Arsenal - PSV - 1: 1 (first match - 0: 1)
The staffing problems of Arsenal made Arsene Wenger shake up the squad. Central defender Kolo Toure went to the right flank, Gilberto Silva repeated Essien's trick, dropping into defense, and Denilson made a couple of Fabregas in the center of the field. However, Wenger’s installation on the game hardly depended on the composition and even on the result of the first match. Arsenal attacks in any scenario - this one was no exception.
Londoners could solve the problem of reaching the quarter-finals with the help of two unanswered goals, but not at the expense of 14 missed opportunities. The shake of a weapon near the PSV penalty did not give any result, and the goal of the goal was only a double mistake by the Eindhoven Brazilians: Gomez hesitantly played on the way out, and Alex rebounded the ball into the goal.
Arsenal’s further actions were quickly corrected by inertia. Wenger's team did not understand how to distinguish themselves thanks to their own efforts, and therefore continued to squander moments and wait for an opponent's mistake. Fabregas almost got in after a perfect pass by Gleb, Gomez pulled Henry's free-kick - all this went on until the completely optional foul of the Belarusian midfielder Arsenal near his own corner flag. Alex responded to the canopy of Mendes - and filled the entire scoring protocol. It seems that Arsenal can now be called the main loser of the English Big Four.
AC Milan - Celtic 1-0 (first match 0-0)
The first match of “Milan” and “Celtic” deprived the Italians of their favorite opportunity to play “in a row” - it simply did not exist. The need to win the San Siro was so red-black that they rushed to the goal without swinging, from the very first minutes.
Already in the 3rd minute, in a dangerous moment, two main protagonists of the match appeared at the gates of the Scottish champion - Kaka and Arthur Borutz: the Pole pulled a ball sent from the Brazilian out of the corner. The Celtic answered unexpectedly quickly. Apparently, Yaroshik Maldini blocked the blow with his hand, but the judge said nothing. Website uefa . com reacted to the episode with the line “Maldini made a save” - well, the official sources face the irony.
At this, the exchange of threats was completed. “Rossoneri” went into a protracted siege of Boruc’s goal and over and over again forced the goalkeeper to personally rescue the whole team. The reliability of the Pole shook the Celtic slightly, and the Scots were able to surprise: the usual center-marker of the field Gravesen went out to play the second striker - and, perhaps, was the best in the team. The incredible save of Borutz after the free-kick and the strike of Seedorf four minutes before the whistle was so good that in the next episode Arthur decided to play the crossbar. Goal of “Milan” in the main time of the match would have looked like a crime.
However, after three minutes of extra time, the Celtic defenders yawned Kaka's jerk from the center of the field, and Borutz, deprived of the need to effectively jump, missed the ball between his legs as a child. And still, Arthur earned the right to play in the quarterfinals of the League. But his partners - not yet.
Manchester United - Lille - 1: 0 (first match - 1: 0)
The first match on French soil was marked by scandal - and in the return match a lot reminded of him. The hero of the controversial episode two weeks ago, Giggs spent the whole match on the bench, with his legs raised above his head and showing absolute indifference to what was happening. But Peter Odemvindzhi, who lost his goal due to a violation against Vidich, this time decided to do without controversial situations and broke his nose on the Serb, without completely threatening the goal.
Referee Medina Cantalejo apparently remembered the role of his colleague in the first match, and decided to intervene in the course of the game with a vengeance. Showing a yellow card to Macun, five minutes later the Spaniard confused him with Kader Keita, and removed the latter from the field. At the same time, the second card “Makunu” was shown erroneously - it was not he who violated the rules, but Shalme. However, Cantalejo corrected himself by distributing mustard plasters to his faithful addressees and returning Keith to the field. But now we know that if you wish, you can beat Graham Poll.
Judging incidents were completely forgotten by the 72nd minute, when Henrik Larsson, who spent the last match for Manchester United and returned to Sweden, scored with a head from the pass to Cristiano Ronaldo. The hero of last year's League final sent Alex Ferguson's team to the quarterfinals, where the Mancunians have not appeared since 2003.