Champions League round-up: Porto hold United; Adebayor rescues Arsenal
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| Wayne Rooney 15 | Cristian Rodriguez 4 | |||||||
| Carlos Tevez 85 | Mariano Gonzalez 89 |
FC Porto forced a last-minute equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw against Manchester United in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford.
United began the match in casual fashion and were nearly punished early on when Lisandro López turned Jonny Evans and whipped in a swerving shot which Edwin van der Sar clawed over the bar.
Porto, who were rated the weakest of the quarter-finalists by bookies, finally took the lead minutes later when Cristian Rodríguez seized on a poor clearance from Evans to smack a cracking shot into the bottom corner.
But United quickly wised up and a foolish error from Bruno Alves brought about the equaliser. The Portugal international did not look as he turned round to pass back to his goalkeeper Helton and Wayne Rooney showed great anticipation to pop up and chipped the ball home on 15 minutes.
The home side had been poor for most of the first half, but improved after the break as they streamed forward in search of a winner.
Rooney’s cunning chip from wide out right was tipped over by Helton and from the corner, Helton was there again to keep out Nemanja Vidić’s header.
Carlos Tévez, chasing back shortly after being introduced as a substitute, survived a penalty shout when he appeared to foul Hulk inside the United area.
And United appeared to have stolen another dramatic Old Trafford victory when Tévez turned home Rooney's sublime back-flick from Gary Neville's throw-in five minutes from time.
It looked like being the killer blow but, as the celebrations rang round the stadium, Porto powered up to the other end where substitute Mariano González was left unmarked to finish off Lisandro's cross and give the 2004 winners a fine chance of dumping out the reigning champions again.
Man United v Porto goal & highlights
Emmanuel Adebayor struck a stunning leveler to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at El Madrigal.
The hosts were unfortunate not to force a fourth-minute goal when Gaël Clichy cleared off the line and Manuel Almunia smothered the loose ball as defender Gonzalo Rodríguez looked to capitalise.
But Villarreal did not have to wait long for their breakthrough as Marcos Senna drilled an unstoppable 25-yard strike past Almunia on 10 minutes.
Arsenal were forced into a change after 27 minutes when Almunia, who picked up an early injury in a clash with Giuseppe Rossi in the early goal-line scramble, was replaced by Łukasz Fabiański.
And the young Pole was forced into immediate action to make a vital double save from Senna and then Joan Capdevila.
On the stroke of half-time, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick in a central position after Adebayor went down in between two defenders. Cesc Fàbregas took his shot early, rolling the ball into the net, but the quick effort was ruled out by referee Tom Henning, who was still counting out 10 yards and had not blown his whistle.
After the interval, Arsène Wenger's men were rejuvenated and their reward finally arrived in the 66th minute when Adebayor chested down Fàbregas' looping ball into the area before dispatching a brilliant scissor-kick into the far corner.
Both sides had chances to score again, but it ended in a draw with Arsenal now favourites to progress with a vital away goal in the bank ahead of the return leg at the Emirates next week.
Villarreal v Arsenal goal & highlights
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United began the match in casual fashion and were nearly punished early on when Lisandro López turned Jonny Evans and whipped in a swerving shot which Edwin van der Sar clawed over the bar.
Porto, who were rated the weakest of the quarter-finalists by bookies, finally took the lead minutes later when Cristian Rodríguez seized on a poor clearance from Evans to smack a cracking shot into the bottom corner.
But United quickly wised up and a foolish error from Bruno Alves brought about the equaliser. The Portugal international did not look as he turned round to pass back to his goalkeeper Helton and Wayne Rooney showed great anticipation to pop up and chipped the ball home on 15 minutes.
The home side had been poor for most of the first half, but improved after the break as they streamed forward in search of a winner.
Rooney’s cunning chip from wide out right was tipped over by Helton and from the corner, Helton was there again to keep out Nemanja Vidić’s header.
Carlos Tévez, chasing back shortly after being introduced as a substitute, survived a penalty shout when he appeared to foul Hulk inside the United area.
And United appeared to have stolen another dramatic Old Trafford victory when Tévez turned home Rooney's sublime back-flick from Gary Neville's throw-in five minutes from time.
It looked like being the killer blow but, as the celebrations rang round the stadium, Porto powered up to the other end where substitute Mariano González was left unmarked to finish off Lisandro's cross and give the 2004 winners a fine chance of dumping out the reigning champions again.
Man United v Porto goal & highlights
| 1 - 1 |
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| Marcos Senna 10 | Emmanuel Adebayor 66 |
Emmanuel Adebayor struck a stunning leveler to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at El Madrigal.
The hosts were unfortunate not to force a fourth-minute goal when Gaël Clichy cleared off the line and Manuel Almunia smothered the loose ball as defender Gonzalo Rodríguez looked to capitalise.
But Villarreal did not have to wait long for their breakthrough as Marcos Senna drilled an unstoppable 25-yard strike past Almunia on 10 minutes.
Arsenal were forced into a change after 27 minutes when Almunia, who picked up an early injury in a clash with Giuseppe Rossi in the early goal-line scramble, was replaced by Łukasz Fabiański.
And the young Pole was forced into immediate action to make a vital double save from Senna and then Joan Capdevila.
On the stroke of half-time, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick in a central position after Adebayor went down in between two defenders. Cesc Fàbregas took his shot early, rolling the ball into the net, but the quick effort was ruled out by referee Tom Henning, who was still counting out 10 yards and had not blown his whistle.
After the interval, Arsène Wenger's men were rejuvenated and their reward finally arrived in the 66th minute when Adebayor chested down Fàbregas' looping ball into the area before dispatching a brilliant scissor-kick into the far corner.
Both sides had chances to score again, but it ended in a draw with Arsenal now favourites to progress with a vital away goal in the bank ahead of the return leg at the Emirates next week.
Villarreal v Arsenal goal & highlights
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