Juve triumph on sombre night

12 April 2012

Juventus moved to the top of Champions League Group H after a fine win against Real Madrid, but the match was overshadowed by events off the field.

A traffic accident in the Italian Alps earlier in the day claimed the lives of two Juventus fans and injured over 20 more, but the match went ahead as planned after both sets of players observed a minute's silence prior to kick-off.

Juventus captain Alessandro del Piero put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute before Amauri doubled the lead shortly after the restart. Ruud van Nistelrooy reduced the deficit in the 66th minute but despite the Spaniards' desperate attempts, the Italians held on for victory.

Zenit St Petersburg got their first point in Group H as they drew 1-1 at home to BATE Borisov in a thrilling encounter.

BATE took the lead against the run of play in the 52nd minute when substitute Pavel Nekhaychik fired home but Zenit levelled 11 minutes from time through Fatih Tekke.

In Group F Karim Benzema and Fred grabbed braces as Lyon twice came from behind to emerge victorious in an eight-goal thriller against Steaua Bucharest.

Steaua capitalised on some desperate defending to go 2-0 then 3-2 in front before the break but the French side came back to edge the match 5-3. The win sees Lyon go clear in second place in the group, which is headed by Bayern Munich, who saw off Fiorentina 3-0.

Miroslav Klose got Bayern off to the perfect start as he fired them into the lead in the fourth minute and Bastian Schweinsteiger doubled the hosts' advantage in the 25th minute. Ze Roberto added a stunning third right at the death.

Half-time substitute Joseba Llorente bagged a hat-trick as Villarreal survived a real scare before defeating Aalborg 6-3 in Group.

Meanwhile, both Manchester United and Arsenal came out on top against Celtic and Fenerbahce respectively. United managed a 3-0 victory over Gordon Strachan's side, while the Gunners ran out 5-2 winners.

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