Sport Today

http://tinyurl.com/VIDEO-Real-vs-Milan-2-3

Alexandre Pato struck late on to give Milan a 3-2 win over Real Madrid
in a hugely entertaining Champions League clash at the Bernabeu.
FOOTBALL Champions League

The Brazilian settled the match with his second of the night in the
88th minute as Milan roared back from a limp first half display to
move level on points with Real at the top of Group C.

Real took a first-half lead through Raul before Andrea Pirlo restored
parity on 62 minutes. Pato put the Rossoneri ahead just four minutes
later before Royston Drenthe pulled Real back on to level terms on 76
minutes.

But Pato had the final say in a remarkable match to ensure Leonardo's
side bounced back in style from their defeat to Zurich last time out.

Even in the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, there was still
enough talent on show in a rainy Madrid to capture the imagination of
the watching football world.

A bit of magic from Kaka, a glimpse of Ronaldinho's trickery or even a
long-range shot from Xabi Alonso was expected, but ultimately the
match was littered not with moments of genius and a series of
goalkeeping errors.

The first three goals all stemmed from awful mistakes, one an absolute
howler by Milan's Dida and two by the usually dependable Iker
Casillas.

Dida was the man in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons on 19
minutes, the Milan keeper attempting to bounce the ball on the ground
after he had seemingly dealt comfortably with Esteban Granero's shot,
only to see the ball squirt off his knee and out towards Raul.

The Real legend needed no further invitation and he darted in to poke
the ball past the unfortunate keeper before slotting into the empty
net.

The goal brought up an incredible personal milestone for Raul - it was
the Real skipper's 66th Champions League goal, meaning he equalled
German forward Gerd Muller's 32-year-old goalscoring record in the
three main European club competitions.

Real were cruising at 1-0 up and the hosts dominated the remainder of
the first half as well as the opening 15 minutes of the second.

But the game was turned on its head by two goals in the space of four
mad minutes which saw Casillas try his utmost to outdo his opposite
number in the gaffe stakes.

In the 62nd minute, Spain's number one failed to pick Pirlo's long-
range strike on goal and was caught completely unawares as the ball
flew into the bottom right hand corner.

And then, just four minutes later, Casillas charged off his line to
reach a long ball through, only to realise he had ventured outside his
area. A last-ditch desperate attempt to clear with his head failed,
allowing Pato to run on and finish into an empty net.

Drenthe pulled Real back on to level terms on 76 minutes with the
first goal of the night that could not be blamed on a goalkeeping
error. Indeed, it was a fine strike from the substitute, who rifled
the ball past Dida, who this time could do nothing.

Milan then thought they had found a winner in the 86th minute when
Thiago Silva rose majestically to nod home from a corner, only for
referee Frank De Bleeckere to disallow the 'goal' for an infringement.

It was not the first time the Belgian official had made a contentious
decision. Real should already have been in front even before Dida's
initial comedy turn, but De Bleeckere waved away strong penalty claims
when Gianluca Zambrotta hacked Karim Benzema to the floor in the Milan
box on 14 minutes.

Four goals and two contentious decisions, but the drama had not ended,
and there was to be a final twist to the tale as Pato took full
advantage of some slack Real defending to volley home Karim Seedorf's
clipped ball through.

Forza Milan, two fingers up

Heya.

I'll gamble that you may be new here, and ask politely that you not
post spoilers in headers.

Thanks!