Manchester United crash out of Europe

IN a night of conflicting fortunes for the red and blue sides of Manchester, it was United who suffered a sobering result, losing 3-2 away to Wolfsburg to finish third place in their Champions League group. 

A hapless display of defensive blunder and erratic play saw them squander an early lead that lasted just four minutes, while a period of hanging on at 2-2 fared even worse as Nando scored his second to send the English team into the badlands of the Europa League. 

Meanwhile back in Manchester, City put their recent disastrous European campaigns behind them with a stunning three goal blitz in the last 12 minutes to defeat Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-2 and finish top of Group D.

Sevilla did the blues a favour by defeating Juventus at home, securing their own Europa League spot, which paved the way for a top finish and the likelihood of an easier second round draw. 

Meanwhile Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record, scoring four goals in an 8-0 Real Madrid crushing of Swedish team Malmo, the result stamping their authority on a group they top with 16 points. 

City rivals Atlético Madrid also topped their group with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Benfica in Lisbon.