Champions League - Late Man U goal steals a draw in France
Published 2/20/2008 2:47:06 PM by staff from soccermogul
Manchester United 1 Lyon 1
Carlos Tevez stepped off the bench to grab a late equaliser for Manchester United in their Champions League first leg match with Lyon in France. Tevez ghosted in at the far post after Karim Benzema had opened the scoring for the French champions with a superb individual effort. But the Argentinian's 87th-minute goal will give United confidence going into the return leg at Old Trafford in two weeks, as they seek to reach the quarter-finals of the competition they won in 1999.
Arsenal 0 AC Milan 0
For long spells, Arsenal made European Cup holders AC Milan look ordinary at Emirates Stadium tonight - but failed to take a decisive advantage as the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie ended goalless. The Gunners - looking to bounce back from the 4-0 FA Cup thrashing at Manchester United on Saturday - more than matched their Serie A opponents, with World Player of the Year Kaka having only a limited impact. Manager Arsene Wenger had labelled tonight's encounter the 'ultimate test' of his young side, who lead the Barclays Premier League by five points. However, their performance, while spirited, lacked a real cutting edge in front of goal as Arsenal could not make the most of their dominance, particularly at the start of the second half - with in-form striker Emmanuel Adebayor seeing his stoppage-time header come back off the crossbar. Nevertheless, the 2006 Champions League finalists remain very much alive heading into the return leg in Italy in a fortnight's time, when the young Gunners will indeed have to produce their performance of the season to advance.
Barcelona 3 Celtic 2
A Lionel Messi double against Celtic put Barcelona in to the driving seat for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in a fortnight's time. After surviving a whirlwind start by the visitors, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink gave the Hoops a 16th-minute lead with a powerful header before Messi levelled two minutes later. Debutant Barry Robson's looping header just before the end of a pulsating first half gave Celtic an interval lead but, following a mistake by Gary Caldwell seven minutes after the restart, Thierry Henry equalised with a classy finish. The home side tried valiantly to hang on in the face of a Catalan onslaught but in the 79th minute the Argentina international summoned up another piece of magic inside the Celtic penalty area before curling his shot past Artur Boruc. The return match on March 4 promises another tough night for the Scottish champions, who will have to win their first ever Champions League game on the road if they are to progress through to the quarter-finals.
Fenerbache 3 Sevilla 2
Fenerbahce substitute Semih Senturk grabbed a late winner to earn a 3-2 victory over Sevilla in their Champions League first knockout round, first leg tie at Sukru Saracoglu on Wednesday. Striker Mateja Kezman had put the home side ahead in the 17th minute with a close-range header but Sevilla drew level six minutes later when Fenerbahce defender Edu deflected a cross into his own net. Fenerbahce edged back in front in the 57th minute when Lugano met a corner from Alex with a header that left goalkeeper Andres Palop standing. Sevilla equalised again within 10 minutes when Julien Escude fired the ball home from close range. Semih sealed the match in the 87th minute when his shot took a slight deflection off a Sevilla defender and beat Palop.
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