Champions League: Juventus top group thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo assist as Real Madrid beat Roma

Juventus beat Valencia 1-0 and Real Madrid put two past Roma without reply

Tuesday 27 November 2018 23:53 GMT
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Cristaino Ronaldo showed off his skills to provide an assist
Cristaino Ronaldo showed off his skills to provide an assist (Getty)

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Juventus booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after a Mario Mandzukic goal was enough to beat Valencia 1-0 in Turin.

In a tense game with few chances and eight yellow cards, Juventus came through on top to retain first place in Group H ahead of Manchester United and ended Valencia's hopes of qualification.

Mandzukic was set up by Cristiano Ronaldo, who beat a defender before delivering a cross for the Croatian striker to score the game's only goal.

The opening half an hour had no clear-cut chances but Valencia duo Jose Gaya and Geoffrey Kondogbia and Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur all ended the opening period with a booking.

The best chance of the half arrived shortly before the break but a good save by Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny denied Mouctar Diakhaby.

Ronaldo could only hit a free-kick straight at goalkeeper Neto early in the second half but the Portugal star played a vital role as the hosts took the lead in the 50th minute.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward evaded his marker with trademark step-overs down the left and delivered a cross that allowed Mandzukic a tap in to open the scoring.

In Group G series of colossal errors by Roma handed Real Madrid a 2-0 victory Tuesday and first place.

Roma winger Cengiz Under sent the ball over the bar from point-blank range with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois already down on the ground in first-half added time and two defensive blunders led to Gareth Bale's goal immediately after the break.

Lucas Vazquez then added another for Madrid against a demoralised Roma. Both three-time defending champion Madrid and last season's semifinalist Roma had secured spots in the last 16 before kickoff, as Viktoria Plzen won 2-1 at CSKA Moscow in the other group match earlier to send them through.

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