Barcelona labour to CL win, Ronaldo completes Man Utd fight back

Berlin, October 21 (BNA): Barcelona fans whistled during Wednesday’s Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev, but achieved a decisive victory while Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late goal to secure Manchester United’s victory over Atalanta.

After two consecutive defeats 3-0 to Bayern Munich and Benfica, Barcelona entered the third round at the bottom of Group E and badly needed a result.

Pique’s 36th-minute shot from a cross by fellow veteran defender Jordi Alba kept his last 16 hopes alive with a deserved 1-0 victory.

But coach Ronald Koeman’s beleaguered team worked all the time, even against a lethargic opposition, and El Clasico entered the weekend with Real Madrid in low spirits.

“This keeps us alive in the Champions League and everything is still possible thanks to this win, but we needed to finish the game better than we could,” Koeman said.

Bayern kept their perfect start even without coach Julian Nagelsmann, who was ill, with Leroy Sane’s brilliant 70th minute opener at Benfica. Everton’s own goal, Robert Lewandowski and Sane once again put a late and unfair end in the score.

Lewandowski and Thomas Muller canceled goals before the breakthrough, but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made a superb save to keep Darwin Nunez and Diogo Gonclaves away. Benfica remains in second place, five points behind Bayern.

United were at the bottom of Group F provisionally when Mario Pasalic and comfortable Demiral Atalanta gave the lead in the first half at Old Trafford but Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire leveled in the first half.

Atalanta was on the loose and Ronaldo rose to the heights to meet Luke Shaw’s cross and head home powerfully to score points in a thrilling 3-2 match and boost morale ahead of a big Premier League clash at the weekend with Liverpool.

United leads the group with six points, two points behind Atalanta and Villarreal, who beat Young Boys 4-1 in Bern.

Chelsea crushed defending champion Malmo 4-0 at Stamford Bridge with Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz and two penalties from Jorginho to finish second in Group H, led by Juventus, who won 1-0 at Zenit St Petersburg.

Red Bull Salzburg has seven points to top Group G after a 3-1 victory over bottom club Wolfsburg, who has two points. Seville is in second place, three behind Lille, after a goalless draw in France.