ronaldo and united shine in kiev published: wednesday 24 october 2007, 0.50cet
fc dynamo kyiv 2-4 manchester united fc cristiano ronaldo was on target twice as the english title-holders cruised to another success in group f.
by pavle gognidze from nsc olympiyskiy stadium
cristiano ronaldo struck twice as manchester united fc cruised to a comfortable victory at fc dynamo kyiv to make it three wins from three in uefa champions league group f and move to the brink of qualification.
united cruise the visitors led after ten minutes when rio ferdinand headed in a free-kick from ryan giggs and wayne rooney quickly added a second on the counterattack. dynamo were briefly given hope when diogo rincón nodded in carlos corrêa's corner, but ronaldo restored the two-goal cushion just before half-time. the influential portuguese added the fourth from the penalty spot before home forward ismaël bangoura completed the scoring with 12 minutes remaining.
pre-match setback the visitors had suffered a setback before kick-off when patrice evra picked up an injury and was replaced by darren fletcher, with john o'shea falling back to cover and the scotsman linking up with anderson in central midfield. the hosts had the first chance through bangoura, back from a rib injury, testing edwin van der sar with a shot from the edge of the area in the opening seconds.
ferdinand opener the english champions responded with ronaldo particularly active but it took sir alex ferguson's charges ten minutes to produce their first shot – and their first goal. ronaldo won a free-kick near the corner flag on the left which giggs crossed for ferdinand to place a powerful header over olexandr shovkovskiy. as józsef szabó's men poured forward, leaving vast spaces at the back exposed, united were clinical as they executed their opportunities on the break. one such free-flowing move down the right brought the second goal, as rooney applied a simple finish after a pass by wes brown.
shovkovskiy busy rooney had a further chance to add to united's advantage several minutes later, but shovkovskiy parried his powerful drive while goran gavrančić took a blow when blocking an ensuing effort from carlos tévez. it was all united at that point with dynamo looking out of ideas, but just as it seemed there was no hope for them, they found their way back into the game following a set-piece.
ronaldo rampant on 34 minutes, corrêa whipped in a corner which the unmarked rincón nodded in. ronaldo called shovkovskiy back into action with a shot from acute angle yet the keeper was powerless to prevent the third united goal four minutes before the break when ronaldo neatly headed in giggs's cross from the left to restore the red devils' two-goal lead. dynamo introduced valentin belkevich and artem milevskiy at half-time but united continued to dominate with anderson hitting the post.
further strikes rincón delivered another fine header from an oleh gusev cross which flew just wide of the post, while anderson drew another save from shovkovskiy. the match was effectively over on 68 minutes when gavrančić conceded a penalty for handball which ronaldo casually stroked in to make it 4-1. bangoura put some respectability on the scoreline with a fierce strike from 25 metres, yet the defeat leaves the ukrainian club without a point and facing elimination at old trafford in two weeks' time.
) 
