© EuroFootball.com
After the second leg quarter-final matches on Wednesday, all four strongest European clubs of this year became clear. The last two semi-final participants were the "Liverpool" club, who defeated "PSV" for the second time, and the "Milan" club, who broke the resistance of "Bayern" as guests.
In Munich, the veterans of the most prestigious tournament of the Old Continent - the owner of the "Allianz" arena, "Bayern," and the "Milan" club clashed. Since the first match ended in a 2-2 draw, it was the "Milan" players who needed to attack, but the initiative was in the hands of the hosts at the beginning of the match.
In the 7th minute, Christian Lell was close to scoring after a pass from Mark van Bommel, but "Milan" was saved in time by defender Massimo Oddo on the goal line. Later, Roy Makaay hit the side of the net as Bayern attacked, Lukas Podolski tried his luck from a distance, but the result remained unchanged.
However, one defensive mistake cost the "Bayern" club a goal - in the 27th minute, after a mistake by C. Lell with L. Podolski, "Milan" defender Clarence Seedorf beat Daniel van Buyten's defense and with a precise shot defeated Oliver Kahn and brought the Italian team ahead.
Just five minutes later, after a pass from C. Seedorf, F. Inzaghi doubled Milan's lead and sent Bayern reeling, after which the German team never recovered from the first half.
After the break, "Bayern" coach Ottmar Hitzfeld threw all his forces into attack, but the hosts could not overcome the "Milan" goalkeeper Dida, and "Milan" took the victory back to Germany and a ticket to the semi-finals, where they will face the "Man Utd" club from England.
Meanwhile, the coach of the other English team, "Liverpool," Rafa Benitez, due to the convincing 3-0 victory in the away match against Eindhoven's "PSV," allowed some of his players to rest, but already in the 17th minute had to make a substitution as Craig Bellamy was injured. The first opportunity to score was for "PSV," but Pepe Reina caught Jefferson Farfan's shot.
In the 25th minute, after an attack by "Liverpool," Peter Crouch's header was already saved by Heurelho Gomes. The closest to a goal in the first half was "PSV" defender Boudewijn Zenden, but his shot passed by the side of the visitors' goal.
The second half started similarly to the first. At first, J. Farfan once again tried a long shot to test P. Reina's alertness, and the "Liverpool" goalkeeper repelled the attempt, while on the other side of the field, P. Crouch shot inaccurately. In the 64th minute, "PSV" were left with ten men - debutant D. Marcellis was sent off the field for a rough foul against B. Zenden.
The hosts did not delay in taking advantage of this, and in the 67th minute, after H. Gomes repelled an inadvertent shot from his teammate, P. Crouch scored after a pass from R. Fowler. At the end of the match, P. Crouch and J. Pennant could have increased the lead for "Liverpool," but it no longer mattered, as R. Benitez's proteges confidently secured victory and will meet "Chelsea" again in their "English" Champions League semi-final after a two-year hiatus.
Wednesday's match statistics
PSV 0 - 1 Liverpool
(First leg 3-0, aggregate score 4-0)
67' [1 - 0] Peter Crouch
64' Dirk Marcellis (PSV) sent off
Bayern 0 - 2 Milan
(First leg 2-2, aggregate score 2-4)
28' [0 - 1] Clarence Seedorf
32' [0 - 2] Filippo Inzaghi
Semi-final pairings
Milan vs. Man Utd
Liverpool vs. Chelsea
