Champions League: Barcelona cruise by BATE; Zenit see off Lyon

By foxsports
Published

BORISOV, Belarus (AP) -- Neymar set up substitute Ivan Rakitic to score two goals as Barcelona won 2-0 at BATE Borisov in the Champions League on Tuesday, strengthening the defending champion's lead in Group E.

Neymar, coming off his four-goal performance over the weekend, again led the team with Lionel Messi unavailable because of injury.

The Brazil striker created several opportunities that his teammates failed to finish off before Rakitic broke through from Neymar's pass with a pinpoint shot from outside the area in the 48th minute.

Neymar again found Rakitic all alone in the 64th to guarantee three points.

The victory gave Barcelona seven points. Leverkusen remained second with four, while BATE has three and Roma two.

ZENIT 3, LYON 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- Artem Dzyuba scored in the third minute and Hulk fired home a spectacular shot as Zenit Saint-Petersburg closed in on qualification from Group H with a 3-1 win over Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Russian club maintained its 100 percent record in the competition with a third consecutive win, while Lyon remained in last place with one point.

Lyon made a dreadful start as Dzyuba found the net for the fifth successive game for Zenit with a clean finish at the far post from Oleg Shatov's pass.

After Alexandre Lacazette canceled out the hosts' lead early in the second half, Hulk stole the ball in midfield, surged toward the goal and unleashed a 30-meter shot into the top corner. Danny completed Zenit's win in the 82nd minute.

PORTO 2, MACCABI TEL-AVIV 0

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Vincent Aboubakar and Yacine Brahimi scored four minutes apart in the first half to give FC Porto a 2-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv and the Group G lead in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Aboubakar opened the scoring with a header in the 37th minute and Brahimi added to the lead in the 41st to give the hosts victory at the Estadio do Dragao.

The win leaves Porto with seven points after three matches, two points more than Dynamo Kiev, which held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at home. The English side reached four points, while Maccabi remains pointless.

Porto, coming off a 2-1 win over Chelsea, will play its next match at Maccabi, while Chelsea will host Dynamo Kiev.

DINAMO ZAGREB 0, OLYMPIACOS 1

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Ideye Brown scored a late winner to earn Olympiakos a 1-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Nigerian made the most of a cross from Dimitris Siovas, racing down the left with no support before surging past two defenders and goalkeeper Eduardo to score in the 79th minute. It secured a second consecutive away win for Olympiakos in Group F after beating Arsenal last time.

The 27-year-old Brown also atoned for squandering an earlier chance, missing an open goal after sliding to meet a cross from Felipe Pardo.

Zagreb spent most of the match defending, although Domagoj Antolic and Marko Rog hit the post in the second half.

The Greek champions played without any fans at a half-full Maksimir Stadium over fears of crowd trouble.

VALENCIA 2, GENT 1

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) -- Valencia needed two own goals to defeat Gent 2-1 in Group H of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Gent defender Lasse Nielsen found his own net in the 15th minute before Thomas Foket equalized for the Belgian side in the 40th at Mestalla Stadium. Stefan Mitrovic added a second own goal in the 72nd to give Valencia its second consecutive win in the tournament.

Valencia reached six points, three less than Zenit Saint-Petersburg, which defeated Lyon 3-1 to maintain its 100 percent record. Lyon and Gent have one point each after three rounds.