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UEFA CL: Celtic through to knockout stages

December 5th 2007 06:00

Tue, Dec 4:
UEFA Champions League (Group D)

AC Milan 1 - 0 Celtic
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 2 Benfica

SUMMARY:

Scottish champions Celtic are through to the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League for the second season on the trot despite going down 1-0 to AC Milan at the San Siro.

Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi broke the deadlock on the 70th minute with his 63rd goal in UEFA club competitions - a new record - to seal the win, and top spot in the group, for his side.

In the opening stages, the visitors looked nervous knowing that a draw would seal their place in the next phase of Europe's premier club competition. Once the nerves had settled, Celtic were happy to sit back and hit Milan on the counter-attack but lacked the incisive cutting edge to break the Rossoneri defence.

However, the Scottish champions were stunned 21 minutes from time when Brazilian Cafu squared the ball inside the area for Inzaghi to score his record breaking goal.

Despite the loss, the Scottish side were still able to celebrate qualification after Shakhtar Donetsk's 2-1 loss to Benfica in the other Group D match.

[Video Source:YouTube]

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Posted By: charles - Category: Champions League football, European football news, AC Milan

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AC Milan keeper Dida's two-match ban reduced!

October 23rd 2007 06:30

AC Milan goalkeeper Dida has had his two-match suspension reduced by UEFA following an appeal by the club.

The 34-year-old Brazilian was initially banned for two games for his theatrics following a very minor 'altercation' with a Celtic fan that had gone onto the pitch during the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park.

The initial two-match suspension has now been reduced to just one with a further game suspended for a year.

AC Milan's grounds for appeal were that the keeper's actions was nevertheless a mistake but his error did not hinder anyone, not Celtic, nor any player. The club were also unhappy that Celtic were fined only £25,000 which, in their opinion, was lenient compared to the suspension Dida received.

The decision by UEFA to reduce the suspension is an absolute disgrace. The initial two-match suspension was by no means harsh by any standards - some would say that Dida deserved to have been heavily punished for tarnishing the reputation and integrity of the game.

By reducing the length of the suspension, UEFA has effectively condoned the keeper's actions and that any other player thinking of doing the same in the future can expect just a one-match ban.

Who else thinks Celtic should reduce the fan's lifetime banishment from the club's matches now? They might as bloody well!

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Posted By: charles - Category: Champions League football, European football news, World football news, AC Milan

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AC Milan through to Champion's League final

May 3rd 2007 05:14

UEFA Champion's League: Semi-final 1 - 2nd Leg

RESULT:

AC Milan 3 - 0 Manchester United (Agg: 5 - 3)

SUMMARY:

BBC Sport

AC Milan are through to the final of the UEFA Champion's League for 2007 with a crushing win over Manchester United at the San Siro.

The Red Devils were distinctly off-colour for such an important game and Milan's Brazilian maestro Kaka duly punished them with a goal inside the first 11 minutes to add to the brace he scored in the 1st leg.

Confusion in the United defence between Gabriel Heinze and Nemanja Vidic gave Milan their second goal of the evening with Clarence Seedorf the scorer.

It took until the hour for United to really get going but they still did not manage to break down the Milan defence and shortly after, it was all over - game, set and match Milan when substitute Alberto Gilardino was released down the middle and he ran 40 yards before coolly curling the ball home.

While a Liverpool - Manchester United would have been absolutely mouth-watering, we will now witness a rematch of the epic 2005 final between Liverpool and Milan which the mighty Reds came out on top after coming back from 3 - 0 down to win on penalties.

The Champion's League final 2007 will be in Athens on May 23rd.

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