Marek Hamsik and Edinson Cavani struck in three first-half minutes as Napoli downed Villarreal 2-0 in the Stadio San Paolo in Naples to move into second place in UEFA Champions League Group A.

Hamsik lashed home a cross from Ezequiel Lavezzi in the 14th minute then three minutes later Cavani converted a penalty after Lavezzi was tripped by Gonzalo Rodriguez in the box.

It was a fine result for Napoli on the back of its opening draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, while the Spanish side remains bottom of the group with no points.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic eased the frustration around the San Siro with a 53rd-minute penalty which finally set Milan on its way to a 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen.

Antonio Cassano converted his side's second goal in the 66th minute, Allegri was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

It was only Milan's second win in four matches since a creditable 2-2 draw in its opening Group H fixture against Barcelona at Camp Nou earlier this month.

Claudio Ranieri continued his winning start to life as Inter Milan coach with victory in the UEFA Champions League match against CSKA Moscow.

Ranieri started his tenure at the San Siro with a 3-1 Serie A defeat of Bologna and followed up with another victory over Leonid Slutsky's side in the Luzhniki Stadium.

Lucio gave Inter a sixth-minute lead and Giampaolo Pazzini doubled the lead midway through the first half, before Alan Dzagoev and Vagner Love levelled the scores.

However, substitute Mauro Zarate blasted in the winner 11 minutes from time to get Inter's Group B campaign up and running after the shock home defeat at the hands of Trabzonspor on matchday one.

PA SPORT