Champions League: Cristiano Ronaldo earns late winner for Manchester United
The UEFA Champions League brought more group-stage heat in the second of back-to-back days with matches.
After Lionel Messi headlined the action Tuesday in Paris St. Germain's win against Manchester City, the stage was set for another Wednesday of big matchups.
Naturally, Messi's rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, made headlines — and history — just by stepping on the pitch and making his 178th appearance in the competition, good for the most all time.
And he didn't stop there, scoring in the waning moments of the game to give Manchester United a massive victory.
Here are all of the biggest moments from the contests Wednesday:
Manchester United 2, Villarreal 1
Man United keeper David de Gea stood on his head to keep Villarreal at bay in the first half, but the visitors eventually broke through to take a 1-0 lead in the second half.
Arnaut Danjuma one-timed an incoming pass to put the ball on a platter for the outstretched Paco Alcacer to pop in with his boot in the 53rd minute.
Man U found an answer a few minutes later, though, off a picturesque volley from Alex Telles off a set piece.
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Both sides prodded to try to get a winner as the game wore on, but it seemed those efforts would be in vain as the game entered the final minute of stoppage time with the score 1-1.
Then Ronaldo did Ronaldo things, taking a half-chance and depositing it into the back of the net for a critical win.
With the full complement of points instead of just the one they would've gained from a draw, United are right in the thick of the Group F race.
Despite a hefty portion of possession in the first half (64% to 36%), Chelsea were probably feeling pretty fortunate that the score remained 0-0 as the teams went in for the break.
If not for a few miscues from Juventus, the Blues likely would have been staring at a halftime deficit.
Chelsea apparently failed to heed those warning signs during the reprieve, conceding seconds into the second half off a left-footed rocket from Federico Chiesa.
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That lead was enough for Juventus to see out the game with a suffocating defense that left Chelsea with plenty of possession but little else.
With the win, the Italian club moved three points clear atop Group H.
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It was all bad for Barcelona fewer than three minutes into their game against Benfica, when Darwin Nuñez exploited the space behind the defense and scored with a low shot.
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Benfica piled on in the second half, too, doubling their lead in the 69th minute.
It didn't get much better for the Spanish giants as the end of the game approached. In the 79th minute, Barcelona went down 3-0.
That score held until the final whistle, leaving Barca winless (and goalless) in their first two Champions League matches of the season.
Bayern Munich 5, Dynamo Kyiv 0
Robert Lewandowski has a nose for goal you can set your watch to. He put Bayern Munich ahead against Dynamo Kyiv in the 12th minute with a penalty and doubled the lead following a Bayern break on a turnover in the 27th.
In nine matches for Bayern this season, he has an eye-popping 13 goals in all competitions.
Clockwork, indeed.
It was smooth sailing for the German giants the rest of the way. Serge Gnabry added a third in the 68th minute, as did Leroy Sané — intentional or not — in the 74th.
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Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting tacked on the fifth in the 87th minute, and Bayern remained perfect through two Group E games.
A pair of penalties on either side of the halfway mark proved to be the difference for RB Salzburg. Karim Adeyemi was the man on the spot for Salzburg to convert both sides.
Counting those two penalties, RB Salzburg have had five penalties awarded in two matches so far.
Over in Group G, Wolfsburg and Sevilla settled for a 1-1 draw, with both sides scoring in the second half. After Wolfsburg went down to 10 men, Sevilla won a late penalty to rescue a point.
Young Boys put up a fight for more than an hour, but Atalanta finally broke them down in the 68th minute with a goal from Matteo Pessina.
In the end, Atalanta had 13 total attempts to Young Boys' four and held a 63% to 37% advantage in possession.
Zenit ended their eight-match run without a win in the Champions League with a dominant effort against Malmö. The hosts scored two goals in the first half, then added two more late in the second after Malmö had a player sent off in the 53rd minute.
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