UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND UP

Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Benfica

Zlatan Ibrahimovic found his scoring touch again with two goals as Paris Saint-Germain eased to a 3-0 win against Benfica in their Champions League Group C encounter on Wednesday.
The imposing Swede had scored only twice in 10 games prior to the match. But he took only five minutes to tap-in from close range and headed home another as PSG tore Benfica's defense apart during a rampant first half in which Brazilian defender Marquinhos got the other goal.
This win was so comfortable that, toward the end of the first half, the home fans were already singing unpleasant songs about Marseille - the bitter rivals meet in a domestic match on Sunday - and coach Laurent Blanc was even able to experiment with his formation.
PSG remain unbeaten this season and have not lost at home in European competitions since November 2006.
 

   

 

Coach Laurent Blanc started with his favoured 4-3-3 system, with Ibrahimovic - captain in the absence of injured defender Thiago Silva - flanked by Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani.
Blaise Matuidi found space near the penalty area and his pass behind the Benfica defence allowed right back Gregory van der Wiel to run on and square the ball perfectly to give Ibrahimovic his 32nd goal overall in the Champions League.

 

 

 

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Real Sociedad
Bayer Leverkusen needed a last-gasp goal from substitute Jens Hegeler to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in the Champions League and record their first Group A win on Wednesday.
Hegeler sailed in a free-kick in stoppage time to earn the winner on his debut.
Leverkusen, who lost their opening game 4-2 at Manchester United, scored on the stroke of half-time with captain Simon Rolfes sliding in after seeing his powerful header saved.
The Spaniards, in the competition for the first time after a decade, levelled early in the second half with Mexican Carlos Vela scoring on the rebound after keeper Bernd Leno saved his 52nd-minute penalty.

Ahead: Simon Rolfes gave Leverkusen the lead in the first half at the BayArena

Familiar face: Former Arsenal forward Carlos Vela equalised for Sociedad after missing a penalty

The Germans, who won all home games in their previous two Champions League group stage appearances in 2004 and 2011, are on three points.
Sociedad, who lost their opener 2-0 against Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, are bottom.
With Germany coach Joachim Loew in the stands to watch Stefan Kiessling with his starting strikers Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez injured ahead of World Cup qualifiers this month, the hosts, third in the Bundesliga, enjoyed a strong start.
Kiessling and South Korea's Son Heung-min repeatedly tried to catch the slower Spaniards on the break as a hard-working Leverkusen defence quickly stifled any potential threat.

Hero: Jens Hegeler (right) scored the winner for Bayer Leverkusen deep into injury time

Rolfes almost grabbed a 20th-minute lead but keeper Claudio Bravo did well to palm his deflected shot wide. Chile's Bravo again came to the rescue three minutes later, stretching to turn a Sidney Sam effort wide as the Germans kept on the offensive.
It took more than half an hour for Real to balance the scales with Leverkusen's Leno twice denying their long-range efforts. The visitors came out fighting after the break, earning a 52nd-minute penalty when Vela was brought down.
The 24-year-old Mexican stepped up, saw his effort punched away by Leno but slid in to level with his team's first goal in the competition this season.
In a free-flowing final 30 minutes both teams went out in search of the winner but despite several chances on each side failed to score until Hegeler's strike at the death.




Anderlecht 0-3 Olympiacos
Striker Kostas Mitroglou scored a hat-trick to lead Olympiacos to a 3-0 victory over Anderlecht in Group C.
The Greek champions gave Anderlecht a lesson in ruthless efficiency as they pounced on the few chances they created, with Mitroglou scoring in the 17th, 56th and 72nd minute. 
Anderlecht pushed forward as much as they could in the first half and even won a penalty after the first setback. Yet Olympiacos' goalkeeper saved the shot from Aleksandar Mitrovic when the Belgian side could still have forced a way back into the game.

Such errors are punished at Champions League level and, as Anderlecht kept pushing forward, Mitroglou scored two more with fierce long-range shots following his scrambled opener. 
It gave Olympiacos their first victory in the group.



CSKA Moscow 3-2 Viktoria Plzen
Zoran Tosic scored one goal and made another to help CSKA Moscow come from behind to beat Viktoria Plzen 3-2.
Frantisek Rajtoral gave Plzen an early lead, but strikes by Tosic and Keisuke Honda put CSKA in front before an own goal by Plzen's Radim Reznik in the 78th minute put the match beyond the Czech side's reach. Marek Bakos added the visitors' second goal in stoppage time. 
'It was a must-win game for us after our scoreless series,' said CSKA coach Leonid Slutsky, whose side had opened with a 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich two weeks ago and has lost their last three Russian league games without scoring.

On target: Keisuke Honda (left) and Zoran Tosic (right) both scored in CSKA's win over Viktoria Plzen

'We conceded a quick goal because of tension after past losses. Viktoria had two more opportunities but we managed to come back and win. Yet, we still have to put the team back on track.'
Rajtoral put Plzen ahead after just four minutes, beating the diving Igor Akinfeev after the ball ricocheted off defender Sergei Ignashevich. 
The visitors could easily have extended their lead in the 14th minute when Akinfeev failed to collect a volley from the left and Daniel Kolar was allowed a header that flew wide of the right post. Two minutes later, Bakos beat Akinfeev in a one-on-one, but Pontus Wernbloom cleared the ball in front of an open goal. 
CSKA equalised with their first scoring chance, courtesy of Tosic, who hit the target with a low left-foot shot that took a slight deflection off Raytoral in the 19th minute.

It was CSKA's first goal in five matches. Keisuke Honda then put CSKA 2-1 up just 10 minutes later, beating Matus Kozacik in a one-on-one after collecting Tosic's pass. 
Ahmed Musa hit the right post of the visitors' goal in the 49th minute as the Russian champions continued to dominate the game. 
CSKA increased their lead when Reznik scored an own goal with a backpass to the keeper, who failed to stop the ball with his right foot. Bakos then headed home the Czech side's second goal in injury time. 
The match was originally due to be played at Arena Khimki in Moscow's suburbs, but heavy rain in the region in recent weeks ruined the pitch. UEFA representatives picked Petrovsky stadium in St. Petersburg as a replacement.