Lille and Benfica savour home wins

LOSC Lille Métropole and SL Benfica both sauntered to four-goal home wins, while UEFA Champions League Group D rivals Villarreal CF and Manchester United FC earned points on their travels.

LOSC Lille Métropole 4-0 OGC Nice

Lille scored three goals in the last 13 minutes to seal a comfortable-looking victory over ten-man Nice on Saturday. The home side held a slender one-goal lead for much of the encounter after Jean Makoun had broken the deadlock on four minutes. Late strikes from Milenko Ačimovič, Peter Odemwingie and Daniel Gygax gave the scoreline a one-sided appearance but a tally of seven yellow cards and one red - to Nice's Bill Tchato - reflect a keenly contested match.

A power cut delayed the game for ten minutes during the second half but it did not dim Lille's charge and the result of what coach Claude Puel labelled "a very good evening" lifts them to fourth in Ligue 1.

Cádiz CF 1-1 Villarreal CF

Villarreal CF are still waiting for their first win of the Primera División season after Cádiz CF came from behind to earn a share of the spoils in Andalusia. With the talismanic Juan Román Riquelme still sidelined with a sprained ankle ligament, Manuel Luis Pellegrini's side struggled to impose their game on the hosts and were relieved to see two Cádiz goals ruled out during the opening half hour.

José Mari Romero then opened the scoring on 38 minutes, taking advantage of a defensive error, but Cádiz responded almost immediately from an indirect free-kick, when Oli Álvarez flicked a near-post header past Sebastián Viera. Although Villarreal upped the tempo as the game wore on they were unable to regain the lead, despite the introduction of ESM Golden Shoe holder Diego Forlán as a second-half substitute.

Right-back Javi Venta also returned after spending the last week out with an ankle knock and Pellegrini was quick to point out the long-term benefits of rotating his squad. "I made a few changes to the side," he said, "because if we don't rotate the squad now, then we will end up paying the price later in the season. I felt that it was an evenly-balanced game. Cádiz put us under a lot of pressure and that made it difficult for us to get into our stride and take control of the ball. It was a shame that we were unable to hang on to our lead but overall, I feel that we have improved since the opening game of the season."

SL Benfica 4-0 UD Leiria

Benfica won their first match of the Portuguese Liga season, beating Leiria comfortably at the Estádio da Luz. Benfica's coach Ronald Koeman made just one change to the team that won 1-0 in last Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash against Lille, with Brazilian centre-back Anderson replacing the suspended Ricardo Rocha, while Greek midfielder Georgios Karagounis was still sidelined with a leg injury.

Anderson did not take long to impose himself on the match but it was in attack that he enjoyed some early success, reacting first to scoop the ball into the net after a third-minute corner. Leiria could have levelled when Nené's 34th-minute shot went wide and Benfica soon made them pay when Nuno Gomes doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time. The Portugal striker made it 3-0 just after the hour mark before completing his hat-trick late on.

Benfica coach Ronald Koeman said: "I'm very satisfied with the result and with the effort of my players. We still have a long way to go and there are still plenty of games to be played, but I think we are on the right track."

Liverpool FC 0-0 Manchester United FC

United held firm against a determined Liverpool side to secure a share of the spoils with their north-west rivals at Anfield. Both sides had chances to claim all three points, with Steven Gerrard a constant threat for the home team while Ruud van Nistelrooij almost scored for a seventh consecutive Premiership game but saw his chip go over the bar.

The game gradually became more attritional in the second half, with every ball being fiercely contested and it eventually took its toll when United captain Roy Keane broke a metatarsal bone in his left foot. The veteran midfield player, who missed the Group D opener at Villarreal on Wednesday with a hamstring injury, could be out for up to two months.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "You could see it had 0-0 written all over it early on. Maybe this game it just too important now. There's maybe pressure on players that makes it difficult for them to relax. I thought we had enough of the ball to win it. We showed professionalism, good composure and we just lacked a cutting edge."