European champions Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday at the hands of Benfica, leaving Arsenal as the only English representatives left in this year's tournament.
A goal down from the first leg of their last 16 tie, the defending champions slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Anfield.
By contrast, Arsenal moved into the quarter-finals after a 0-0 draw at Highbury against Real Madrid gave them a 1-0 aggregate win.
PHOTO: AP
Simao -- a player that Liverpool came within hours of signing last summer -- grabbed the vital first goal in the 36th minute at Anfield with a wonderful curling left-footed drive which flew past Jose Reina in the Liverpool goal.
Liverpool twice hit the woodwork in the first half through Peter Crouch and Jamie Carragher while Benfica's Geovanni also had an effort come back off the crossbar.
Crouch and Luis Garcia also missed golden chances in the first half for the champions.
PHOTO: EPA
As the second half minutes ticked away, Liverpool found themselves needing to repeat the miracle of Istanbul last year when they score three goals on the way to winning the final.
But Benfica had the last word when Fabrizio Miccoli scored again a minute from time.
"Simao showed why he is such a good player," said Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez. "He plays with pace, he plays deep."
The statistics tell a depressing story for Liverpool.
Their four main strikers have managed just one goal between them in 45 matches.
"If you analyze the game, you can see that we created chances but when we conceded a goal, we had to go forward and we had to play with three defenders. That let them play on the counter-attack," said Benitez.
Arsenal, defending a 1-0 first leg lead, could have been ahead at the break had Juan Antonio Reyes not had a shot come back off the bar.
Raul was also denied by the woodwork on the hour mark while his follow-up was brilliantly kept out by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann but Arsenal held on to reach the last eight.
"We are very proud to represent England, the Premiership with dignity, with style and we will fight as hard as we can in the quarter-finals to go through again," said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
Real's David Beckham said his team had done all they could have done to overturn Thierry Henry's first leg strike.
"I don't think we could have thrown anything more at them. They defended exceptionally well and we just couldn't break them down. I expected a few goals, but overall I wish them good luck because they are a good team," Beckham said.
AC Milan, last year's runners-up to Liverpool, booked their place in the last eight thanks to a 4-1 win over Germany's Bayern Munich.
Level at 1-1 after the first leg, Filippo Inzaghi gave Milan an eighth minute lead before skipper Andriy Shevchenko made it 2-0 on the night.
The Ukrainian striker also missed a first half penalty but quickly made amends with his 25th minute strike.
Valerian Ismail then gave Bayern a glimmer of hope pulling a goal back in the 35th minute before Inzaghi added a third two minutes after the break.
But Milan stepped up the pressure and Kaka made it 4-1 on the night on the hour.
Inzaghi refused to accept all the praise for Milan's passage into the last eight.
"I'm fortunate to play for a fantastic team and it's wonderful to see Milan play this way," he said.
Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier avoided the fate of his successor at Anfield, Benitez, by guiding French champions Lyon into the last eight.
Leading PSV Eindhoven 1-0 from the first leg, Lyon turned the screw on the Dutchmen with Portuguese midfielder Tiago scoring twice in the first half to give his side a 2-0 lead on the night.
PSV's Dutch international Phillip Cocu was red carded just before the interval.
Former Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord added a third in the 71st minute as Lyon gained sweet revenge for their defeat to Guus Hiddink's side in the quarter-finals last season.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance. The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance. In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win. Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season. The
‘DONE IT ALL’: LeBron James is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season as a free agent with uncertainty swirling around his future LeBron James on Monday said he would take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could turn out to be the final game of his career. James, 41, delivered a typically defiant performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent the Lakers from falling 115-110 as the Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference semi-finals series. The four-time NBA champion is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
RSS