The Hindu : Sport / Football : It's advantage Barcelona after first leg

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Thursday, Apr 20, 2006

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Sport - Football

It's advantage Barcelona after first leg

MILAN: With all the attention paid to AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko and Barcelona's Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o prior to Tuesday's European Champions League semifinal, Ludovic Giuly was barely mentioned.

Yet the veteran France forward was the one to beat an offside trap, latch on to a brilliant pass from Ronaldinho and send a left-footed shot past Milan goalkeeper Dida in the 57th minute for Barcelona's 1-0 win.

At 29, Giuly has reached the point in his career where he can't play a full 90 minutes anymore.

``He worked very hard in the first half. I asked (at halftime) if he had maybe 15 more minutes in him and he replied that he had 20,'' Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said. ``I checked my watch after he scored and it was just under 20 minutes into the half. Maybe this was what he had in mind.''

Barcelona will enter next week's return leg at the Camp Nou with a nine-match unbeaten run at home in Europe. Juventus was the last team to beat Barcelona — in the 2004 Champions League quarterfinals.

Long overdue

It was Giuly's first goal in this season's Champions League. He shot into Dida's arms in his team's best chance in the first half, with the host and six-time champion dominating before the break.

Milan striker Alberto Gilardino's shot from inside the box hit the near post in the 14th. A minute later, Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes blocked a header from striker Shevchenko.

``We were just a little imprecise on our scoring opportunities. I think that was the key,'' Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti said.

It took 23 minutes before the Catalans' first shot on goal — a long-range attempt by Eto'o that Dida easily gathered. Six minutes later, Ronaldinho's free-kick bounced off the Milan wall.

``It was a very balanced match,'' Ancelotti said. ``The result still lets us hope to reverse the situation in the second leg. They won at San Siro, we can win at Barcelona.''

Near miss

Shortly after Barcelona went ahead, Ronaldinho hit the post in the 64th on a counterattack.

Ancelotti had inserted Jaap Stam at right back to contain Ronaldinho, who lined up on the left to start the game. But the 2005 European and FIFA World Player of the Year appeared to roam wherever he pleased.

``Ronaldinho is a player that moves around a lot all over the field, he's difficult to defend against,'' Ancelotti said.

In the 51st, Shevchenko and Kaka set up Gilardino — but the Italy forward's attempt went just wide in another opportunity squandered by Milan.

Milan's best chances after falling behind were a long shot by Kaka that went wide in the 75th, and another by substitute Massimo Ambrosini minutes later.

Captain and substitute Paolo Maldini continued the late pressure, heading a corner that Valdes did well to save in the 87th.

Barcelona is trying to reach the final for the first time since 1994, when it lost to Milan 4-0 in the most lopsided final since the Champions League was created.

Barcelona's sole win in the competition was in 1992 when it beat Sampdoria 1-0 at Wembley.

Milan will hope to have back Filippo Inzaghi for the second leg. Inzaghi, who has scored four goals in five Champions League games this season, sat out Tuesday with the flu. — AP

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