By IANS
London : Rangers, Arsenal and Manchester United were all victorious on a great night for the British clubs in the second round of group stage games of the UEFA Champions League.
It was Scotland’s Glasgow Rangers who stole the show Tuesday with an impressive 3-0 win in Lyon. Walter Smith’s men had few problems seeing off the French champions in the Group E clash thanks to goals from Lee McCulloch, Daniel Cousin and DaMarcus Beasley.
Wayne Rooney’s first goal of the season earned Manchester United all three points at Old Trafford against AS Roma to keep them top of Group F. The England striker scored with 20 minutes remaining as United failed to live up to last season’s display against the Italians in which they plundered seven goals on an unforgettable night.
Certainly Rooney will be looking back on the night’s events with satisfaction as he finished neatly from Nani’s lay-off to seal victory.
Arsenal completed a tremendous evening for the British teams but they had to battle for their away win in Group H against Steaua Bucharest. Robin van Persie proved the match-winner as he struck late in the game to give the Premiership side a deserved victory.
Elsewhere in Group H, Sevilla recorded their first win in the competition with a crushing 4-2 victory over Slavia Prague. Goals from Fredi Kanoute, Luis Fabiano, Julien Escude and Arouna Kone secured the victory for last season’s UEFA Cup winners.
Slavia responded through Daniel Pudil and David Kalivoda, but the Czech outfit were never truly in the contest against an impressive Sevilla side.
Barcelona continued their 100 percent record in this season’s tournament with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Stuttgart. Goals from Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi handed the Catalan giants the win to add to their earlier victory over Lyon, setting up a fascinating tussle with Rangers at the top of Group E in three weeks.
Sporting Lisbon, undone by Ronaldo in the first tie in Group F, got back to winning ways with a 2-1 triumph at Dynamo Kiev.
In Group G, Inter Milan went top thanks to the efforts of Zlatan Ibrahimovic who had few problems seeing off PSV Eindhoven. The giant striker earned a debatable penalty which he converted himself on 15 minutes then added a second later in the first period.
The Italian champions had Cristian Chivu sent off for two bookings midway through the second half but still cruised to a 2-0 victory.
CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce shared the spoils thanks to a late goal from the Turkish champions. Two quick-fire efforts early in the second half looked to have given the Russian side all three points but a late long-distance strike by Deivid earned the visitors a 2-2 draw.