohesive performance by the team.”

Napoli 2 (Hamsik 14’, Cavani 17’ pen) def Villarreal 0

The struggling Spanish outfit had another disappointing result, going down meekly in Italy against Napoli.

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido said: “Their two goals came from mistakes and in a demanding match like this that’s a deciding factor. We can be proud of the rest of the match because we fought all the time. The fact that we conceded two goals in three minutes can’t be used to rate the team’s performance. Before their first goal, we were attacking and looking for an away win.”

Group B

Trabzonspor 1 (Colman 75’ pen) drew with Lille (Sow 30’)

The Turkish runners-up contained their bright start to this season’s edition with a home draw against French champions Lille, who knew a defeat here would put Trabzonspor in a strong position.

Trabzonspor boss Senol Gunes said: “I don’t know if the result should make us happy or upset. After the Inter victory, it would have given us a huge advantage if we had won again”.

Lille coach Rudi Garcia dded: “We lost two points and it’s a pity because this was probably a key game.”

CSKA Moscow 2 (Dzagoev 45’, Vagner Love 77’) def by Internazionale 3 (Lucio 6’, Pazzini 23’, Zarate 79’)

Inter got back on track after a hard-fought 3-2 win in Russia, with Mauro Zarate the hero after the Italian had blown a two-goal lead.

New Inter boss Claudio Ranieri said: “It’s a good sign, it’s exactly what I want from my players right now − pride and determination to show that this team is not finished. I’m sure, with a bit of luck, that we can have a say both in Italy and in Europe.”

Group C

Manchester United 3 (Welbeck 16’, 17’, Young 90’) drew with FC Basel 3 (Fabian Frei 58’, Alexander Frei 60’, 76’ pen)

Last season’s beaten finalists dropped crucial points in this fixture but it could’ve been worse after letting a two-goal lead slip with the Swiss side scoring three second-half goals in 20 minutes. Basel are flying so far.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: “We were careless tonight. They made two or three openings in the first half and carelessness meant we threw the game away. We were battling at the end and we rescued it, but we were too careless before that. I said at half time that we needed to finish the game off after doing so well, but losing three goals at home is a wake-up call in many ways.”

Otelul Galati 0 def by Benfica 1 (Bruno Cesar 40’)

Bruno Cesar’s fine finish five minutes before the break was all that was required for the Portuguese runners-up to clinch victory in Romania, as Otelul’s campaign continues to stutter.

Benfica boss Jorge Jesus said: “We controlled the match. We played a great first half with a lot of possession and without Oţelul creating any great danger. We weren’t as good in the second half, but still they only created a dangerous chance in the final minute. Our goal was to secure victory and three points and we did that.”

Group D

Real Madrid 3 (Ronaldo 25’, Kaka 41’, Benzema 49’) def Ajax Amsterdam 0

Real manager Jose Mourinho may have been serving the final game of his touchline ban, but the Spanish club cruised past Dutch champions Ajax with Cristiano Ronaldo getting the opener before Kaka shone with a goal and an assist.

Ajax coach Frank de Boer said: “We saw a lesson in counterattacking football tonight. We controlled the game well, but we had set a target to play on the counterattack. I had already warned my team that Madrid were dangerous on the break and you have to be smarter than we were for the second goal.”

Olympique Lyon 2 (Gomis 23’, Kone 42’) def Dinamo Zagreb 0

Bafetimbi Gomis produced a sublime chip, while Bakari Kone scored from close range as the French club got on the track to another Round of 16 performance with a home win over the Croatian champions who are struggling.

Lyon coach Remi Garde said: “We took a good step towards [the win] in the first half. Hats off to the players. They are in a run of tough games and are delivering convincing results. I’m happy. We took the three points and didn’t concede a goal.”