Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne saw Manchester City home against Sevilla in dramatic style in Wednesday’s Champions League action as Paris Saint-Germain held 10-time titleholders Real Madrid to a goalless draw.
De Bruyne’s injury time contribution earned City a 2-1 home win against Spain’s Europa League champions to improve their chances of escaping from Group D and into the last 16.
An open affair at the Etihad Stadium was heading for a draw after Adil Rami’s own goal canceled out Yevhen Konoplyanka’s 30th-minute opener for Sevilla, only for De Bruyne to gather a pass from Yaya Toure and slam home with his left foot seconds into stoppage time.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men moved up to second, one point behind Juventus, the Serie A giants held to a 0-0 stalemate by Borussia Moenchengladbach in Turin.
Manchester United, who host City in the Premier League on Sunday, faced a tricky assignment away to CSKA Moscow, their French starlet Anthony Martial firmly leaving his imprint on the encounter.
The 19-year-old was called for handball, which led to CSKA taking the lead on 15 minutes, Seydou Doumbia slamming in the rebound after United keeper David de Gea had parried Roman Eremenko’s penalty onto the post.
However, the French teenager atoned for his mistake with a fine header after the hour for his first goal in the competition and fifth since his high-profile move from Monaco in August.
Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg top the pool on six points after defeating PSV Eindhoven 2-0, with United and CSKA on four and the Dutch champions bringing up the rear on three.
Ronaldo, the Brazilian 2002 World Cup winner, was in the stands at Parc des Princes to watch the headline tie between PSG and Real.
However, despite both clubs deploying their all-time top scorers, the game ended goalless, Real legend Cristiano Ronaldo coming as close as anyone to breaking the deadlock in the French capital with a second-half volley that whistled wide.
Both sides remain unbeaten this season and are yet to concede after three games as they sit locked together on seven points at the top of Group A.
Malmo won 1-0 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, but Paris and Madrid are each four points clear of the Swedes and will have an opportunity to clinch qualification for the last 16 when they meet again in Spain in two weeks.
In Group C, Diego Simeone’s runners-up last year Atletico Madrid eased past Astana 4-0 to get their European campaign back on track after a shock defeat to Benfica last time out.
Galatasaray’s 2-1 win over Benfica in the other game in the group means Atletico draw level with Benfica at the top on six points, two points clear of the Turkish champions.
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An amateur soccer league organized by farmers, students and factory workers in rural China has unexpectedly drawn millions of fans and inspired big cities to form their own, raising hopes China can grow talent from the ground up and finally become a global force. The nation of 1.4 billion people has about 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, but it has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of prescreened candidates. The professional game is marred by a history of fixed matches, corruption, and dismal performances,
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