Champions League round-up: Man United and Arsenal complete Italian wipeout
Table of Contents
| 2 - 0 |
| ||||||
| Nemanja Vidić 4 | ||||||||
| Cristiano Ronaldo 49 |
Manchester United continued their quintuple quest after defeating Inter Milan 2-0 at Old Trafford in the last 16 of the Champions League.
United began the match confidently and took the lead as early as the fourth minute when Nemanja Vidić shook off his marker Patrick Vieira and headed past Júlio César from a Ryan Giggs corner.
Inter could have drawn level shortly before the half-hour mark, but Zlatan Ibrahimović fluffed a superb chance as he headed a free-kick into the ground and on to the bar.
Edwin van der Sar then brilliantly tipped Dejan Stanković's 25-yard swerver behind.
John O'Shea should have put United 2-0 in front when one-on-one with César, but his effort was saved by the Brazilian goalkeeper.
The Italian champions came out strongly after the break but it was United who got the crucial goal four minutes into the second period.
Giggs was again influential as he dribbled infield from the right before finding Wayne Rooney wide on the left. The England forward teased Maicon before dropping in an unexpected cross which Cristiano Ronaldo met before César to head into the unguarded net.
Inter substitute Adriano rattled the United woodwork as the visitors continued to press, but the English side held on.
Arsenal ensured all four English clubs reached the Champions League quarter-finals after surviving a thrilling penalty shoot-out at AS Roma.
Roma's Juan struck to tie the game at 1-1 on aggregate, but neither side could find the breakthrough and the match was forced to penalties.
Arsenal fell behind after just nine minutes when unconvincing defending allowed Francesco Totti to drag a low cross into the penalty area and the unmarked Juan to slot home at the far post.
The hosts had a strong shout for a penalty on the stroke of half-time as Gaël Clichy appeared to haul down Marco Motta, but Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez waved their claims away.
In a huge let off for the Gunners, Roma substitute Júlio Baptista somehow managed to miss his kick with the goal gaping in the best chance of the 90 minutes.
After a goalless period of extra-time, penalties were required. Eduardo and Mirko Vučinić failed from the spot, and then Max Tonetto sent the decisive 16th penalty high over the crossbar to send the travelling Arsenal fans into euphoria.
Bookmakers' favourites Barcelona continued to live up to their billing as they won 5-2 over Olympique Lyon at the Camp Nou and booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Thierry Henry set the tone for the evening as he latched onto a ball over the top from Rafael Márquez and slotted past Hugo Lloris on 25 minutes.
Two minutes later Henry snatched his third of the tie as he was put through by Xavi and slid the ball in at the near post past the advancing Lloris.
The home side were on song and deservedly had their third in the 40th minute when Lionel Messi collected the ball on the right touchline, beating five Lyon defenders, before firing a low shot home.
And there was still time before the interval for Samuel Eto'o to make it 4-0 as he popped up in the box and smashed the ball home.
But the visitors managed to pull back some pride as Jean Makoun headed in at a 44th minute corner and Juninho fired home with the first attack of the second half.
But any hopes of a dramatic comeback were erased as Juninho was shown a red card for a second booking on the stroke of full-time, while Seydou Keita netted his side's fifth to seal an impressive 6-3 aggregate win.
FC Porto eliminated Atlético Madrid on away goals with a 2-2 aggregate score-line following a 0-0 draw at Estádio do Dragão.
Both teams threatened early on with Porto defender Bruno Alves curling a free-kick just over before Luis Perea brought a diving stop out of Helton out the other end.
Atlético were screaming for a penalty on 25 minutes when Simão Sabrosa went crashing inside the area following a challenge by Alves, but the referee waved play on.
The Spanish side introduced Diego Forlán early in the second half after the striker had surprisingly been left on the bench, but it was Porto who almost snatched the win on the night as Lisandro López looked certain to score when he rounded Leo Franco only to see his shot hit a post in the dying minutes.
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United began the match confidently and took the lead as early as the fourth minute when Nemanja Vidić shook off his marker Patrick Vieira and headed past Júlio César from a Ryan Giggs corner.
Inter could have drawn level shortly before the half-hour mark, but Zlatan Ibrahimović fluffed a superb chance as he headed a free-kick into the ground and on to the bar.
Edwin van der Sar then brilliantly tipped Dejan Stanković's 25-yard swerver behind.
John O'Shea should have put United 2-0 in front when one-on-one with César, but his effort was saved by the Brazilian goalkeeper.
The Italian champions came out strongly after the break but it was United who got the crucial goal four minutes into the second period.
Giggs was again influential as he dribbled infield from the right before finding Wayne Rooney wide on the left. The England forward teased Maicon before dropping in an unexpected cross which Cristiano Ronaldo met before César to head into the unguarded net.
Inter substitute Adriano rattled the United woodwork as the visitors continued to press, but the English side held on.
| 1 - 0 |
| ||||||
| Juan 9 | 6-7 (AP) |
Arsenal ensured all four English clubs reached the Champions League quarter-finals after surviving a thrilling penalty shoot-out at AS Roma.
Roma's Juan struck to tie the game at 1-1 on aggregate, but neither side could find the breakthrough and the match was forced to penalties.
Arsenal fell behind after just nine minutes when unconvincing defending allowed Francesco Totti to drag a low cross into the penalty area and the unmarked Juan to slot home at the far post.
The hosts had a strong shout for a penalty on the stroke of half-time as Gaël Clichy appeared to haul down Marco Motta, but Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez waved their claims away.
In a huge let off for the Gunners, Roma substitute Júlio Baptista somehow managed to miss his kick with the goal gaping in the best chance of the 90 minutes.
After a goalless period of extra-time, penalties were required. Eduardo and Mirko Vučinić failed from the spot, and then Max Tonetto sent the decisive 16th penalty high over the crossbar to send the travelling Arsenal fans into euphoria.
| 5 - 2 |
| ||||||
| Thierry Henry 25 | Jean Makoun 44 | |||||||
| Thierry Henry 27 | Juninho 48 | |||||||
| Lionel Messi 40 | ||||||||
| Samuel Eto'o 43 | ||||||||
| Seydou Keita 90 |
Bookmakers' favourites Barcelona continued to live up to their billing as they won 5-2 over Olympique Lyon at the Camp Nou and booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Thierry Henry set the tone for the evening as he latched onto a ball over the top from Rafael Márquez and slotted past Hugo Lloris on 25 minutes.
Two minutes later Henry snatched his third of the tie as he was put through by Xavi and slid the ball in at the near post past the advancing Lloris.
The home side were on song and deservedly had their third in the 40th minute when Lionel Messi collected the ball on the right touchline, beating five Lyon defenders, before firing a low shot home.
And there was still time before the interval for Samuel Eto'o to make it 4-0 as he popped up in the box and smashed the ball home.
But the visitors managed to pull back some pride as Jean Makoun headed in at a 44th minute corner and Juninho fired home with the first attack of the second half.
But any hopes of a dramatic comeback were erased as Juninho was shown a red card for a second booking on the stroke of full-time, while Seydou Keita netted his side's fifth to seal an impressive 6-3 aggregate win.
| 0 - 0 |
|
FC Porto eliminated Atlético Madrid on away goals with a 2-2 aggregate score-line following a 0-0 draw at Estádio do Dragão.
Both teams threatened early on with Porto defender Bruno Alves curling a free-kick just over before Luis Perea brought a diving stop out of Helton out the other end.
Atlético were screaming for a penalty on 25 minutes when Simão Sabrosa went crashing inside the area following a challenge by Alves, but the referee waved play on.
The Spanish side introduced Diego Forlán early in the second half after the striker had surprisingly been left on the bench, but it was Porto who almost snatched the win on the night as Lisandro López looked certain to score when he rounded Leo Franco only to see his shot hit a post in the dying minutes.
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