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.
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 Ł25,000 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!
Dida is stretchered off after being tapped by a fan
AC Milan's play acting 'genius' Dida received a two-match ban from UEFA for his ludicrous theatrics in last week's controversial Champions League match again Scottish side Celtic.
Dida was found to have breached UEFA's 'principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship' for writhing around in feigned agony near the goalmouth when approached by a Celtic supporting pitch-invader who had barely tapped him on/near the collarbone.
Celtic have been fined Ł25,000, half of which is suspended, for their part in the incident by UEFA.
Celtic has banned the fan from all the club's matches - both home and away - for life.
AC Milan revenged their defeat in the epic 2005 Champions League final by downing Liverpool 2-1 in their 'rematch' in Athens over-night.
A brace from veteran Filippo Inzaghi which included a fortuitous 1st goal against the run of play at the very end of the first half won the game for Milan.
Liverpool started the game brightly and in doing so, went against all expectations that the Reds would sit back and soak up the pressure for the first 20 minutes. Jermaine Pennant arguably produced his best performance in a Red shirt with his direct running causing all sorts of problems on the Milan left flank.
However, Gerrard and Pennant both wasted good opportunities to put the Reds ahead and the team duly paid for their profligacy in front of goal when Milan seized the lead just before half-time.
Alonso gave away a needless foul just outside the penalty and dead-ball expert Andrea Pirlo floated in a delicate shot ball which deflected off the shoulder of Pippo Inzaghi and past the wrong-footed Pepe Reina.
Sure, this was better than heading into the break with a 3-nil deficit like last time, but for all of Liverpool's dominance, they had nothing to show for it.
After the restart, the tempo of the match died down with Milan comfortable knowing they had a small cushion on their side. Liverpool continued to press but nothing eventuated so Benitez withdrew the ineffective Zenden for the attacking prowess of Aussie Harry Kewell.
Soon after, Gerrard had Liverpool's best chance on 62 minutes when he was sent clear by a dreadful pass by Rino Gattuso, but his finish was weak and Dida saved.
Two years ago, Liverpool had already restored parity with three goals in six second-half minutes and time was slowly running out for the Reds. Benitez had to take a gamble and put on England striker Peter Crouch (who was a surprising non-starter) in the place of the effective Mascherano who has to be given credit for the way he snuffled out Kaka, Milan's greatest attacking threat.
Liverpool continued to push forward in search of the equaliser but the withdrawal of Mascherano gave extra space for Kaka to exploit the Reds' defence and he delivered the killer pass for Inzaghi to score his second goal of the night.
Crouch then tested Dida with a 25-yard drive as Liverpool tried to mount an unlikely recovery that despite Dirk Kuyt's 89th goal, never eventuated.
Three Two and three-quarter minutes later (the ref obviously decided to give the lads an early shower), Milan celebrated their seventh triumph in Europe.
Can I just say that Rafa, for once, got his tactics completely wrong in deploying Gerrard so far up the pitch. Gerrard is a wonderful footballer and is equally devastating in the centre or the right side of midfield, but he is NOT a forward.
Why he chose to leave the height that Peter Crouch provides is beyond me. Many a time, Kuyt was forced to hold the ball upfront (a job Crouch is better at) and at other times, Gerrard was playing even further up the pitch than the supposed 'lone striker'!
If only Alonso was as good a tackler as he is a passer of the ball, that needless foul just before half-time would not have eventuated. In fact, Alonso should have been on the bench with Gerrard in his position with Crouch and Kuyt upfront instead.
This would have meant that Robbie Fowler was on the bench instead of sitting forlornly in the stands on his last night as a Liverpool player. Mind you, he would have been a great cameo player to have when we needed someone to poach a goal so badly.
But credit to the Liverpool players for really taking the game to Milan - the same side that mauled the Premiership champions Manchester United in the semi-finals.
The Mighty Reds may have lost, but they can surely walk away with their heads held high.
19:45 UK - Olympic Stadium, Athens
AC Milan vs. Liverpool
PREVIEW:
In a rematch of the epic 2005 final, Italian giants AC Milan will be up against five-time European champions Liverpool in the final of the 2007 UEFA Champions League.
Both teams boast an amazing european pedigree and between them, have a combined total of 11 European Cup/Champions League trophies.
AC Milan and Liverpool's only previous meeting in European competition was the epic Champions League final of 2005, which ended in a 3-3 draw. The Mighty Reds had recovered from a 3-0 half-time deficit, and eventually won 3-2 on penalties.
According to the latest reports, both teams have a clean bill of health - Milan captain Paolo Maldini appears to have recovered from a knee injury while Boudewijn Zenden has also recovered from the injury setback he sustained in training.
The manager of both sides have confirmed they have settled on their starting eleven and will only release their team sheets closer to kick-off.
Robbie Fowler will be looking to leave his beloved club with a winner's medal - the Anfield legend will be leaving the club after this game. While it appears unlikely he will have a starting role, he could very well feature in the match at a later stage, particularly if the match heads to penalties.
So, will AC Milan exact revenge for their humiliating loss in the 2005 final? Or will the Mighty Reds emerge triumphant once again?
Live coverage on SBS starts at 4:15 AEST. Kick-off at 4:45am.
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.
Wayne Rooney's double which included a sensational injury-time winner handed the Red Devils the advantage as Milan slipped to a 3-2 defeat although an equally brilliant brace from the talented Brazilian Kaka ensured that Milan are still in with a chance.
The second-leg of semi-final one will take place on Wednesday May 2nd at the San Siro.
Barclaycard Premiership leaders Manchester United meet Italian giants AC Milan in the first leg of the Champion's League at Old Trafford on Wednesday (AEST 04:30).
The Red Devils enter the match on the back of a bouyant 7 - 1 romp over Roma a fortnight ago, but their injury-ravaged squad could prove to be a huge obstacle to overcome with none of their first choice defenders fit.
Sth Korean Park Ji-sung and striker Louis Saha are also ruled out which leaves only a 13-man senior squad for Sir Alex Ferguson to choose from.
In contrast, AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has a virtually fully-fit squad available, with striker Alberto Gilardino returning after suspension which means the Rossoneri must start as favourites.
It will be an interesting battle between the youth in attack of United and the wealth of experience of Milan's defence.
Five-time European champions Liverpool and Italian giants AC Milan booked their places in the last four of the Champion's League with wins over PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich respectively.
Liverpool's place in the semi-finals was never under threat courtesy of the 3-nil cushion carried from the 1st leg, but England striker Peter Crouch made sure of the Reds' progression by scoring the only goal of the game in the 67th minute.
The goal was setup by Robbie Fowler AKA "God" with an exquisite swivel and pass into the box after the Anfield hero had come on as a sub in the 17th minute due to an injury to Craig Bellamy.
Although manager Rafa Benitez had stressed to his troops before the game to remain focussed, the boss had enough confidence in his team to leave influential duo Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher on the bench.
Without the talismanic captain on the pitch, the Reds lacked drive despite never having to step up a gear throughout the match.
Liverpool now faces Chelsea again in a re-run of the semi-final of 2005 in which the Reds went onto win the famous trophy.
England can now guarantee at least one of its clubs from the Premier League will reach the final in Athens.
Italian giants AC Milan defeated Bayern Munich in the other quarter-final tie to book a berth in the semi-finals against Manchester United.
Milan scored twice in four minutes from Filippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf to win the game (4-2 on aggregate).
While I had correctly predicted the Milan - Bayern Munich game would end in a draw and Liverpool would score a vital away win against PSV Eindhoven, I well and truly underestimated the brilliance of the mighty Reds in Europe.
With the Kop fans still rejoicing over their team's 4 - 1 win against Arsenal over the weekend, the Reds carried on from where they left off with a restounding 3 - 0 win over PSV at the Philps Stadion over-night.
Talismanic captain Steven Gerrard got the ball rolling when he opened the scoring in the 27th minute from a Steve Finnan cross - his 15th Champion's League goal, a new club record, overtaking Kop legend Ian Rush's previous mark of 14 goals.
After the break, Liverpool moved in for the kill with John Arn Riise scoring an absolute screamer of a goal from 30 yards out after capitalising on a poor PSV defensive clearance.
With the Reds in total control of the game, hat-trick hero Peter Crouch continued his rich vein of form by heading in the third goal of the match from another Steve Finnan cross.
With three vital away goals, the mighty Reds well and truly have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champion's League for the second time in three seasons.
Meanwhile Bayern Munich's last-gasp equaliser puts them in the driving seat for the return leg of their quarter-final tie against Milan.
Trailing 1 - 2 to Andrea Pirlo's header and Brazilian Kaka's penalty, Daniel van Buyten scored his second goal of the evening with the last kick of the game to equalise for the German giants.
The Quarter finals of the Champion's League kick-starts the business end of Europe's premier club competition with Italian giants AC Milan taking on Germany's Bayern Munich at the San Siro while PSV Eindhoven entertain five-time European champions Liverpool in Holland.
AC Milan welcomes back captain Paolo Maldini for the clash while defender Alessandro Nesta should also make a come-back at some stage during the match.
Former World Player of the Year Ronaldo is cup-tied and will most likely be replaced by Albert Gilardino.
Bayern Munich will be without skipper Oliver Kahn (suspended) and Mark van Bommel (injured).
PSV Eindhoven has several injured players for this match: Alex, Kone and Afellay.
Apart from Craig Bellamy, Liverpool has litte injury worries although midfielder Mohamed Sissoko is suspended for the first leg.
Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay scored the fastest ever goal in Champion's League history and helped his side claim victory against Real Madrid in the Allianz Arena over-night.
Roy Makaay put Bayern ahead with just 10 seconds on the clock bettering the previous mark of 20 seconds set by Arsenal's Gilberto Silva against PSV Eindhoven in 2002.
A depleted Real team missing defensive lynchpin Fabio Cannavaro and former England captain David Beckham could not find an answer to Bayern's early goal.
When Ferreira Lucio scored in the 66th minute, Real knew they had to score twice to avoid defeat but all they managed was a 83rd minute consolation penalty which Ruud Van Nistelrooy converted.
Bayern Munich are now through to the quarter finals of the competition by virtue of the away goal's rule.
Last season's runner-up Arsenal were bundled out of this year's competition by Dutch side PSV Eindhoven after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Brazilian defender Alex went from villain-to-hero when he rose above the Arsenal defence to bullet a header into the back of the net with his 'second' goal. His first goal was an own goal that put the Gunners ahead.
However, with the Dutch side carrying a 1-0 lead into the game, the draw was enough to send them through to the next phase while Arsenal boss laments another trophy-less season for his side.
Manchester United's Henrik Larsson signed off in style after scoring the only goal of the game against Lille.
Larsson, whose 10-week loan spell with the Premiership leaders ends on Wednesday week, scored a 71st-minute header to settle a nervy contest that ultimately ensured United advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.
And Scottish giants Celtic pushed AC Milan all the way during 180 minutes of football and it only took a moment of genius from Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka to settle the tie with a goal in extra-time.
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