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Champions League: the agonies and the ecstasy

Juventus striker David Trezeguet of France, on the ground, scores with an overhead kick against Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas at the Delle Alpi stadium in Turin. PHOTO: AP

Juventus coach Fabio Capello raced to the tunnel screaming with delight after his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League 2-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.

A second half strike from David Trezeguet took the game into extra-time and four minutes from the end Uruguayan Marcelo Zalayeta pounced on a loose ball to fire home the winner.

Capello is normally one of the most reserved coaches in Serie A but the win against his former club, which took Juventus into the quarterfinals, saw him wildly celebrating as he charged to the dressing room.

"It is never an easy business defeating Real Madrid and so that was a special feeling," Capello said, "I think it is the first time I have celebrated like that but now I've done it, I'd like to try it again."

Capello gave particular credit to Gianluca Pessotto, standing in for the injured Pavel Nedved on the left and Zalayeta who started in place of Trezeguet, who was returning from illness.

"They are important players for the team because they work hard and seriously in training so that when they are called upon they are always ready," he said.

Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo said there had been little to choose between the teams. "It was tight throughout and it was the kind of match that we could have won and gone through," he said.

Luxemburgo defended his decision to take off Zinedine Zidane late in the second half, leaving Real without the former Juve man who had been their main threat.

"Zidane had a problem at the start of the game and it got progressively worse but it was a tactical decision," said Luxemburgo who brought Guti on shortly before Trezeguet's goal.

Liverpool walks tall

Liverpool will take their place in the quarterfinals with pride, after a note-perfect second-leg performance against Bayer Leverkusen earned them a 6-2 aggregate victory.

"No one will underestimate Liverpool after a result like this," Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said after two goals from Luis Garcia and one from Milan Baros had given the English side a second 3-1 win.

Liverpool, the four-times European champions, were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen when they reached the quarterfinals in 2002.

This time, there was never any danger of them going out, as they delivered two first-rate performances against the Germans.

"We did everything right in this game," Benitez said. "We were very good in the first half and the goals just made it easier."

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard said the result may well have taken a few people by surprise.

"People might have thought we would play for a draw but we knew we could punish them on the counter-attack," Gerrard said. "This was our best away performance for a while."

Leverkusen coach Klaus Augenthaler, who congratulated Liverpool for making it through, was left to bemoan his bad luck at being without five first-team regulars through injury and suspension.

"Over the two games Liverpool fully deserved to go through," Augenthaler said.

"We missed two chances in the first half and as soon as they scored their first goal it was over," he said.

Bayern squeezes through

Bayern Munich squeezed through to the quarterfinals 3-2 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat by a frustrated Arsenal side at Highbury on Wednesday.

The four-times European champions had to endure a nervy finish after Thierry Henry's 66th-minute winner for the English side in the second leg of the first knockout round tie.

France striker Henry controlled a long ball forward neatly and fired home to crack the resistance of the German Bundesliga leaders who had barely been troubled until then.

"We're obviously all delighted," Bayern coach Felix Magath said.

"It was tense until the final whistle. Things got tight after Arsenal got the goal. It's a tremendous relief that we made it through.

"We controlled the match and only made the one mistake that led to their goal. Arsenal are a team that could have made it to the finals and won the Champions League."

Arsenal have never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of Europe's elite club competition and again came up short as they found a 3-1 first-leg deficit too much to overcome.

Bayern outplayed the English champions in the first leg two weeks ago and picked up where they had left off.

Magath's side were missing top scorer Roy Makaay through injury but had Germany midfielder Michael Ballack back to bolster the midfield.

The Germans' all-Peruvian strike force of Paolo Guerrero and Claudio Pizarro, who scored twice in Munich, carried more of a threat than Arsenal's attack in a tense first half.

The home side's only real effort of note came at the end of a frustrating opening period. Bayern's German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn stood his ground, however, when Henry escaped down the left and blocked the France striker's shot with his legs.

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira dragged a volley wide at the start of the second period as the English side desperately sought a goal to get back into the tie.

With 25 minutes left Wenger threw on a barely match-fit Robert Pires and almost immediately Arsenal scored.

Left back Ashley Cole chipped diagonally towards Henry and he controlled the ball in an instant before slamming it low across Kahn and into the corner of the net.

Ballack clattered Vieira soon after as the temperature rose on a chilly north London night and the German then dribbled through before drawing a brilliant save from Kahn's rival for the Germany shirt, Arsenal's Jens Lehmann.

Kolo Toure, scorer of Arsenal's goal in the first leg, forced Kahn to push over a late header but the visitors looked more likely to score in the final stages and, over the two legs, thoroughly deserved to progress to the last eight.

Eindhoven cruises through

PSV Eindhoven cruised into the quarterfinals for the first time on Wednesday with a solid 2-0 victory in Monaco.

Striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed the Dutch league leaders in front from Mark van Bommel's corner after 27 minutes and substitute DaMarcus Beasley wrapped up a 3-0 aggregate win from close range with 20 minutes remaining.

Monaco, beaten by Porto in last year's final, tried to respond through lively Uruguayan Ernest Chevanton, but the principality side were largely subdued against Guus Hiddink's well-organized outfit.

Their bad night was complete after 76 minutes when defender Gael Givet was shown a straight red card for a wild lunge on PSV's Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan.

This season was the first time PSV have progressed through the group phase of the Champions League and Hiddink said he was proud of their achievement.

Dutch international Van Bommel said the feat was extra special as the club sold three key players before the start of the season.
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