Brilliant Bale helps Hotspurs win

Nov 04, 2010 |

Paris, Nov. 3: Tottenham Hotspur, Benfica and Valencia relaunched their respective bids for a place in the lucrative last 16 of the Champions League with resounding wins in the fourth round of group games on Tuesday.

Spurs outclassed the defending champions Inter Milan 3-1 at White Hart Lane with another fine display of attacking football inspired by Welsh winger Gareth Bale. Benfica still sit third in Group B but took a big step towards the knockout stage with a 4-3 victory over Lyon.

Valencia moved up to second place in Group C after a 3-0 romp over Rangers as the Scottish champions failed to break their unwanted hoodoo of never having won a European fixture in Spain.

Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Copenhagen, the Danes frustrating the aims of the Spanish league giants who remained top of Group D and on course for the last 16.

After four rounds of group games, no team has yet qualified for the knockout stage of the competition where teams play each other home and away in a bid to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Manchester United, however, had reason to claim the bragging rights Tuesday as they virtually qualified thanks to a 3-0 rout of Bursaspor.

The gulf in class between Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and the Turkish competition debutants was evident in a display which saw goals come from Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher, Gabriel Obertan and Bebe.

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