The Hindu : Madrid rallies to defeat Monaco

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

Sport

Sport - Football

Madrid rallies to defeat Monaco

LONDON, MARCH 25. Real Madrid rallied for a 4-2 victory over Monaco, putting the nine-time European champion in perfect position for another shot at Europe's biggest club title. In the other Champions League quarterfinal first-leg match, Arsenal gained a slight edge with an away goal in a 1-1 draw at Premier League rival Chelsea.

On Tuesday, defending champion AC Milan and FC Porto also took big steps toward the semifinals. Milan rallied to defeat Spain's Deportivo 4-1 and Porto defeated French leader Lyon 2-0. The second legs are on April 6-7.

In the semifinals, the Arsenal-Chelsea winner faces the Real Madrid-Monaco winner and AC Milan or Deportivo face Porto or Lyon.

The first leg is on April 20-21 with the second leg on May 4-5. The final is on May 26 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Real Madrid's English midfielder David Beckham declined to say which English side he'd like to face in the semifinals. ``I was just asked who I'd prefer in the semifinals, Arsenal or Chelsea?'' Beckham said. ``My answer was this tie is not over yet and we still have to go to Monaco to get the result.''

Teammate Luis Figo blamed the spring chill for the slow start. ``We began cold like the weather but in the second half things changed and we gained an important advantage,'' Figo said. `

`We've had a hard week and our minds were set on this game. The team should get through to the next round.''

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger acknowledged the Gunners have the advantage. ``We cannot complain,'' said Wenger, whose team is shooting for the treble - league, FA Cup and Champions League title. ``It's a good outcome for us tonight and a good opportunity for us to go through.''

Chelsea's goalscorer Eidur Gudjohnsen agreed. ``They have the advantage, now we have to go to their place and score,'' Gudjohnsen said. ``We definitely have to do the business when we go to Highbury.''

``One-nil would have been perfect, but it's not lost yet. It's only halftime.''

In Madrid, Monaco took a 1-0 lead in the 43rd when Sebastien Squillaci scored after poor Real Madrid defending. Squillaci took a ball bouncing loose in the area and guided it home from six metres.

Then Real turned up the pressure. The nine-time European champion equalised in the 51st minute on Ivan Helguera's close-in goal. Zinedine Zidane made it 2-1 with 20 minutes left, driving home a right-footed drive after 'keeper Flavio Roma stopped an initial shot with the Frenchman scoring on the rebound.

Figo scored in the 77th, heading a ball home after Roma stopped his penalty kick. Ronaldo made it 4-1 in the 81st on a left-footed shot off a Zidane pass. Former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes scored for Monaco in the 83rd on an eight-metre header.

In London, English rivals Chelsea and Arsenal played a lacklustre first half with Arsenal - with three wins already this season over Chelsea - looking content to settle for a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea also played cautiously, trying not to give Arsenal an away goal.

Gudjohnsen scored in the 53rd, capitalising on an error by Arsenal 'keeper Lens Lehmann. Lehmann came out to kick the ball away but Icelander chased the ball down, blocked Lehmann's kick, and then left-footed the ball home from a sharp angle.

Robert Pires equalised in the 59th, chipping in a header from eight metres off a perfect pass from Ashley Cole. Chelsea has lost three previous games this season to Arsenal - 2-1 in each game - and has now failed to beat Arsenal in 17 matches.

The results: Real Madrid 4 (Ivan Helguera, Zinedine Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo) beat Monaco 2 (Sebastien Squillaci, Fernando Morientes); Chelsea 1 (Gudjohnsen) drew with Arsenal 1 (Robert Pires).

Tuesday's results: Milan beat Deportivo 4-1; Porto beat Lyon 2-0. — AP

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