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UEFA Champions League ended the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, London's "Chelsea" club defeated "Napoli" 4-1 in extra time in front of their own fans, avenging their dramatic loss in Italy 1-3.
Interestingly, in Naples, the team was led by Andre Villas Boas, who was fired a few days later, and in London - he was replaced by Roberto Di Matteo, whose third consecutive victory certainly pleased important figures like owner Roman Abramovich sitting in the stands.
The hosts took the lead in the 29th minute - although the guests had dominated until then, Didier Drogba sent the ball into the net with a great header. At the beginning of the second half, John Terry also doubled the advantage with a header, but "Napoli" restored hope with a long shot from Gokhan Inler.
His efforts were not enough: in the 75th minute, defender Andre Dossena touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area and the referee had no choice but to award a penalty, which was confidently converted by veteran Frank Lampard - 3-1.
Since the first leg ended with the same score as the primary time of this evening, the teams had to play extra time. Luck favored "Chelsea" during this time: in the 105th minute, after a pass from Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic defeated goalkeeper Massimo De Sanctis from close range, and the Italian team failed to save themselves in the remaining time.
Madrid's "Real" secured a spot among the eight strongest European clubs by convincingly beating Moscow's CSKA 4-1 at home, represented by Lithuanian Deividas Šemberas.
The first goal was scored by Gonzalo Higuain, and shortly after the break, Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead with a long-range shot. Karim Benzema did not allow any doubts about the victors in the 70th minute, but later Zoran Tosic softened the lead with an impressive goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo managed to delight the fans with a fourth goal, but the main defender Xabi Alonso received a yellow card and will miss the first leg of the quarterfinals due to suspension.
Results:
Madrid's "Real" 4 - 1 Moscow's CSKA (first leg 1-1, aggregate score 5-2) 26' [1 - 0] G.Higuain 55' [2 - 0] C.Ronaldo 70' [3 - 0] K.Benzema 77' [3 - 1] Z.Tosic 90' [4 - 1] C.Ronaldo
D.Šemberas (CSKA) remained on the bench
Key moments:
Detailed analysis:
London's "Chelsea" 4 - 1 "Napoli" (after extra time, first leg 1-3, aggregate score 5-4) 29' [1 - 0] D.Drogba 48' [2 - 0] J.Terry 55' [2 - 1] G.Inler 75' [3 - 1] F.Lampard (from penalty) 105' [4 - 1] B.Ivanovic
Key moments:
Detailed analysis:
Participants in the quarterfinals before Friday's draw ceremony:
Munich's "Bayern" (Germany) "Marseille" (France) London's "Chelsea" (England) Madrid's "Real" (Spain) Nicosia APOEL (Cyprus) "Barcelona" (Spain) "Milan" (Italy) Lisbon's "Benfica" (Portugal)"
