Italian and Spanish champions AC Milan and Barcelona waged an epic battle at the San Siro, while German giants Bayern continued on their road to Munich.
AC Milan 0 drew with Barcelona 0
In an epic battle, Milan resolutely held on for a goalless draw at home to Barcelona, who dominated with Xavi and Lionel Messi, but seemed to have an off day in front of goal. That’s not to discredit Milan, who defended heroically and may have won it had Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Robinho taken good chances. Indeed, Robinho skied an early chance from eight metres out, while the big Swede hit a scuffed effort into Victor Valdes. Christian Abbiati was kept busy by Xavi and Messi, while Carles Puyol headed wide late on and Tello had a close-range chance spectacularly blocked by Luca Antonini in the dying minutes.
Milan boss Max Allegri said: “I wish to congratulate my side on their performance. We suffered more in the first half than the second, and Luca Antonini was brilliant marking Lionel Messi. Tonight we showed great commitment despite some difficult moments, and now we can think about the return – a draw or a win will see us through.”
Barca manager Pep Guardiola said: “That Milan are happy with tonight’s result is the greatest praise for us. You never settle a tie in the first leg, and the only thing we are missing is an away goal. We deserve a lot of recognition for coming here and trying to play football. I give my players credit for managing 17 shots on goal.”
Olympique Marseille 0 def by Bayern Munich 2 (Gomez 44’, Robben 69’)
The German giants are on a quest to winning this season’s Champions League on their home turf with the final to be played in Munich and they appear on their way to the semifinals after this result. It was a tight affair, but Bayern edged it with their clinical nature in front of goal. Marseille had an early chance with Loic Remy hitting the post, before pre-game injury doubt Arjen Robben set up Mario Gomez for the opener with stand-in keeper Elinton Andrade perhaps at fault. Remy had further chances but couldn’t convert, before Robben worked a nice one-two with Thomas Muller and went on to execute a nice finish to make it 2-0.
Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes said: “We cannot talk about Real Madrid yet, there is still the second leg in Munich to come. Nevertheless I have to say that we played with a lot of confidence tonight. It is not easy in Marseille – plenty of other teams will tell you that – so it was important that we didn’t concede, that Marseille did not get a boost. With a few exceptions we did that very well.”
OM coach Didier Deschamps said: “We still have a chance but it is minimal. When you lose 2-0 at home, it is not the best situation. We have a week to recover and will do our best but Bayern are very good at home. Bayern have more experience, and while they made mistakes in the first half we did not take advantage. After that, they punished us. This is the top level, and we learned that tonight.”