Owen earns Real win over Kiev

Michael Owen's first Real Madrid goal was the winner against Dynamo Kiev.

Michael Owen and Iker Casillas salvaged a rare win for troubled Real Madrid as Dynamo Kiev slumped to a first defeat of this year's UEFA Champions League.

Owen scored his first goal since his £8 million summer switch from Liverpool but, after his 35th-minute finish, Real relied on the athleticism of Casillas and the inaccuracy of Kiev's shooting to hold on to three points.

Owen nipped in at the near post to touch in Ronaldo's cross after Santiago Solari had made the initial inroads in the Kiev defence, capping the game's best move with its decisive moment.

Thereafter, Casillas came to the fore with a point-blank block from Goran Gavrancic's header on the stroke of half-time arguably the pick of his saves.

After the break, he came off his line to prevent Kleber shooting and blocked from the Brazilian, an ineffective deputy for Maris Verkapovskis, when through on goal.

He was grateful, too, that Tiberiu Ghioane miskicked horribly when following up another Casillas block and that Diogo Rincon, having waltzed through a paper-thin Real defence, opted for a ludicrous dive rather than a simple shot.

And a frantic finale - with Kiev camped in Casillas' penalty box - was a far cry from an impressive opening from Mariano Garcia Remon's side. Real began with purpose, subjecting the Kiev goal to an early bombardment. The athletic Olexandr Shovkovsky palmed away the first of many Ronaldo shots and tipped Luis Figo's effort past the post.

When he was beaten, Zinedine Zidane's curling free kick rebounded off the post. Figo and Raul placed shots just wide of Shovkovsky's goal before Ronaldo, aiding his new strike partner with a series of runs down the wing, set up Owen.

The Brazilian almost sealed victory when he evaded two markers but could not beat the Ukrainian keeper and, with Real attacks increasingly rare, a second goal grew in importance.

Still, the profligate Kleber had a rival to squander sitters: Raul blazed over from four yards. Garcia Remon removed Owen and Ronaldo, Real retreated and though their defending rarely convinced, the Englishman's strike was just enough.

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Real Madrid	Team Statistics	Dinamo Kiev
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
8	Shots on Target	6
10	Shots off Target	7
1	Blocked Shots	9
6	Corners	7
15	Fouls	11
4	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
82.5	Passing Success	73.5
28	Tackles	35
46.4	Tackles Success	57.1
57.8	Possession	42.2
52	Territorial Advantage	48