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Home  » Sports » Villarreal upset Inter to make semis

Villarreal upset Inter to make semis

April 05, 2006 02:56 IST
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Champions League quarter-finals (2nd leg)
Villarreal 1 bt Inter Milan 0 (First leg: 1-2)
Villarreal enter semis on 'away goals' rule

AC Milan 3 Olympique Lyon 1 (First Leg: 0-0)

Villarreal continued their fairytale debut in the Champions League when they clinched a place in the semi-finals on the away goals rule after a 1-0 win over Inter Milan at home in Spain on Tuesday.

Argentine defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena levelled the tie 2-2 on aggregate -- Milan had won the first leg at home 2-1 -- when he headed the ball over Inter keeper Francesco Toldo after Juan Roman Riquelme had clipped free-kick into the area 13 minutes into the second half.

The Primera Liga side, whose first taste of European football came just four years ago when they played in the Intertoto Cup, will now meet either Arsenal or Juventus in the semi-finals.

The Spaniards controlled the game for long periods with their trademark brand of patient possession football but scoring chances were at a premium in a tight, tactical game.

It was not until the outstanding Riquelme earned his side a free-kick a few metres outside the area that the Spaniards were given the chance to claim their historic victory.

AC Milan kill Lyon with late goals

Late strikes from Filippo Inzaghi and Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko gave AC Milan a 3-1 victory over Olympique Lyon and a place in the semi-finals.

The first leg of the quarter-final between the two teams in France ended goalless. With two minutes of normal time remaining Lyon were set to head into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time on the 'away goals' rule.

Inzaghi had put the home side ahead in the 25th minute with a confident header from a Clarence Seedorf cross.

Six minutes later Lyon equalised, gaining their decisive away goal, when Brazilian Juninho whipped in a dangerous free-kick from wide on the left and, with the Milan defence nowhere, a Cris header struck team mate Fred and Senegalese midfielder Mahamadou Diarra headed home.

Milan looked to have run out of ideas but in the 88th minute Shevchenko fired in a low shot which Lyon keeper Gregory Coupet turned against the far post -- the ball rolled along the line hitting the near post before Inzaghi scrambled it over the line.

Then in injury time, Shevchenko latched on to a poor back pass from Francois Clerc and rounded Coupet before slotting into the unguarded goal.

In the semi-finals AC Milan will play Barcelona or Benfica, who meet at the Nou Camp on Wednesday after a goalless first leg.

Villarreal face either Arsenal or Italian league leaders Juventus. Arsenal hold a 2-0 lead going into Wednesday's second leg in Turin.

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Source: REUTERS
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