Brave Lille hold Milan to goalless draw

Real Madrid reignited their Champions League campaign with an authoritative 5-1 Group E drubbing of a ragged Dynamo Kiev at the Bernabeu yesterday.

First-half goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul and Jose Antonio Reyes put Real firmly in the driving seat at the break as the visitors struggled to find their rhythm.

Although Dynamo pulled one back through striker Artem Milevsky at the start of the second half, Raul made it 4-1 with his 53rd Champions League goal just after the hour.

Things went from bad to worse for the Ukrainians nine minutes later when Van Nistelrooy notched his second from the penalty spot after he was brought down by keeper Olexander Shovkovsky, who received a red card for his troubles.

Real, who lost 2-0 to Olympique Lyon in their opening match two weeks ago, had several chances to extend their lead but reserve keeper Olexander Rybka managed to keep them at bay with some fine saves.

In the other Group E match, goals from Fred, Tiago and substitute Benzema gave Olympique Lyon an impressive 3-0 away win over Steaua Bucharest.

The win maintained France's five-times-in-a-row champions on top of the group with six points but rocked Steaua, whose hopes rose after their 4-1 first round away win over Dynamo Kiev.

Lyon opened the scoring when Steaua goalkeeper Carlos Fernandez dropped an easy catch to leave Fred with a simple task in front of goal two minutes from the break.

Tiago rose above Steaua's defence to score a powerful header from a Juninho corner 10 minutes into the second half and substitute Karim Benzema got the third in the last minute after a Juninho backheel.

The other French team in action yesterday, Lille, fought bravely to hold Italian giants Milan to a 0-0 draw in Group H match.

Lille, who had started their campaign with a 1-1 draw at Anderlecht, needed great saves from Senegal striker Tony Sylva and a bit of luck to share the points. The northerners resisted throughout the first half but were made to struggle as the visitors created some great chances through Kaka and Alberto Gilardino just before the break.

Milan, who had previously beaten AEK Athens 3-0, hit the back of the net through Clarence Seedorf on 50 minutes but the Dutch midfielder's effort was ruled offside. Television replays suggested it was a harsh decision.

Captain Thierry Henry scored one goal and set up the other as Arsenal swept to a 2-0 win over Porto.

Arsenal had a Kolo Toure effort disallowed soon after kickoff but there were no doubts in the 38th minute when Henry headed home a perfect cross from right back Emmanuel Eboue.

Henry then turned provider three minutes after the restart, collecting the ball following a fine run by defender William Gallas and feeding it wide for Belarus midfielder Alexandr Hleb to rifle home.

Losing finalists last season, Arsenal lead the group with six points from two games, while CSKA Moscow have four after their 1-0 win over Hamburg earlier yesterday.

Saha winner

French striker Louis Saha scored a spectacular winner to give Manchester United a 1-0 revenge victory over Benfica in Group F.

Victory gave United a maximum six points from two matches and made up for a 2-1 defeat by Benfica at the Luz stadium last season which knocked Alex Ferguson's men out of the competition.

Both sides had a clearcut chance in the first half, with Saha failing to snap up the rebound after a shot by Cristiano Ronaldo was parried by Benfica goal keeeper Quimm.

Benfica striker Nuno Gomes collected a neat pass from Paulo Jorge and with only goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar to beat, saw his shot shave the right post.

Saha clinched the win with a booming shot on the break from the edge of the area.

Celtic edged out FC Copenhagen 1-0 with a first-half Kenny Miller penalty.

He slammed a low spot kick beyond keeper Jesper Christiansen after 36 minutes after Shunsuke Nakamura had been brought down by Michael Gravgaard.