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After the winter break on Tuesday, the UEFA Champions League started with knockout matches. In the first round of the round of 16, victories were achieved by the home teams "Real" and "PSV", as well as the away team "Man Utd", while the match between "Celtic" and "Milan" ended goalless.
One of the most intriguing matches took place in Madrid, where the local "Real" club and Munich's "Bayern" clashed. The match started more successfully for the hosts, and in the 10th minute, after a mistake by the visitors' defense, Raul broke free and scored past goalkeeper Oliver Kahn to put his team ahead.
In the 23rd minute, a similar mistake by the "Real" defense allowed Lucio from Brazil to equalize with a precise header. However, the equal score did not last long, as after David Beckham's set pieces, the Madrid club restored and increased their advantage.
After 28 minutes, following a corner kick by D.Beckham, Ivan Helguera scored with a header with slight assistance from Raul, and in the 34th minute, the English legionnaire took a penalty kick and, after I.Helguera's pass, shot past O.Kahn with his head from close range.
The first half ended with "Real" confidently leading 3-1, so after the break, the hosts tried to control the tempo of the game and maintain their two-goal lead. However, "Bayern" did not give up, and Claudio Pizarro threatened the Spanish team's goal twice after coming on as a substitute - first, he scored with a header that I.Casillas could not save, and later he deceived two defenders and shot into the lower corner of the goal, but the hosts' goalkeeper played excellently and saved his team.
Fabio Capello's players did not heed the warning signs, and towards the end of the match, "Bayern" launched an assault on the opponents' goal - a precise shot from outside the box towards I.Casillas' goal by Mark van Bommel two minutes before the end of regular time brought the score to 3-2 in favor of "Real". However, "Bayern" scored two important goals away from home and will be able to seek a minimal revenge in the return leg.
A small surprise was provided by the Eindhoven "PSV" club, which managed to defeat last year's finalist, London's "Arsenal", at home. In a tough match, the English visitors failed to capitalize on their territorial advantage, and the only goal in the middle of the second half was scored from a distance by Ecuadorian Edison Mendez.
Things went better for another English club, "Man Utd", who managed to defeat the "Lille" team away in a match that almost turned into a scandal. After playing for just over an hour, the French were surprisingly led by Peter Odemwingie, but his goal was disallowed. In the 83rd minute, Ryan Giggs scored with a penalty kick before the opponents could set up their defensive wall.
This caused great dissatisfaction among the hosts, and they even prepared to leave the field, but later they changed their minds, and the match ended with a minimal victory for "Man Utd", allowing Alex Ferguson's coached team to take a serious step towards the quarterfinals.
No goals were scored in Glasgow on Tuesday evening, where the teams "Celtic" and "Milan" played. Both teams had opportunities to score but failed to do so - the match ended in a goalless draw. The second leg matches will be played in two weeks.
Statistics from Tuesday's round of 16 matches
Real Madrid 3 - 2 Bayern Munich
10' [1 - 0] Raul Gonzalez
23' [1 - 1] Ferreira da Silva Lucio
28' [2 - 1] Raul Gonzalez
34' [3 - 1] Ruud van Nistelrooy
88' [3 - 2] Mark van Bommel
PSV Eindhoven 0 - 0 Arsenal
Lille 0 - 1 Manchester United
83' [0 - 1] Ryan Giggs
Celtic 1 - 0 Milan
61' [1 - 0] Edison Mendez
