Arsenal stole the show in Tuesday Night’s Champions League action, shocking A.C. Milan 2-0 in an historic evening at the San Siro. The Gunners are the first English club to beat A.C. Milan at home in the Champions’ League.
The two squads fought a back and forth duel of flowing football, with Fabregas - with the help of poor goalkeeping from Kalac - finally breaking the deadlock with a speculative 30-yard effort. The second goal, however, was pure skill as Walcott sidled his way into the box and set-up a sublime through ball for Adebayor to seal the deal.
The difference between the two sides, seems to have been up front. Adebayor consistently threatened the Milan back four, but Milan could not claim the same success. Inzaghi and Gilardino were useless. Jesus could not give a barely fit Kaka that extra bit of oomph to get by his markers.
With Ancelotti on the hot seat, could “the Special One” be leaving his Setanta Sports gig?
Man United also beat French-club Lyon 1-0, 2-1 on aggregate to secure their place in the quarterfinals, with the decisive blow coming from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 41st minute. Though the performance was neither perfect nor pretty, it sufficed.
Barcelona beat Celtic 1-0 on a third minute strike Deco. The goal gave Barcelona a commanding 4-2 advantage over Celtic with three away goals, allowing them to control without extertion. For a club that often seems a corrupt circus off the pitch, the calm and collected performance was a reassuring sign, though a mitigated one with the loss of Messi to a “suspected torn thigh muscle.”
There was also an exciting match in Spain, though not exciting enough to warrant a mention by the British media, as Fenerbahce advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in the club’s history on penalties after a 3-2 defeat at Sevilla.
Though the Turkish side lost the match, their 3-2 victory in the first leg made the aggregate score 5-5. With both clubs having two away goals, the decision came down to penalties. Where Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demeril made three saves to send the club onward.
