BARCELONA plunged even further into crisis Wednesday with a thumping Champions League defeat at Benfica while holder Chelsea was beaten by Juventus, but Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a precious last-gasp winner for Manchester United. Ronaldo struck deep into stoppage time to lift Manchester United to a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Villarreal — his record-extending 136th goal in a new competition-best 178th game. That goal moved United off the bottom of Group F as five-time European champion Barcelona stayed dead last in Group E with another 3-0 loss. Barcelona finished with 10 men in a humbling defeat at Benfica two weeks after being swatted aside at home by Bayern Munich. Bayern eased clear atop the group by routing Dynamo Kyiv 5-0 with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice in the first half for the 2020 champion. Title holder Chelsea lost 1-0 at Juventus after being caught cold with a goal about 12 seconds into the second half. Atalanta also won 1-0 at home in Italy, against Young Boys, and also leads its group, one point ahead of United before they meet next at Old Trafford on Oct. 20. United was having another tough evening in this Champions League campaign where underdogs are thriving. Villarreal led in the 53rd minute from Paco Alcacer’s goal in a rematch of the Europa league final in May won by the Spanish club. United got a spectacular leveler in the 60th when defender Alex Telles struck a volleyed shot from a Bruno Fernandes pass. It was a goal after five minutes of stoppage time that sent United to a 2-1 loss at Young Boys two weeks ago. This time, the goal went its way. Ronaldo got the ball back from substitute Jesse Lingard in the penalty area and fired it in before running off to celebrate shirtless with a frenetic crowd that included longtime fan Usain Bolt. It was Ronaldo’s fifth goal in five games back at the club he left after losing the 2009 final to Barcelona. Barcelona has lost the aura it had before letting Lionel Messi leave to join Paris Saint-Germain last month. “There’s no point in comparing this with Barcelona teams of years gone by,” said coach Ronald Koeman, who scored the goal that won the club its first European title in 1992. “That’s as clear as water.” Benfica had not beaten Barcelona in six attempts since winning the 1961 final and led within three minutes through Darwin Nunez. The Uruguay forward had a shot strike the post before he also scored from a penalty in the 79th. Rafa Silva had made it 2-0 in the 69th. Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was sent off in the closing minutes for a second yellow card. Italy’s run to the European Championship title in the summer was fueled by key goals from Federico Chiesa of Juventus and Matteo Pessina of Atalanta. Both were on target Wednesday to give their table-topping teams 1-0 wins. Chiesa broke through the Chelsea defense almost immediately after the second half started, and Pessina struck midway through the second half to defeat Young Boys. Juventus’ second win built a three-point lead over Zenit St. Petersburg.(SD-Agencies) | 