Arsenal were left frustrated and ruing missed chances in their FA Cup quarterfinal draw with Chelsea on Saturday after Frank Lampard's late equalizer earned his battling side a replay at Stamford Bridge.
"We played a fantastic first half, returning long and short balls well and we should have been more than 2-1 up at halftime," manager Arsene Wenger told reporters after his Arsenal team had been held 2-2 at Highbury.
"I felt we always put them under pressure and we had chance after chance," he said. "In the second half we didn't do enough to extend our lead and dropped back a bit."
PHOTO: REUTERS
John Terry gave Chelsea the lead on three minutes and Arsenal's Thierry Henry had a penalty saved before fellow striker Francis Jeffers levelled in the 35th minute.
Henry then made amends for his penalty miss by scoring a brilliant goal on the brink of halftime but Lampard grabbed the equalizer from a goalmouth scramble seven minutes from time.
Wenger, who left in-form midfielder Robert Pires on the bench until midway through the second half, denied he had fielded a weaker team ahead of tomorrow's Champions League match against AS Roma.
"We always had one eye on Tuesday but my selection was to win the game today and the team played fantastically well."
The replay on March 25 will mean a cramped fixture list for Wenger's side, who remain on course for a treble of premier league, FA Cup and Champions League trophies.
Italy
Imaginative Uruguayan star Alvaro Recoba scored two spectacular goals Saturday as Inter Milan downed 10-man Bologna 2-1 on the road and tied Juventus atop the Serie A standings ahead of yesterday's matches.
Spain
Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane scored first-half goals Saturday as Real Madrid defeated Racing de Santander 4-1 to strengthen its position as Spanish league leader.
Substitutes Javier Portillo and Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez netted in the second half after Santander's French midfielder Mehdi Nafti had reduced the deficit just after the interval.
In other matches, Deportivo de La Coruna moved up to second place by beating Villarreal 2-1 for its fourth straight league win, while FC Barcelona drew 1-1 with Valladolid.
In Saturday's late game, Valencia suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Atletico de Madrid and lost ground in the title race. It was Valencia's first loss in nine league matches.
Madrid is three points ahead of second-place Deportivo, which has 48 points from 25 games. Real Sociedad lies third with 47 points but with a game less and hosts Alaves on Sunday. Valencia has 46 points from 25.
France
Monaco missed the chance to extend its lead at the top of the first division to three points, when it lost 1-0 at home to Bordeaux on Saturday.
It was Monaco's first defeat in 14 league games and leaves it level on 52 points with second-placed Marseille, which had the chance to move into first spot if it beat Paris Saint-Germain at home yesterday.
Jean-Claude Darcheville scored Bordeaux's winner in the 73rd minute, using his pace to race clear of two Monaco defenders, before lobbing over goalie Flavio Roma.
The win moved Bordeaux into fourth place with 49 points.
Lyon, the first division's top scorers, reached 52 goals for the season with a 3-1 win over basement side Ajaccio.
Brazilian midfielder Juninho scored twice and fellow countryman Sonny Anderson, returning from a long-term injury, added a late third.
Germany
For more than 10 years, when Bayern Munich played Bayer Leverkusen the Bundesliga title was on the line.
But on Saturday, Bayern blasted Leverkusen 3-0 for the second time in a week and the old rival was demoted to just another overmatched opponent as the club marched relentlessly to an 18th title.
Bayern moved 13 points clear with 10 rounds to play in a match that was over after less than 120 seconds. Giovane Elber, who scored twice himself, whipped a through pass to Claudio Pizarro for the first goal.
Pizarro, on the run, rifled a powerful shot that bounced over goalie Hans-Joerg Butt's raised hands and headed into the goal.
"Our entire concept was thrown overboard in just two minutes," said Leverkusen coach Thomas Hoerster. "We should just be happy Bayern played for the result and didn't go full power."
The Netherlands
Ajax striking prodigy Rafael van der Vaart, who has been absent due to injury since Dec. 7, scored two goals Saturday as Ajax slaughtered lowly FC Zwolle 5-0 in the Dutch league.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic also netted twice, easing the pressure on Ajax coach Ronald Koeman since the departure of Ahmed "Mido" Hossam. The fifth was an Albert van der Haar own-goal.
Leader PSV Eindhoven maintained its seven-point cushion over the Amsterdammers by edging NEC Nijmegen 2-1 thanks to Mateja Kezman's penalty and Mark van Bommel's winner.
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