Obri
02-20-2003, 06:12 AM
Real Back from the Brink While United Forgets Spat
By Mike Collett
LONDON (Reuters) - Defending champion Real Madrid stepped back from the brink of almost certain elimination from the Champions League when it came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 for its first win in the second phase of the competition Wednesday.
Manchester United forgot about Saturday's over-hyped spat between manager Alex Ferguson and England star David Beckham to beat Juventus 2-1 at Old Trafford in Group D and virtually seal its place in the quarterfinals.
Group C leader AC Milan also looks safe on nine points after a 1-0 home win over Lokomotiv Moscow while Basel is still in contention in Group D after a surprise 1-0 home win over Deportivo Coruna.
It was not so straightforward for Real, however. With just a point from their two opening Group C games, the nine-time winners were facing another, possibly decisive, defeat after tall Czech striker Jan Koller scored to put Dortmund ahead after 30 minutes.
But Raul equalized just before halftime and Ronaldo, with his first Champions League goal for the club in the 56th minute, enabled Real to move on to four points from three games and go second in the group behind AC Milan.
The Italians won for the third successive match, beating Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 at the San Siro with Jon Dahl Tomasson scoring the only goal after 62 minutes.
Milan tops the group with nine, Real is second on four, followed by Borussia (three) and Lokomotiv (one).
By Mike Collett
LONDON (Reuters) - Defending champion Real Madrid stepped back from the brink of almost certain elimination from the Champions League when it came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 for its first win in the second phase of the competition Wednesday.
Manchester United forgot about Saturday's over-hyped spat between manager Alex Ferguson and England star David Beckham to beat Juventus 2-1 at Old Trafford in Group D and virtually seal its place in the quarterfinals.
Group C leader AC Milan also looks safe on nine points after a 1-0 home win over Lokomotiv Moscow while Basel is still in contention in Group D after a surprise 1-0 home win over Deportivo Coruna.
It was not so straightforward for Real, however. With just a point from their two opening Group C games, the nine-time winners were facing another, possibly decisive, defeat after tall Czech striker Jan Koller scored to put Dortmund ahead after 30 minutes.
But Raul equalized just before halftime and Ronaldo, with his first Champions League goal for the club in the 56th minute, enabled Real to move on to four points from three games and go second in the group behind AC Milan.
The Italians won for the third successive match, beating Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 at the San Siro with Jon Dahl Tomasson scoring the only goal after 62 minutes.
Milan tops the group with nine, Real is second on four, followed by Borussia (three) and Lokomotiv (one).