Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal all cruise in Champions League play

The big boys all had no trouble Tuesday in Champions League play as Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich all cruised to victory and took another step into the coming knockout phases of the tournament.  The big match of the day pitted AC Milan making the difficult trip to the Bernabéu to face Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho. 

It was a match that was what Champions League is all about.  Both sides attacking with flare and speed.  It was a patented Cristiano Ronaldo freekick that opened the scoring in the 13th minute of play to the delight of the home fans.  AC Milan had a six man wall set as Ronaldo fired his shot.  Surprisingly, Clarence Seedorf flinched in the wall opening a gap that the ball found flying into the net. 

Less than a minute later the lead was 2-0 for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo skipped into the penalty area before sliding a square ball which Mesut Ozul put on goal.  The ball was deflected on its way and dropped perfectly into the net.  At 2-0 there was really no way back for AC Milan as Real Madrid had only allowed 3 goals in 10 matches this year.  Seedorf had the best chance to get them back in the match, but he watched as his shot zipped over the crossbar.

Elsewhere, English sides Arsenal and Chelsea had no trouble winning.   Chelsea jumped out early with first half goals from Yuri Zhirkov and Nicolas Anelka as they defeated Spartak Moscow 2-0.  Arsenal had an easy time in London as they crushed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 as five different Gunners scores.  Bayern Munich had a tougher time with CFR Cluj falling behind early but rallying for a 3-2 win thanks to two own goals from Cluj. 

The surprise of the day came as FC Basel upset Roma 3-1 to throw Group E into turmoil.  The result leaves Bayern Munich runaway leaders on 9 points with the remaning three teams, FC Basel, Roma and CFR Cluj all even on three points.