UCL: Sterling inspires Man City, Cristiano hits four vs Malmo

Sport360 staff 05:36 09/12/2015
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  • City celebrate en-route to topping Group D.

    Raheem Sterling celebrated his 21st birthday with a quickfire double to send Manchester City through to the last 16 as group winners.

    The England international struck twice in the space of two second-half minutes as City came from behind to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

    City had trailed after the Germans replied to David Silva’s early strike through Julian Korb and Raffael but Sterling turned the game around late on and Wilfried Bony added the final gloss.

    With Juventus losing 1-0 at Sevilla to former striker Fernando Llorente’s header, the result was enough for City to leapfrog the Italians to the top of Group D while Monchengladbach missed out on a Europa League spot.

    Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo ran riot with four goals as Real Madrid hammered Malmo 8-0 at the Bernabeu. It took Ronaldo to 11 in the competition this season, with Karim Benzema’s hat-trick and Mateo Kovacic completing the rout.

    Real were already confirmed as Group A winners, while PSG – 2-0 victors over Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to Lucas Moura and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – join them in the last 16.

    In Group C, Atletico Madrid pulled off an impressive 2-1 win at Benfica to top the section. Saul Niguez and Luciano Vietto had them 2-0 up with an hour gone and Konstantinos Mitroglou’s effort proved a mere consolation for the hosts who also advance.

    Galatasaray held on for a 1-1 draw at home to Astana to claim third place after Selcuk Inan equalised Patrick Twumasi’s opener.

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