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Champions League: MU beat Benfica
Louis Saha scored in the 60th minute to give Manchester United a 1-0 victory over host Benfica in a Champions League Group F match on Tuesday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:37 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Lisbon:
Louis Saha scored in the 60th minute to give Manchester United a 1-0 victory over host Benfica in a Champions League Group F match on Tuesday. Saha evaded two Benfica defenders to net Man United's only goal from the right corner of the box. The win gave United six points from two games and was revenge for last year's 2-1 defeat against Benfica that knocked it out of Europe. Benfica has one point from a 0-0 draw against Copenhagen. Striker Wayne Rooney tried for a second goal in the 65th as he ran loose among Benfica's defenders. Goalkeeper Quim Silva saved his curled right-footed shot. The Red Devils did little to deserve their victory with a lackluster performance. In the first half Manchester had pressed as Benfica locked its defense. Neither team had real attacking edge and Rooney failed to make an impression. A shot by Paulo Jorge at the 7th came close to United goalkeeper Edwin van de Sar's goal. In the 12th, United's Cristiano Ronaldo - jeered by the crowd as he stepped onto the pitch and every time he touched the ball - shot a dangerous right-foot kick from 30 metres (yards) which Quim Silva struggled to stop. Louis Saha failed to collect the rebound. Ronaldo, a former player for Benfica's crosstown rivals Sporting, was banned for one game after gesturing to Benfica fans the last time United played the Lisbon Reds in January. Benfica squandered a chance in the 26th when Nemanja Vidic gave away the ball, allowing Paulo Jorge to pass to Nuno Gomes whose powerful shot went wide. Konstantinos Katsouranis netted for Benfica in the 41st. The goal was disallowed as the match had been interrupted following a spat between Ronaldo and Cleber Anderson. Pedro Mantorras had a late strike in the 81st for Benfica while Quim Silva saved a free kick from United's Gabriel Heinze. "We played well and Manchester scored at their first real shot at our goal,'' Benfica coach Fernando Santos said. "After that the players gave their all but played more with their hearts than with their minds. Now we need to win our other matches.'' Benfica striker Simao Sabrosa said his team were unlucky. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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