Soccer Extreme : Real Madrid passed an early test of its Champions League credentials under Jose Mourinho by defeating AC Milan, while Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern Munich also got their third successive victories Tuesday to close in on the knockout stage.Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a free kick then set up Mesut Oezil's goal inside 15 minutes as nine-time winner Madrid asserted its authority in Group G over seven-time champion Milan in a showdown of the European Cup's two most successful clubs.
Arsenal celebrated the night's biggest win by routing Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 and Premier League rival Chelsea beat Spartak Moscow 2-0.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was pleased to play an hour in the 5-1
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was pleased to play an hour in the 5-1 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday
Bayern Munich, which lost last season's final, found it tougher against Cluj, coming from behind to win 3-2 in Group E, which also saw AS Roma stunned 3-1 at home by Basel.
Another convincing win for Madrid has heightened expectations at Santiago Bernabeu that Mourinho, who led Inter to the Champions League title in May, can not only take his new team beyond the last 16 for the first time since 2004 — but deliver its 10th victory in the competition — nine years after the last.
Madrid blitzed Milan's goal with 22 shots — but the goals came early, starting in the 13th minute with Ronaldo's free kick flying through a gap in the defensive wall.
Within a minute, the Portugal forward darted into the area before feeding the ball back to Oezil, whose shot came off Daniele Bonera's head to loop over goalkeeper Marco Amelia.
At the midway point in Group G, Madrid has a five-point lead over Milan and Ajax, which earned its first victory against Auxerre.
In Group F, Chelsea had to return to the scene of its defeat in the 2008 final, but left Moscow with far happier memories after securing the victory with goals in the first half from Yuri Zhirkov and Nicolas Anelka.
Yuri Zhirkov smashed in a spectacular volley from 25 yards and Anelka turned a defender and slotted neatly into the corner.
Chelsea has a three-point lead over Spartak and is a further three ahead of Marseille, which edged Zilina 1-0 in the other group match. Souleymane Diawara headed in Lucho Gonzalez's corner at the start of the second half.
It was a far less even contest in north London, where Alex Song fired Arsenal ahead in the 19th following an error by goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
Captain Cesc Fabregas marked his return from more than a month out with a hamstring injured with a goal from the penalty spot, while Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere and Marouane Chamakh also netted for Arsenal.
"Let's not deduce too much, we have shown good quality but it is just the start, let's continue to improve," manager Arsene Wenger said. "The team has good potential."
Their next nearest challenger is third-placed Braga, which picked up its first points with a 2-0 win over Partizan Belgrade. (daytondailynews)
AS Roma 1 - 3 Basel
Bayern Munich 3 - 2 CFR Cluj
Spartak Moscow 0 - 2 Chelsea
Marseille 1 - 0 Zilina
Ajax Amsterdam 2 - 1 Auxerre
Real Madrid 2 - 0 AC Milan
Arsenal 5 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Braga 2 - 0 Partizan Belgrade