Manchester United's beat Lille 1-0 on Tuesday on a disputed goal in a
Champions League game marred by crowd problems. Real Madrid, meanwhile, helped
ease the pressure on its coach by beating Bayern Munich 3-2.
Manchester United's Ryan Giggs (C)
celebrates scoring a goal during the first leg of their Champions League
first knockout round soccer match against LOSC Lille Metropole at the
Stade Felix Bollaert in Lens February 20, 2007. [Reuters] |
Also, PSV Eindhoven beat Arsenal
1-0 and Celtic held AC Milan to a 0-0 tie in the other first leg matches of the
second round.
Ryan Giggs scored the winning goal for United, curling in a free kick in the
83rd minute. That prompted an angry reaction from Lille's players, who claimed
Giggs had not waited for the referee's whistle and took the free kick too
quickly.
"When the goalkeeper asks to place his wall, you should wait for the
referee's whistle," Lille captain Gregory Tafforeau said. "There was no whistle
at all and the player shot directly and the result is a goal."
Lille had a goal by Peter Odemwingie ruled out because the referee said he
pushed United defender Nemanja Vidic.
Soon after the game started, some visiting fans were pushed against a high
metal security barrier designed to keep fans off the field. Although several
fans were helped over the barrier, there were no reports of any major injuries.
The match was played at nearby Lens because Lille's stadium doesn't meet
UEFA's standards.
Madrid got two first-half goals from Raul Gonzalez and another from Ruud van
Nistelrooy to give the nine-time champions the edge heading into the second leg
in two weeks.
The victory at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium may have eased the pressure on
coach Fabio Capello, who reportedly offered to quit on Monday, seven months into
his second spell in charge.
Raul, the competition's all-time leading scorer, scored in the 10th and 28th
minutes to give him 56 goals. Van Nistelrooy added another in the 34th.
Defender Lucio scored for Bayern in the 23rd, with midfielder Mark van Bommel
adding what could be a decisive away goal in the 88th.
Edison Mendez scored in the 61st minute for PSV Eindhoven after controlling a
pass from Arouna Kone and sending a long range shot into the bottom corner of
Jens Lehmann's goal.
PSV defender Sun Xiang became the first Chinese player to play in the
Champions League when he came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Manuel Da
Costa.
Milan striker Alberto Gilardino, who has recently recovered from a knee
injury, had his team's best chance when he beat the offside trap in the 26th
minute, but his shot was deflected wide by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
For Celtic, Shunsuke Nakamura's free kick was saved by the diving Zeljko
Kalac in the 39th.
AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini became the fifth player to make his 100th
Champions League appearance, joining Oliver Kahn, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos
and Raul.
The 38-year-old Maldini also played in the previous version of the
competition, making his European Cup debut in 1992. He has two winner's medals
and has reached three other finals.
On Wednesday, defending champion FC Barcelona hosts 2005 champion Liverpool
and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho goes to former club FC Porto, which he guided
to the 2004 Champions League title.
Also, Inter Milan hosts Valencia in a half-capacity San Siro stadium and Lyon
travels to AS Roma.