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On the day of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, there were no surprises - with convincing victories after the home games, London's Chelsea and Milan advanced to the semifinals, although the results of Tuesday's derby at the San Siro stadium overshadowed everything.
Bayern started the game more actively, seeking to eliminate the two-goal deficit from the first leg, but failed to take advantage of a couple of opportunities, allowing Chelsea to take the lead after half an hour when a shot by F. Lampard deflected off Lucio's leg and into the goal.
After conceding a goal, the hosts seemed a bit shaken and their game started to falter. Halfway through the second half, it seemed that Chelsea would secure the win, but in the 65th minute, a shot by M. Ballack deflected off the crossbar and C. Pizarro tapped it into the empty net.
Supported by a crowd of thousands gathered at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Bayern players launched an assault on their opponents' goal, and soon a header from R. Huth hit the crossbar, and after a corner kick, Lucio's shot was blocked off the goal line by E. Gudjohnsen.
However, with 10 minutes remaining, as Bayern had completely taken the initiative, Chelsea struck back with a counterattack - after a pass from J. Cole, D. Drogba, who had been silent for a long time, directed the ball into the net, practically burying the Bavarians' hopes.
Nevertheless, the players of the German club did not give up, and during extra time, they scored after substitutes J. Guerrero and M. Scholl sprinted onto the field, snatching a victory. However, it was not enough - Chelsea advanced to the semifinals with a total score of 6-5.
In another game:
Inter, with the return of Adriano to the lineup, pressed the opponents from the start, but Milan's defense seemed flawless, and in the 30th minute, A. Shevchenko scored a great goal past F. Toldo after an individual run into the penalty area.
Unlike the first leg, Inter did not give up, continued to attack, and the game remained open. However, at the start of the second half, Adriano suffered an injury and R. Mancini had to replace him with O. Martins.
Once on the field, Martins almost scored right away, when he managed to bypass A. Nesta and his shot was saved by the Milan goalkeeper, who deflected the ball onto the post. Soon after, a shot from J. Veron flew wide of the goal, S. Mihajlovic missed a chance, and O. Martins shot directly at Dida.
Both teams later failed to capitalize on several chances to score, and in the 71st minute, E. Cambiasso managed to send the ball into the net after a corner, but the match referee M. Merk decided not to count the goal due to a foul by J. Cruz on the goalkeeper.
Inter fans were angry at the referee's decision and started throwing various objects onto the field, injuring Milan goalkeeper Dida. The injured Brazilian had to be substituted, and in such circumstances, the referee decided to stop the match.
After about an hour of clearing the field, the match was resumed, but only for a minute, as the "tifosi" riots started again, causing great unrest in the stadium, so M. Merk finally decided to end the match.
J. S. Veron watches as flares and bottles fall onto the field (BBC photo).
Milan secured a narrow victory and advanced to the semifinals, while their city rivals had to exit the Champions League in disgrace. Furthermore, although the result of this tie will not be affected by it, Milan's team might have a 3-0 victory awarded to them. In turn, Inter is likely to face UEFA sanctions.
