Inter lead victorious quartet

FC Internazionale Milano

Inter coach Roberto Mancini's injury problems deepened on the half-hour mark when Adriano went off with a slight shoulder injury. He was replaced by Argentinian striker Cruz who broke the deadlock with a right-footed shot six minutes later. Inter's defence, which included Iván Córdoba at right-back, then took control to secure their sixth clean sheet of the season.

Mancini said: "We played very well even if we should have scored more in the second half to avoid a nervous finale. Our defence did us proud today against very strong attackers. Luís Figo also played a great second half. He's improving game after game but I'm not surprised because he is a great player."

CD Nacional 0-1 FC Porto

Porto moved into second spot in the Portuguese Liga thanks to a 1-0 away win at high-flying CD Nacional. Dutch coach Co Adriannse opted for the same starting lineup that defeated Inter in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, and they reaped the rewards in the 47th minute.

Striker Hugo Almeida scored the winning goal with a header from a perfectly executed right-footed cross from the left flank by winger Ricardo Quaresma. Nacional almost came away with a point in the closing stages when Bulgarian striker Georgi Chilikov had the chance to equalise, but his shot went over the bar.

Adriaanse said: "It has been a good week for us after having defeated FC Internazionale Milano, but this match was a very tough one. The weather was fine, but the grass was very high. We could have played faster if it was in better condition. Nacional created two good opportunities in the second half, but could have also scored a second goal. We controlled the match, played well and scored a very good goal."

FK ZTS Dubnica 0-2 FC Artmedia

First-half goals from Branislav Obžera and Blažej Vašcák gave Artmedia a regulation win at FK ZTS Dubnica. Given a rare outing after coach Vladimír Weiss opted to rest Juraj Halenár, Obžera soon made an impression, breaking the deadlock after a swift counterattack on 22 minutes.

Blažej Vašcák doubled the advantage 15 minutes later as an adventurous Artmedia side eased to victory to keep them in touch with the top two in Slovakia. Obžera was one of two changes to the side from Wednesday, with Pavol Staňo replacing Ondrej Debnár, who has joined Aleš Hellebrand on the sidelines after picking up a slight knock.

Rangers FC 2-0 Motherwell FC

Alex McLeish celebrated his 200th game in charge of Rangers with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Motherwell FC. The defending champions had failed to score in their last two games against Artmedia and Dundee United FC, but took less than 30 seconds to register at Ibrox when Chris Burke tapped in Dado Pršo’s cross at the back post.

Burke was one of three changes from Wednesday, with Ross McCormack coming in to replace the injured Federico Nieto, while Marvin Andrews deputised for the suspended Sotirios Kyrgiakos at centre-back. Peter Løvenkrands hit the post when well placed on 70 minutes, but soon made amends, converting Pršo’s cutback from close range to seal the points.

"There’s a bit of relief after today's result," said McLeish. "There's been a bit of pressure on us in the last couple of days. We know we've got to keep winning and that's the only way we can stop criticism. The expectation levels at Rangers are very demanding and the players have to be strong enough to handle it."