Champions League round-up: Higuain puts Real on the brink of last 16 as Ronaldo returns

Real Madrid virtually clinched a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League last night with a 1-0 win over FC Zurich at the Bernabeu that also featured Cristiano Ronaldo's long-awaited return from injury.

Gonzalo Higuain hit Real's winner, the Argentine striker played through by Kaka to score after 21 minutes, but despite their dominance the home side struggled to add to their early lead.

The biggest cheer of the night came when Ronaldo replaced Raul midway through the second half, returning to action after two months out with an ankle injury. However, the Real coach Manuel Pellegrini said: "I am concerned with the quality of our play. I don't like this type of football and it's not style of play I want from the team,"

In the group's other game, Milan were held 1-1 at San Siro by Marseilles. Marco Borriello put them ahead in the 10th minute but Lucho Gonzalez equalised soon afterwards. Milan need to win in Zurich in two weeks' time to be sure of a place in the last 16.

In Group A, Juventus failed to wrap up qualification after they were beaten 2-0 by Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, Fernando Menegazzo and Marouane Chamakh getting the French side's goals. That defeat kept alive Bayern Munich's hopes of reaching the last 16, with Louis van Gaal's struggling team edging out Maccabi Haifa 1-0. Croatian Ivica Olic tapped in their winner in the 62nd minute after Mario Gomez had his shot palmed away by Nir Davidovitch. Bayern face Juventus in their final game in Turin, with the German side needing to win to go through at Juve's expense.