Ronaldo secures victory for United in Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 30th goal in 30 games for United
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Tuesday, 04, Mar 2008 11:05
Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the hero for Manchester United as they scraped past Lyon to secure a Champions League quarter-final spot.
The Portuguese star scored his 30th goal in 30 games after collecting Anderson's rebounded shot to slam the ball home.
The victory was the tenth straight home win for Sir Alex Ferguson's men and keeps the Red Devils' hopes of capturing the treble alive.
It was United who started the brighter, with Nani providing some devilish runs down the right channel.
Lyon kept themselves in it with some solid defending and even threatened to open the scoring when Karim Benzema blasted a shot over and into the stands from just outside the box.
The tide seemed to be turning as Lyon put more pressure on United, Francois Clerc putting in a searching cross which was ultimately dealt with by Edwin Van der Sar.
In the 28th minute Kallstrom struck a shot full of venom which forced the Dutch keeper's first big save of the night and it was now the French who looked most likely to score.
But with just five minutes of the first half remaining, Wes Brown did well to support Nani down the right channel and put in a great cross to Anderson.
The Portuguese struck his shot right at the keeper and countryman Ronaldo picked up the rebound and powered a shot home to give United a 2-1 aggregate lead.
The goal put United comfortably in the driving seat but Lyon failed to subside and came back strongly after the interval.
The visitors went close to making it 2-2 in the tie overall when Kader Keita found the space to smash his low shot against the post.
United survived that scare and almost extended their lead when Wayne Rooney wasted a golden chance as substitute Carlos Tevez played him clear.
Ferguson's side have now won all of their home matches in this Champions League campaign, conceding only one goal in the process.