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Chelsea in FA Cup quarterfinal

Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira and Colchester's Mark Yates battle for the ball during their FA Cup match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP

Chelsea overcame an own-goal and a feisty Colchester to advance to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 win.

The Blues, missing eight regulars, needed two late goals from substitute Joe Cole. Colchester, ranked 45 places below the Premier League leader, couldn't believe its luck when Richard Garcia's cross was sidefooted in by Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho in the 28th minute.

The League One side, based in Essex to the east of London, had 6,000 fans at Stamford Bridge, carrying hundreds of yellow balloons. The club has an average home gate of 3,600 and has won 20 of its last 24 games.

"They should go home proud of what they did," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "They gave us a game. They played with courage. They were not afraid of us.

"They came to win, not to draw 0-0 and take us back to Colchester. Their crowd was unbelievable. They brought 6,000 and they believed it was possible. This is the only country in the world where that would happen."

Chelsea leveled in the 37th minute through Paulo Ferreira, who scored his first goal for the Blues. Cole and Frank Lampard came off the bench after the break to add to Chelsea's attack.

Cole's first goal was a tap-in after the ball rebounded off goalkeeper Aidan Davison from a shot by Hernan Crespo. Cole's second goal was from 25 meters.

"We wouldn't have enjoyed it if we hadn't given a good account of ourselves and we did that," Colchester manager Phil Parkinson said. "If we'd pulled it off, it would have been the all-time up upset."

Middlesbrough and Birmingham also reached the quarterfinals on Sunday and Tottenham rallied twice to draw 2-2 with visiting Wigan in the English Premier League.

Aston Villa drew 1-1 with Manchester City to force a replay. Liverpool, Charlton and Newcastle reached the quarterfinals on Saturday, with Bolton and West Ham needing a replay after a 0-0 draw.

Mourinho rested eight first team players and Lampard, Crespo and Cole started on the bench as the manager looked ahead to Wednesday's Champions League match with Barcelona.

Arjen Robben, Peter Cech, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Asier Del Horno and Geremi were left out, while John Terry and William Gallas were suspended.

Middlesbrough beat Preston 2-0 off two goals from Aiyegbeni Yakubu to end the Football League Championship side's run of 25 unbeaten matches.

Mikael Forsell scored for Birmingham to beat Stoke 1-0 and reach the FA Cup quarterfinals for the first time in 22 years. Birmingham is struggling in the Premier League, in 18th place and only two points ahead of 19th-place Portsmouth.

Manchester City earned a replay after 17-year-old Micah Richards headed in an injury time equalizer from a Joey Barton cross. Aston Villa had scored through Milan Baros in the 72nd minute.

"One minute we were 1-0 down, but in the last minute I got the goal, I couldn't ask for much more than that," said Richards, a defender who was making only his second appearance in the first team. "We dominated all the way through the game and in the end we managed to do it.''

At White Hart Lane, Andreas Johansson twice put Wigan ahead, while Ahmed Mido and Jermain Defoe leveled for the home side, which could have gone seven points ahead of fifth-place Arsenal with victory.

Instead, Tottenham is five points clear of the Gunners, who have 41 and have played one game fewer.

"Missing out on Europe would be a big disappointment but I still think we are in with a big chance," Tottenham coach Martin Jol said. "After today it will be difficult but we have to be positive."

Wigan improved to eighth place, tying with Blackburn on 40 points.

Wigan, promoted last year, has already surpassed its targets for this season. It's also in the League Cup final with Manchester United next Sunday.

"It's wonderful really," Wigan manager Paul Jewell said. "We wanted to reach 40 points after 38 games, to get it after 27 is a tremendous achievement but we won't be resting on our laurels."

Champions League Preview

Barcelona has unfinished business against Chelsea. The Spanish giant gets a chance to atone for its early exit from Europe last season on Wednesday when the Champions League resumes after a long break.

This time, everyone will be under scrutiny.

Controversy surrounded both legs of last year's match, which Chelsea won 5-4 on aggregate to reach the quarters. Chelsea reached the semis but lost to eventual winner Liverpool.

"It will be harder because they're going to want revenge, they need revenge," Chelsea defender William Gallas said. "When a team is hurt, they want to show their fans, and the whole world, that what happened last year was an error."

Both sides went on to win their respective leagues last year and are in position to repeat.

This time, Chelsea hosts the first leg. Last season, Barcelona had a 2-1 home-leg advantage then rallied from 3-0 down only to lose 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.

"I think it will be even harder this year. We're going to have to be really, really focused the whole 90 minutes of each game," Gallas said. "It could turn on the slightest incident."

That includes the coaches. Last year, the behavior of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho -- a former Barcelona assistant -- almost overshadowed the result.

Mourinho accused Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard of colluding with referee Anders Frisk at halftime of the first leg. Frisk received death threats and retired, while Mourinho, who was labeled an "enemy of football" by a UEFA official, was suspended for Chelsea's quarterfinal games against Bayern Munich. The referee for Wednesday's match hasn't been announced.

During the match at Stamford Bridge, Rijkaard and some of his team argued and scuffled with Chelsea's security staff.

Only six of the 16 clubs in the knockout round haven't won the European Cup before: Chelsea, Arsenal, Lyon, Villarreal, Rangers and Villarreal, while Werder Bremen and Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven have won it only once.

David Beckham plays against an English side today for the first time since moving to Spain when Real Madrid hosts Arsenal. Defending champion Liverpool hosts Benfica, who eliminated Manchester United from the competition, while Dutch leader PSV Eindhoven hosts French front-runner Lyon, and AC Milan plays Bayern Munich.

Also on Wednesday, Werder Bremen hosts Italian league leader Juventus, struggling Scottish club Rangers plays Villarreal in Glasgow and Inter Milan travels to Ajax.

Real Madrid hasn't won a trophy since 2003 despite its talent-laden roster. Madrid is seven points behind leader Barcelona in the Spanish league and out of the Copa del Rey, so the Champions League could be the only chance to break the drought.

"I've been waiting for this moment for three years," Beckham said. "From the start I wanted to wear Real Madrid's shirt in England. There's a special aura about being a Real Madrid player and I want to show it in England. To play in London, where I was born, is going to be very special."

Madrid's 3-0 win over Alaves on Saturday was its sixth straight in the league and continued its improvement since the appointment of reserve team coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro to replace the fired Vanderlei Luxemburgo on Dec. 4.
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