Geneva: Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic warmed up for their World Cup playoffs meeting with high-scoring displays for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Ronaldo's two goals lifted Madrid to a 2-1 home victory over Juventus in the marquee match-up of the day, although the Portugal star was topped by Sweden's talismanic forward. Ibrahimovic struck four goals - including an unstoppable long-range strike - as PSG outclassed Anderlecht 5-0 in Brussels.
"Score a goal like this, it is good for the memory," Ibrahimovic said of his third goal, which was applauded by the 25,000 Anderlecht fans. He returned the applause to each corner in turn. "It was a big honour for me."
Defending champion Bayern Munich routed Viktoria Plzen 5-0, with Franck Ribery scoring twice, and Bayer Leverkusen won 4-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk. Madrid, PSG and Bayern all lead their groups with three straight wins, and Manchester United heads Leverkusen by a point after edging Real Sociedad 1-0.
Manchester City also won, 2-1 at CSKA Moscow, though the main talking point was racist abuse targeted by Russian fans at City's black players and reported by City's Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure. The incident happened during a week-long UEFA campaign to highlight their fight against racism and CSKA face a partial stadium closure for a future home match.
Galatasaray beat Copenhagen 3-1, with Wesley Sneijder and Dider Drogba adding to Wednesday's star-studded list of scorers, while Benfica levelled late in a 1-1 draw with Olympiakos.
Three weeks ahead of their scheduled first-leg clash in the Portugal vs Sweden playoff, Ronaldo now leads Ibrahimovic 7-6 atop the Champions League scoring table after just three matches.
Ronaldo took only four minutes to strike against Juventus, rounding goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to score from a tight angle after taking a clever reverse pass from Angel Di Maria. Juventus were level in the 22nd when Spanish forward Fernando Llorente pounced on a loose ball after Iker Casillas dived low to push out Paul Pogba's far-post header.
Ronaldo got the winning goal in the 29th from the penalty spot after Giorgio Chiellini wrestled Sergi Ramos to the ground as a free-kick cross came in. Chiellini was red-carded in the 48th when he raced alongside Ronaldo and caught the Madrid forward's face with a raised arm.
Ibrahimovic fell one goal short of Lionel Messi's Champions League record of five in a match, yet was no less memorable. A 17th minute tap-in was followed by a nonchalant back-heel in the 22nd, a long-range screamer in the 36th and a dipping volley in the 62nd. The French champion's fourth was scored by Uruguay star Edinson Cavani who, not for the first time this season, were somewhat left in the shadows.
Bayern outgunned Plzen, as expected, with 35 efforts on goal to none by the Czech champion. "We played well but Plzen didn't make it hard," Bayern winger Arjen Robben said.
Ribery opened the scoring from the penalty spot, David Alaba made it 2-0 at the break, and a second-half stroll was completed by Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and substitute Mario Goetze.
Man City were frustrated soon after arriving in Moscow by the poor condition of the green-painted pitch, and left angered by home fans' treatment of its black players. "For me as an African player, it is always sad to hear something like that and we need to do something about it," said Toure, who said he informed referee Ovidiu Hategan of the abuse during the match.
Sergio Aguero eased the visitors' mood with two goals in the first half, carrying City clear of CSKA into second place behind Bayern.
Manchester United took just 69 seconds to score against Sociedad, when Inigo Martinez clumsily booted the ball into his own net after a shot by Wayne Rooney came back off the post. United created ample chances to extend their lead, though the Spanish visitors struck the frame of David De Gea's goal in both halves.
Stefan Kiessling scored two valid goals for Leverkusen in his first game since being credited with an infamous 'ghost goal' through the side netting in a Bundesliga match. Simon Rolfes, with a penalty early in the second half, and Sidney Sam also scored.
After Olympiakos led Benfica in the 29th from Alejandro Dominguez's goal, a heavy rainstorm made the pitch almost unplayable in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon which hosts the final next May. Oscar Cardozo equalised in the 83rd in a goalmouth scramble.
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