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Ronaldo stuns again

Cristiano Ronaldo hit a stoppage-time stunner that clinched a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon and ensured his side will finish top of Champions League Group F.

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Portuguese player’s injury time goal against Sporting Lisbon sees Manchester United top the table

MANCHESTER: Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo hit a stoppage-time stunner that clinched a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday and ensured his side will finish top of Champions League Group F.

United trailed after Tomasz Kuszczak misjudged Abel’s long range strike but Carlos Tevez came off the bench to equalise and Ronaldo stole the points at Old Trafford with a superb free-kick.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s under-strength team rarely hit peak form against a determined Sporting team, but they can now afford to take it easy in their final match at Roma on December 12.

The United boss had made it clear he wanted to win the group so they would face one of the runners-up in the first knockout round and avoid the likes of AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid. So it was mission accomplished for Ferguson, who is certain to leave several of his key players at home when United travel to the Italian capital to keep them fresh for the crunch domestic clash at Liverpool four days later.

Ronaldo’s winner eliminated his former club from the race to qualify alongside United. He had scored the decisive goal in Lisbon earlier this season as well and Sporting, who go into the UEFA Cup, will be sick of the sight of the Portugal winger.

Ferguson admitted Ronaldo’s work on the training ground had paid off. “It was a marvellous strike. He’s done it before and he works very hard at it,” Ferguson said. “He always wants to do well against his old club. He owes a lot to Sporting because he was brought up by them and I think he respects that. Now he’s maturing he’s doing the sort of things that win matches.”

Porto boss Paulo Bento insisted the turning point was Liedson’s disallowed goal soon after Abel’s opener. “Ronaldo had a great influence because he is one of their greatest player,” he said. “But we scored two goals and unfortunately only one was valid. The second was not accepted by the referee.”

Barca, Inter in next round

Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, AS Roma and Sevilla all advanced to the second round of the Champions League.

Inter, Sevilla and Roma advanced with wins, while a point against Lyon was enough for Barcelona.

Arsenal lost for the first time this season when it fell 3-1 at Sevilla.

Juninho scored two goals, including a 79th minute penalty, to help French champion Lyon get the 2-2 draw against Barcelona. Andres Iniesta gave the 2006 champions the lead in the third minute, taking a cross from Bojan Krkic, but Juninho levelled for Lyon in the seventh with a free kick. Lionel Messi then put Barcelona back in front with a 58th minute penalty kick.

Lyon and Rangers will fight to join Barcelona from Group E after the Scottish club lost to Stuttgart 3-2.

Stuttgart earned its first points of the group stage, with Ciprian Marica scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute, flicking in a cross from Ludovic Magnin.

Charles Adam, who had come on for the injured Lee McCulloch only a minute earlier, scored in the 27th after a corner by DaMarcus Beasley was headed down by Carlos Cuellar.

Stuttgart levelled in first half injury time through Cacau, and Pavel Pardo put the hosts ahead in the 62nd. Eight minutes later, Rangers captain Barry Ferguson capitalised on a defensive error to make it 2-2.

Inter Milan beat Fenerbahce 3-0 off goals from Julio Ricardo Cruz, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Luis Jimenez and clinched first place in Group G.

Cruz directed the ball into the net in the 56th minute after Maxwell’s cross ricocheted off a Fenerbahce defender. Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 in the 66th, and Jimenez added the third in the 90th.

Fenerbahce must now wait until its final match against CSKA Moscow to see if it can advance to the second round for the first time.

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