Arsenal and Manchester United edged closer to the Champions League last 16 with emphatic wins on an action-packed evening that also saw Rangers hold Barcelona to a goalless draw at Ibrox. Arsenal recorded their biggest victory in the competition with a 7-0 demolition of Slavia Prague at the Emirates while United cruised to a 4-2 success at Dynamo Kiev as both teams made it three wins out of three. Two goals each from Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott, his first in Europe’s premier club competition, one apiece by Aleksandr Hleb and Nicklas Bendtner as well as a David Hubacek own-goal left Arsenal top of Group H with a maximum nine points. Double UEFA Cup winners Sevilla are second with six after first-half goals from Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano helped them to a 2-1 home success against Steaua Bucharest. United also maintained their perfect start in Group F after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace and Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand added a goal each against Kiev, who gained some consolation thanks to Diogo Rincon and Ismael Bangoura. Roma moved into second position with a 2-1 defeat of Sporting Lisbon at the Olympic Stadium with Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic scoring a 70th-minute winner after coming on as a first-half substitute for injured Francesco Totti. Juan gave Roma a 15th-minute lead, fellow Brazilian Liedson equalised shortly afterwards and their countryman Mancini missed a 49th-minute penalty for the home side before Vucinic capped a dazzling solo run with a rising shot into the top corner. The stalemate at Ibrox left Rangers and Barcelona joint top of Group E with seven points while Lyon kept alive their hopes of finishing at least third and securing a UEFA Cup spot after the winter break with a 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart. It was one way-traffic in north London after Fabregas drilled in a powerful shot in the fifth minute to send Arsenal on their way on a memorable evening for Arsene Wenger’s side. Hubacek turned into his own net and Belarus midfielder Hleb put his name on the scoresheet after Walcott scored his first and Arsenal’s third. Walcott made it 5-0 and Fabregas added the sixth to finish a glorious sweeping move before the hour while Bendtner’s tap-in completed the rout in the 89th minute. An excellent first-half performance helped United to a fine win in Kiev as Ferdinand headed them into an early lead and Rooney made it 2-0 in the 18th minute after good work by Ronaldo and Wes Brown. Rincon pulled one back for Kiev before Ronaldo struck twice to put the game beyond the home team, who salvaged some pride through Guinea striker Bangoura. In the afternoon kick-off, Inter Milan fought back to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 in the Russian capital and go top of Group G a point ahead of Fenerbahce, who were held to a 0-0 draw at PSV Eindhoven. Brazilian striker Jo Alves fired CSKA into a 32nd-minute lead when he curled in a delightful shot into the top corner but the home side were let down by poor defending as Inter capitalised on two howlers to come away with all three points. Inter have six points while Fenerbahce have five and PSV Eindhoven four after their 0-0 draw that ended the Dutch team’s six-game winning streak at home against Turkish rivals.RESULTS • Group E: VfB Stuttgart 0 lost to Olympique Lyon 2 (Fabio Santos 56, Karim Benzema 79)•Rangers 0 draw with Barcelona 0 • Group F: Dynamo Kiev 2 (Diogo Rincon 34, Ismael Bangoura 78) lost to Manchester United 4 (Rio Ferdinand 10, Wayne Rooney 18, Cristiano Ronaldo 41, 68 pen)•AS Roma 2 (Juan 15, Mirko Vucinic 69) beat Sporting Lisbon 1 (Liedson 18)• Group G: CSKA Moscow 1 (Jo 32) lost to Inter Milan 2 (Hernan Crespo 52, Walter Samuel 80)•PSV Eindhoven 0 draw Fenerbahce 0 • Group H: Arsenal 7 (Cesc Fabregas 5, 58, David Hubacek 24 og, Theo Walcott 41, 55, Aleksandr Hleb 51, Nicklas Bendtner 89) beat Slavia Prague 0•Sevilla 2 (Frederic Kanoute 5, Luis Fabiano 17) beat Steaua Bucharest 1 (Ovidiu Petre 63)
