Champions League - Resurgent Juve down Real

Juventus held on to complete a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at Stadio Olimpico and move to the top of Champions League Group H.

A fifth minute wonder strike from captain Alessandro Del Piero gave the Bianconeri the lead and Carvalho Amauri added a second-half header.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy met a Gabriel Heinze cross to reduce the deficit in the 66th minute but Claudio Ranieri's well-organised defence held firm to leapfrog the Spanish champions in the table.

A traffic accident in the Italian Alps earlier in the day claimed the lives of two Juventus fans and injured over 20 more, but the match went ahead as planned after both sets of players observed a minute of silence prior to kick-off.

The game moved at a frantic and relentless pace thanks in part to referee Wolfgang Stark's determination to abstain from interrupting the play, with only one card brandished.

Del Piero broke the deadlock in emphatic style, exchanging crisp passes with Amauri 20 yards out, then unleashing a thunderous shot which comprehensively beat Iker Casillas.

Ranieri was dealt another blow to his ever-diminishing squad when Claudio Marchisio collided heavily with team-mate Mohamed Sissoko and was stretchered off before half-time, but it did not halt their progess.

Bernd Schuster's side were restricted to speculative strikes, of which Rafael van der Vaart was the most prolific, employing a shoot-on-sight principle which rarely tested Alex Manninger in the Juventus goal.

That was until Van Nistelrooy latched onto Heinze's delivery from the left wing to reduce the Merengues' arrears, but it was a solitary blip for Ranieri's men who clinically closed-out the game to move to the top of Group H.

Zenit St Petersburg 1-1 BATE Borisov

Fatih Tekke's late strike salvaged a 1-1 draw for Zenit St Petersburg against BATE Borisov in the other game in Group H.

The Turkish international blasted home on 79 minutes to break stubborn BATE resistance in Russia and deny the Belarusians an unlikely victory after Pavel Nekhaychik had put them ahead against the run of play early in the second half.

Zenit had the better of a pulsating first half, in which both sides adopted a refreshingly cavalier approach and threw numbers forward at every opportunity.

Andrei Arshavin and Danny were a constant threat, gliding forward at will and linking play superbly to fully justify their reputations as two of the premier talents in the world game.

It was Arshavin who orchestrated the game's first genuine opening on 11 minutes, chipping a deft ball to Tekke at the far post. The Turkish striker met the cross with a firm header, but could only hit the outside of the post.

Arshavin then threatened to score direct from a corner, but Aleksandr Volodko was in the right place to save goalkeeper Sergei Veremko's embarrassment.

While Zenit dominated possession, BATE looked dangerous on the break and came close to an unlikely lead on 20 minutes. Ivica Krizanac was caught in position and Vitali Rodionov cut inside before unleashing a fierce shot that hit the post.

The woodwork was not safe. On 29 minutes Zenit broke with Arshavin on the right and when the Russian international found Danny just inside the box he crashed a rising drive against the crossbar.

Somehow, half-time came with the game goalless, but it was surely only a matter of time.

Five minutes into the second half Arshavin's brilliance saw him snake inside the BATE box and send a low shot goalwards, beyond the despairing reach of Veremko, only to see his team-mate Tekke provide an unwitting clearance and deny Zenit once again.

The home side could not believe their luck, but their disappointment was compounded moments later when substitute Nekhaychik nipped in front of the Zenit defence to slot calmly past Vyacheslav Malafeev and give BATE an undeserved lead. Goals do not come any further against the run of play.

The goal prompted even greater urgency from Zenit in attack. On 64 minutes, Roman Shirokov was first to react to a loose ball on the edge of the box, but Veremko was equal to his powerful drive.

A better chance followed 10 minutes later, when substitute Pavel Pogrebnyak found himself unmarked five yards - only to steer his header straight at Veremko.

Zenit were getting closer, and on 80 minutes finally got the goal their dominance deserved when Tekke beat the offside trap to fire a wonderful left-foot volley into the roof of the net with Veremko stranded.

Suddenly the home side sensed a dramatic turnaround, but time was not on their side and they had to settle for point as BATE held out for the remaining 10 minutes.
Will Tidey / Dan Quarrell / Eurosport (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/champions-league/)