The Hindu : Sport / Football : AC Milan settles for draw

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 06, 2004

Sport

Sport - Football

AC Milan settles for draw

LONDON, APRIL 5. Two of Europe's major league leaders, AC Milan and Werder Bremen, settled for draws for the second straight week on Sunday. Arsenal, which lost to Manchester United on Sunday, now faces a tough task at home against London-rival Chelsea in the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup on Tuesday.

Porto, which also won a trio of trophies last season by lifting the UEFA Cup along with its two domestic titles, was shocked in the Portuguese league, losing for the first time this season at Gil Vicente 2-0.

The 1987 Champions Cup winner, which lost for the first time since playing Real Madrid in the Champions League in October, will face Lisbon-rival Benfica in the cup final.

Scottish Premier League leader Celtic also has a chance for a treble. The Hoops eliminated FC Barcelona to reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup and have already reached the semifinals of the Scottish Cup.

Other league leaders may have to settle for just one or two trophies this season.

Real Madrid and defending European champion AC Milan are both expected to reach the semifinals of the Champions League, but both have lost in their respective national cup competitions.

Werder Bremen, which has reached the German Cup final, did not participate in the Champions League.

Spain

Roberto Carlos scored two goals off deflections as Real Madrid, which lost to Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey final, beat Albacete 2-1 to maintain its slight lead over Valencia.

The 2002 champion topped last-place Murcia 2-0 on goal from Mauricio Pellegrino and Miguel Angel `Mista' Ferrer.

Defending champion Madrid is in first place with 67 points, followed by Valencia with 66 and Deportivo de La Coruna with 57. FC Barcelona, which drew 0-0 with Villarreal, is fourth with 56 points.

Italy

AC Milan gave hope to second-place AS Roma after being held to a 1-1 draw at Modena. Jon-Dahl Tomasson gave Milan the lead, but substitute Nicola Amoruso equalised for the host.

Roma, which still has a game in hand, blanked host Lecce 3-0 as Emerson and Francesco Totti each scored.

Defending champion Juventus could not take advantage, however, losing to Inter 3-2. Obafemi Martins, Christian Vieri and Dejan Stankovic scored for Inter, while Juve got an own-goal from Kily Gonzalez and late strike from Marco Di Vaio.

Milan is still well ahead in the standings with 69 points, followed by Roma with 60 and Juventus with 59. Lazio and Parma are next with 47 points each.

England

Division One Millwall will face 10-time winner Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

Tim Cahill scored the lone goal as Millwall, which has never won the FA Cup, edged Sunderland 1-0.

In the Premier League, Chelsea moved to within four points of Arsenal by beating Tottenham 1-0 on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's winner.

Liverpool also scored a big win, trouncing Blackburn 4-0 to move into fourth place. Michael Owen scored two.

Arsenal still leads with 74 points and a game in hand, followed by Chelsea with 70 and Man United with 62. Liverpool now has 49 points, one more than Newcastle.

Germany

Bayern Munich closed in on Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga by blanking FC Kaiserslautern 2-0, while Freiburg held the leader to a 1-1 draw.

Roy Makaay and Roque Santa Cruz scored a goal each for Bayern. League-leading scorer Ailton netted the equaliser for Bremen.

Bremen leads the league with 63 points, followed by Bayern with 56 and Stuttgart, which crushed Wolfsburg 5-1, with 51.

Portugal

Silva, Liedson and Pedro Barbosa scored a goal each as Sporting held off Braga 3-2 to remain in second place in the Portuguese league, while Benfica was held to a 1-1 at Rio Ave.

FC Porto is still in first place with 71 points and a game in hand, followed by Sporting with 67 and Benfica with 61.

France

Monaco reclaimed the top spot in the French league, but it was Paris Saint-Germain that gained the most by beating Nantes 3-2.

Monaco, which had been trailing defending champion Lyon on goal difference, came back from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Ajaccio, while a resurgent Marseille nipped Lyon 2-1.

Monaco is top with 64 points, one more than Lyon, while PSG has 60.

The results:

Spain: Sevilla 1 bt Espanyol 0; Albacete 1 lost to Real Madrid 2; FC Barcelona 0 drew with Villarreal 0; Osasuna 1 drew with Malaga 1; Athletic de Bilbao 0 drew with Celta de Vigo 0; Zaragoza 2 drew with Racing de Santander 2; Mallorca 1 drew with Real Sociedad 1; Deportivo de La Coruna 2 drew with Real Betis 2; Atletico de Madrid 2 bt Valladolid 1; Valencia 2 bt Murcia 0.

Italy: Ancona 0 lost to Sampdoria 1; Bologna 2 drew with Reggina 2; Chievo 0 lost to Parma 2; Empoli 1 bt Perugia 0; Lazio 5 bt Siena 2; Lecce 0 lost to AS Roma 3; Modena 1 drew with AC Milan 1; Udinese 4 bt Brescia 3;Inter Milan 3 bt Juventus 1.

Germany: Borussia Dortmund 4 bt VfL Bochum 1; Werder Bremen 1 drew with SC Freiburg 1.

England: Liverpool 4 bt Blackburn Rovers 0; Aston Villa 1 drew with Manchester City; FA Cup: Sunderland 0 lost to Millwall 1; Arsenal 0 lost to Manchester United 1.

Portugal: Boavista 1 lost to Amadora 2; Gil Vicente 2 bt FC Porto 0; Beira Mar 0 drew with Academica 0; Morierense 2 bt Nacional 1; Pacos Ferreira 1 lost to Leiria 2; Rio Ave 1 drew with Benfica 1; Braga 2 lost to Sporting 3.

France: Guingamp 2 drew with Auxerre 2; Lyon 1 lost to Marseille 2; Bastia 2 bt Nice 1; Bordeaux 1 drew with Strasbourg 1; Lille 1 bt Rennes 0; Metz 5 bt Le Mans 0; Montpellier 1 bt Lens 0; Paris Saint-Germain 3 bt Nantes 2; Toulouse 0 drew with Sochaux 0.

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