Round of 16: Leg 2, Day 2 Results

Roma's Rodrigo Taddei crashes Spanish giants Real Madrid out of the CL.


Real Madrid 1-2 Roma {Agg: 2-4, Roma advances}

The biggest heavyweight clash of the night opened with 15 tense and tentative minutes at the Bernabéu but soon developed into the intense flurry of chances for both sides that many expected. It was the dismissal of Pepe in the 71st minute for what appeared to be an unnecessary push at the endline that swung the momentum to the visiting Giallorossi. Exploiting their man advantage the Italians surged forward and claimed the match's first goal with a textbook Taddei header off a beautifully centered ball from Max Tonetto. Although clearly stunned Los Merengues picked up the pace and responded 2 mintues later with the match equaliser when Raúl slipped through the defense and fired the ball past keeper Doni. Replays showed that Raúl was clearly offside but the referees seemed to lack the temerity to cancel the goal in the face of a raucous Madridista crowd. But the hope for the homeside proved to be shorlived when substitute Montenegin international Mirko Vučinić sealed their fate with another brilliant header off a set piece 2 minutes into penalty time. The defeat marks the fourth consecutive year that the Spanish giants have crashed out in the Round of 16. Though they still lead rivals Barcelona in La Liga, their failure to advance in the CL has put first year manager Bernd Shuster on the hotseat. Rumors are flying that the Special One is destined to lead Los Blancos back to their European glory days in next year's campaign. Conversely, Luciano Spalletti guides the Eternal City's Magica boys to their second consecutive apperance in the CL Final 8.

Porto 1-0 Schalke (4-1p) {Agg: 1-1, Schalke advances on penalties}

The Schalke defense started meekly in Wednesday night's return leg at the Dragão as home side Porto barraged the Germans with strong chances by Ricardo Quaresma, Lisandro López, Lucho González, and two point blank headers by Moroccan forward Tarik Sektioui. Schalke's 21 yr old goal keeper Manuel Neuer seemed to be the only Royal Blue who showed up as he single handedly resisted the onslaught with miraculous save after miraculous save. The score remained 0-0 when the tie appeared to tip dramatically in favor of the visitors when Porto's Fucile was harshly sent off with a red card in the 82nd minute. Though reduced to ten men, the Dragões continued to frantically press and finally found the tie equaliser 4 minutes from time when Argentine striker Lisandro López received the ball from Lucho with his back to goal, turned, and fired high into the net to the frenzied delight of the delirious Dragão. A nervy 30 minutes of extra time resulted in no score and the evenly matched sides headed to a shoot-out to decide who would advance. It was here that young Manuel Neuer cemented his man-of-the-match status with two huge penalty saves to propel Schalke 04 to their first ever appearance in the CL quarterfinals. The stunned Portugese were left to wonder what might have been had they converted just one of their many golden chances. But what can they say? That's football.


Chelsea 3-0 Olympiacos {Agg: 3-0, Chelsea advances}

Chelsea cruised into the CL quarterfinals with a definitive 3-0 whuppin of Olympiacos at Stamford Bridge. The Blues' much maligned manager Avram Grant continued to sow controversy with his side selection, but his critics would be left with no fodder after this night's performance. Chelsea's star midfielder and German international captain Michael Ballack started the scoring in just the 5th minute with a neat header off a Frank Lampard cross. The duo combined again for the second goal in the 25th minute as a Ballack shot was blocked but not held by Greek keeper Nikopolidis and the English international Lampard was there to finish. Just after half the tie was placed out of reach when Ivory Coast international Salomon Kalou converted a Lampard corner which had already found its way through Blues Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho. With the victory, Chelski makes their fourth appearance in the Final 8 in five seasons and Avram Grant gets a momentery reprieve from the incessant calls for his head. One gets the feeling that only a European Championship could save his job for next season.