The Hindu : Sport / Football : Dramatic comeback by Deportivo

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Friday, Apr 09, 2004

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Sport - Football

Dramatic comeback by Deportivo

LONDON, APRIL 8. The most storied clubs in European soccer are out. Now it's up to someone else to make history.

Deportivo de la Coruna eliminated six-time winner and defending champion AC Milan, Monaco ousted nine-time titlist Real Madrid and Chelsea overcame an 18-match hoodoo to beat stylish London-rival Arsenal.

``If Deportivo continues to play this way it will be a worthy successor to Milan as European champion,'' Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Wednesday.

Only UEFA Cup champion FC Porto played to form, beating Lyon to reach the Champions League semifinals. The Portuguese club is also the only one to have won the competition before, in 1987.

Deportivo plays Porto and Chelsea faces Monaco in the semifinals on April 20 and 21 and May 4 and 5. The final is scheduled for May 26 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

On Wednesday in A Coruna, AC Milan was stunned by Deportivo's remarkable comeback. The Spanish club overcame a 4-1 first-leg deficit to advance 5-4 on aggregate over the six-time European champion.

``There was always hope,'' Deportivo coach Javier Irureta told Spanish national TV. ``It was a sensational first half and we knew how to play the second half with care.''

Deportivo was 3-0 up by the end of the first half. Walter Pandiani scored after five minutes as Deportivo pushed forward. Milan goalkeeper Dida misjudged Alberto Luque's floated cross which allowed Juan Carlos Valeron to head into an empty net for Deportivo's second goal in the 34th minute.

Worse came for Ancelotti's team in the 44th minute when the dependable defender Alessandro Nesta failed to control Jose Francisco Molina's clearance and allowed Luque to race past Cafu and sidefoot a rising shot which gave Dida no chance.

Milan, nine points clear in the Italian league, could have then advanced with a goal of its own, but despite switching to a more defensive style it was Deportivo which scored again through Fran Gonzalez in the 76th minute.

Deportivo was knocked out in its two previous Champions League quarterfinal appearances.

``We were really excited about the prospect of pulling this off,'' Irureta said. ``The other two occasions we were knocked out but after seeing that Madrid couldn't advance our supporters were highly motivated. Everything turned out marvellously.''

Porto also reached the final four with a 4-2 aggregate over Lyon. Maniche scored twice for Porto in the 2-2 second-leg quarterfinal draw in Lyon after the Portuguese team had won the first leg 2-0.

Porto stayed alive for a possible treble. The Portuguese league leader has also reached the final of its domestic cup.

Deco set up both goals for Maniche, who one-timed his first goal past Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet. The next strike came off a volley from 10 metres (yards) after another Deco pass.

Peguy Luyindula, who had a goal disallowed for off-side in the fourth minute, scored for the host off a Florent Malouda cross in the 14th minute.

``We had five or six occasions,'' Lyon coach Paul Le Guen told Canal Plus television at the end of the first half. ``It's frustrating not to have scored more goals.''

Both 'keepers were tested as the match drew to a close, and it was Giovane Elber who headed in the late equaliser off a Malouda cross but refused to celebrate.

The host finished the match with 10 men as Edmilson got two yellow cards in just five minutes, the latter in the 74th.

On Tuesday, both Real Madrid and Arsenal, which are in first place in their respective leagues, took first-half leads and looked a sure bet to meet in the first leg of the semifinals on April 20.

But Ludovic Giuly, who scored two goals, netted the series-decider for Monaco to set the aggregate score at 5-5 and put the host in the semifinals.

Wayne Bridge was the hero for Chelsea, scoring in the 87th minute to put the Blues ahead 2-1 and 3-2 on aggregate when the match looked like it was going into extra-time.

The results (quarterfinals, second leg): Deportivo de la Coruna 4 bt AC Milan (Italy) 0 (Deportivo advanced on 5-4 aggregate); FC Porto 2 drew with Lyon 2 (FC Porto progressed 4-2). — AP

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