As expected it was Barcelona and Bayern who progressed on Tuesday but not without a few shocks at the Nou Camp as AC Milan gave it a shake.
Barcelona 3 (Messi 11’ pen, 41’ pen, Iniesta 53’) def AC Milan 1 (Nocerino 32’)
The European champions progressed to the final four, 3-1 on aggregate over AC Milan, who were in front of the tie at one stage in the first-half after Antonio Nocerino equalised. Two Lionel Messi penalties set up the win for Barcelona although there must be some debate about the second decision when Alessandro Nesta was alleged to have pulled down Sergi Busquets from a corner, especially with Milan missing out on a spotkick the other way early in the second half before Andres Iniesta scored a third from close range to seal the result.
Barca boss Pep Guardiola hailed his side when he said: “We were facing a team that have won seven European Cups, a side with very good players. We had 21 shots on goal against an Italian team; they had three.”
He added: “I don’t think we’re favourites [to win the trophy]; Bayern are there, Madrid [will be] there. We have won the Champions League twice in the last three years, and have now reached five semi-finals in the a row. The most difficult thing in the world is to continue because you can win anything once but to do it again is very, very tough. These players are awesome.”
Milan boss Max Allegri said: “We’re disappointed because the second penalty came a few minutes before the interval, when Barcelona weren’t doing much after our goal. It’s a pity because the first penalty was a gift; you can’t afford to do that against a team like Barcelona.”
Bayern Munich 2 (Olic 13’, 37’) def Olympique Marseille 0
Two first-half goals from Ivica Olic sent Bayern into the semi-finals and enhanced their hopes of winning the European trophy on home turf. This tie appeared over after the 2-0 first-leg win for the Bavarians in Marseille and the Croatian’s 13th-minute opener all but assured that. When he netted his second from close-range after a low cutback it was all over. Despite that, Manuel Neuer was kept fairly busy by OM but they once again couldn’t find the cutting edge required to score.
Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes said: “We have to save our energy – we have a huge programme ahead of us. The matches against Real Madrid will of course be highlights. Bayern have a history against them, and it’s fairly positive. The two Spanish clubs maybe, no certainly, are still a little bit superior to us. But in two games, you can oust even Real Madrid.”
Marseille manager Didier Deschamps said:” We had chances at the start through [Jérémy] Morel, [Loïc] Rémy and [Stéphane] Mbia; then Bayern scored with their first opportunity. It’s no surprise Bayern went through, especially after the first leg, but we can be proud. In the previous round, we defied odds; this time it was too hard. None of our players had previously appeared in a Champions League quarter-final so it will be a good experience for them.”