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After a winter break in the extended Champions League, the first day of the round of 16 already saw some interesting results - the unexpected failure at home for Real who lost to Arsenal, while defending champions Liverpool lost away to Benfica. The meeting between Bayern and Milan ended in a draw, while Lyon celebrated victory in Eindhoven against the local PSV.
In Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the well-performing Real was the favorite against the injury and inconsistency-plagued Arsenal, but the young Gunners team took initiative from the start of the match and had two good chances to score, but Jose Antonio Reyes failed to beat Iker Casillas one on one, and Roberto Carlos defended the last-minute attempt by Fredrik Ljungberg.
After just nine minutes of play, the hosts' defender Jonathan Woodgate got injured and was replaced by Alvaro Mejia, but Arsenal continued to attack and once again had a great opportunity with Thierry Henry free at the edge of the box, but his header was off-target.
After playing a little over half an hour, Real had a hundred percent chance, but Jens Lehmann blocked David Beckham's shot with his legs. Towards the end of the half, the German goalkeeper also had to deny attempts by Robinho and R. Carlos, while on the other side, T. Henry's shot was too weak.
The second half started similarly to the first, but this time T. Henry took advantage of his opportunity in the attack - the Arsenal leader received the ball at the center of the pitch, sprinted, resisted three opponents trying to take the ball, entered the box, and placed the ball accurately with his left foot into the far corner of the goal.
The visitors later could have doubled their lead, and the return of captain Raul, who played his 100th Champions League match after coming back from injury and entering the pitch after a substitution, brought energy into Real's game, but even he failed to turn the tide in favor of Madrid. Arsenal celebrated an impressive victory and became the first British club to beat Real at their own stadium.
In the other clash of giants in Munich's Allianz Arena, Bayern hosted Milan. In the rather eventful start of the match, both teams struggled to get closer to the opponents' goal, but the hosts finally broke forward - the ball bounced 20 meters from the goal to Michael Ballack, who struck a superb shot into the far corner of the goal.
Milan stumbled and a few minutes later, Bayern's forward Roy Makaay had a very good opportunity, but after a pass from the wing, his shot from close range was successfully blocked by the visitors' goalkeeper Dida, who later also had to defend against Lucio and Claudio Pizarro's attempts and watch another dangerous shot by R. Makaay.
However, in the middle of the second half, luck smiled on Milan - a ball passed to Serginho in the penalty area hit Valerien Ismael's hand, so the match referee had to award a penalty to Bayern. It was converted by Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko to level the score.
After the equalizing goal, the visitors recovered and had chances to snatch victory, but Alberto Gilardino shot over the bar from a great position, and A. Shevchenko's attempt was parried by the young Michael Rensing in place of Oliver Kahn. Meanwhile, all of Bayern's efforts were in vain, as Milan gained the advantage with an away goal.
In Lisbon, Benfica showed their ambition by forcing European champions Liverpool to surrender at home. In a match that was not rich in events, the victory for the Portuguese club was determined by a goal scored by Luisao's head in the 84th minute after a penalty kick by Petit - in order to avoid elimination, the Champions League winner will now have to retaliate at home.
In a more difficult situation after the first leg, Eindhoven's PSV lost to longtime French champions Lyon club, who won with a minimal lead away. In the evenly balanced first half, both teams failed to capitalize on opportunities, but in the second half, the visitors pressed their opponents and took the lead after another successful penalty kick by Juninho. At the end of the match, the Frenchman Sydney Govou received a red card, but despite having a numerical advantage, PSV could not avoid defeat.
Tuesday's results:
Munich 1 - 1 Milan
23' [1 - 0] Michael Ballack
58' [1 - 1] Andriy Shevchenko (pen.)
Madrid 0 - 1 London
47' [0 - 1] Thierry Henry
Lisbon 1 - 0 Liverpool
84' [1 - 0] Luisao
Eindhoven 0 - 1 Lyon
65' [0 - 1] Juninho Pernambucano
81' Sydney Govou (Lyon) sent off from the field
