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At the "San Siro" stadium, the home team "Milan" faced a real nerve-wracking battle with "Lyon," as the first leg between the teams ended goalless. The match started most actively for Milan with Fillippo Inzaghi, whose two attempts went wide, while the guests had a chance to score after mistakes by the hosts - a miscue by Serginho led to Sydney Govou shooting off-target from a distance, and goalkeeper Dida failing to reach the ball.
Midway through the first half, Dida left his goal to stop Fred's attack, but Florent Malouda failed to accurately place the ball past the defenders. In the 25th minute, unable to capitalize on opponents' mistakes, "Lyon" was punished after losing the ball in the midfield and Filippo Inzaghi scored the first goal with his head after Clarence Seedorf's cross from the flank.
However, their lead lasted only six minutes, as once again, Lyon equalized unconvincingly after Milan's goalkeeper made a mistake. After Juninho's penalty, Dida couldn't reach the ball, and in the chaos of the penalty area, Mahamadou Diarra managed to head the ball into the empty net.
Scoring an away goal put Lyon in a better position and Milan now needed to secure a victory. The first attempt was made by Clarence Seedorf, whose shot narrowly missed the target, but Lyon's attacks were equally dangerous, initially Juninho's shot-cross was saved by Dida, and after a corner, Fred's header rebounded off the Milan goalpost.
Early in the second half, Milan defender Alessandro Nesta had a chance, but he couldn't direct the ball towards the goal with his head. Juninho's dangerous penalty was stopped by Milan's wall, and on the counter, Andriy Shevchenko shot over the goal from a sharp angle. Both teams continued to exchange threatening attacks, but couldn't find the back of the net. Kaka came close to scoring after a corner, but his header was cleared off the goal line by S.Wiltord at the last moment.
However, towards the end of the match, Milan's constant pressure finally broke Lyon's solid defense - A. Shevchenko's shot bounced off both goalposts and from close range, Filippo Inzaghi led his team forward, while in added time, a final "nail in the coffin" was hammered in by A. Shevchenko, who took advantage of Francois Clerc's mistake to deceive goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and secure victory for his team.
Milan escaped and once again reached the Champions League semifinals, while Lyon's dream of becoming the strongest team in Europe for the third consecutive year ended in the quarterfinals.
In the other pairing, this year's Champions League sensation, the debutant "Villarreal," once again confirmed their status by defeating Milan's "Inter" with a minimal advantage in the rematch. As expected, the hosts started the match actively at their stadium, and former Milan player Jose Mari had the first chance to score, but his shot flew over the goal after Venta's pass.
In the 33rd minute, Francesco Toldo had to block Rodolfo Arrubarrena's header attempt, Juan Roman Riquelme's shot was off target, and "Inter" responded with an unsuccessful shot by Dejan Stankovic. J.R. Riquelme continued to threaten the Italian team's goal, but his another attempt was unsuccessful, while after his lifted corner, Italian Alessio Tacchinardi failed to direct the ball into the net.
After the break, the situation on the field remained unchanged, and "Inter" continued to defend against "Villarreal's" attacks. F. Toldo had a lot to do - he initially blocked Jose Mari's shot, later defended against another J.R. Riquelme attempt. However, the goalkeeper ultimately made a mistake, and in the 58th minute, after a penalty kick, R. Arruabarrena headed the ball into the goal before he could reach it.
Soon, F. Toldo made a great save from Diego Forlan's powerful shot, and despite needing to score a goal to stay in the tournament, "Inter" failed to seriously press the hosts towards their goal. "Villarreal" maintained a favorable result and sensationally advanced to the semifinals, while "Inter" once again ended their Champions League campaign early.
Tuesday's second leg match statistics:
1 - 0 Milan (First leg 1-2, aggregate result 2-2, "Villarreal" advanced due to an away goal) 58` [1 - 0] Rodolfo Arruabarrena
3 - 1 (First leg 0-0, aggregate result 3-1) 25` [1 - 0] Filippo Inzaghi 31` [1 - 1] Mahamadou Diarra 88` [2 - 1] Filippo Inzaghi 90+3` [3 - 1] Andriy Shevchenko
