Champions League: Man United and Spurs progress to last 16

Wayne Rooney was on the mark as Manchester United overcame Rangers at Ibrox, while Tottenham Hotspur had it easy against Werder Bremen at White Hart Lane.

Rangers 0-1 Manchester United

Wayne Rooney marked his return to the starting lineup with the only goal of the game as a below par Manchester United defeated Rangers at Ibrox.

Rooney netted from the penalty spot three minutes from time after Stephen Naismith caught Fabio with a high challenge in the area.

Despite dominating for the majority of the 90 minutes, United once again failed to impress and lacked any sort of spark in attack. Dimitar Berbatov continued the poor run of form that has engulfed him since his hat-trick against Liverpool earlier in the season, while Rooney looked a player woefully short on confidence after his early season troubles.

Rooney hit the crossbar with a header from a Fabio cross in the first half, but Rangers had the best chance in the opening period through Kenny Miller, who shot straight at Edwin van der Sar when through on goal.

United had the better chances after the break and Berbatov, Rooney and Michael Carrick all wasted decent opportunities. The game looked set to end in a stalemate until Rooney’s late intervention and the three points gained by the Red Devils means that they need only a point in their next outing against Valencia at Old Trafford to guarantee top spot in Group C.

Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Werder Bremen

Tottenham Hotspur ensured their qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a comfortable victory over Werder Bremen at White Hart Lane.

Spurs were rarely troubled by their German opponents throughout the ninety minutes and took the lead as early as the sixth minute when Younes Kaboul, who scored the winner in the North London derby at the weekend, volleyed home from an Aaron Lennon cross.

Luka Modric doubled the hosts’ lead on the stroke of half time with a precision half volley after Peter Crouch had nodded the ball into the Croatian midfielder’s path.

The ‘new best player in the world’ Gareth Bale hit the crossbar with a free kick and had a penalty saved for Harry Redknapp’s side in the second half, but Peter Crouch made it three eleven minutes from time, with a tap in after Aaron Lennon had once again acted as provider.

Spurs now lead Inter Milan at the top of Group A and will progress to the last 16 as group winners if they can overcome Dutch side FC Twente next time out.

Results

Group A:

Inter Milan 1-0 FC Twente

Tottenham 3-0 Werder Bremen

Group B:

Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3-0 Benfica

Schalke 04 3-0 Lyon

Group C:

Rangers 0-1 Manchester United

Valencia 6-1 Bursaspor

Group D:

Panathinaikos 0-3 Barcelona

Rubin Kazan 1-0 FC Copenhagen