Manchester United in Champions League Quarter final
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Wayne Rooney reached 30 goals for the season as Manchester United marched into the last eight of the Champions League with a clinical 4-0 demolition of AC Milan here on Wednesday.
On a night that saw David Beckham return to where it all started for him, it was the current darling of the Old Trafford faithful who steered United into the quarter-finals by following up his double in the 3-2 first leg victory in Milan with another brace.
A first-half header put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side firmly in control and the the England striker killed the tie in the opening seconds of the second period.
Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher round off a memorable night as United eliminated their opponents for the first time in five attempts since two of European football’s iconic institutions first met, 52 years ago.
The predictions of a fluid encounter were vindicated by an opening ten minutes in which Milan might have established the two-goal lead they required to overturn the deficit from the first leg.
United had the first opportunities, Rooney’s shot on the turn from the edge of the penalty area slipping just the wrong sight of the post, Gary Neville’s 25-yarder dipping into the roof of the net just too late and a Nani shot being turned round the post by Christian Abbiati.
But those were definitely in the half-chance category, unlike the openings enjoyed by Ronaldinho, who directed a free header from Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick wide, and Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
Having been put beyond the United back four by Ronaldinho’s floated pass, the Dutch striker fluffed his attempt to bring the ball under his control.
Milan’s profligacy was swiftly sanctioned with Rooney giving United a 13th-minute lead with his third headed goal of the tie.
Allowed to advance though the inside right channel in leisurely fashion, Neville had time to tee up a cross which Rooney directed beyond Abbiati’s right-hand having been granted an equally generous amount of space by his marker, Daniele Bonera.
That left Milan needing to score three times and, for the remainder of the first-half that appeared a very remote prospect, the visitors’ only moment of menace coming when Edwin van der Sar needed a second attempt to smother Pirlo’s swerving shot.
Darren Fletcher came closest to extending United’s lead before the break, his drive curling just wide in first-half stoppage time.
The break saw Bonera replaced by Clarence Seedorf as Milan played their final cards, but within a minute of the restart, Rooney had killed the tie.
Having escaped the attentions of Ignazio Abate, Nani curled a delightful pass behind the remodelled Milan back four and Rooney was able to tuck the ball past Abbiati.
Huntelaar spurned another opportunity when he headed Abate’s cross over from four yards out but that was a rare moment of menace from a team that was beginning to show its age.
With the hour mark approaching, Park latched on to a Paul Scholes pass and, at full stretch, directed a low finish across Abbiati and inside the far post.
Beckham’s entry for the last 25 minutes was greeted with the predicted ovation and, while there was little he could do about the outcome, he did offer a reminder of why he was such a favourite with the Old Trafford crowd with a sweetly struck volley that van der Sar had to touch over the bar.
United’s fourth goal came three minutes from the end, Fletcher ghosting in at the back post to head home Rafael’s cross from the right.
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Arsenal trash Porto 5 – 0 in Champions League
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Arsenal swept into the Champions League quarter-finals as Nicklas Bendtner silenced his critics with a hat-trick in a majestic 5-0 win against Porto on Tuesday.
Arsene Wenger’s side had trailed 2-1 from the first leg of this second round tie, but Bendtner overturned that deficit within 25 minutes of the return at the Emirates Stadium to set up a 6-2 aggregate victory.
French midfielder Samir Nasri put Arsenal in total control with a sublime solo effort in the second half and Emmanuel Eboue added a fourth before Bendtner completed his treble from the penalty spot.
It was a sweet moment of vindication for Bendtner after the Denmark striker came in for some stinging criticism for his poor finishing in Saturday’s victory over Burnley.
While Bendtner’s lack of goals had led some fans to call for him to be dropped, Wenger kept faith in the 22-year-old and got his reward as the Dane helped Arsenal keep alive their bid for a Premier League and Champions League double.
Although Porto arrived with a slender advantage, the Portuguese champions had lost their last six matches in London and, even without injured captain Cesc Fabregas, it was Arsenal who dominated from the start.
When Bacary Sagna looped a cross into the Porto penalty area, Andrey Arshavin was left unmarked at the far post and the tiny Russian’s header drew a good save from Helton.
It was a warning that Porto failed to heed as another header from Arshavin started the move that led to Arsenal’s 10th minute opener.
Arshavin was by far the smallest player on the pitch but he was still able to win a header that found Nasri and he slipped a sublime return pass back towards the Russian.
As Arshavin bore down on goal, Nuno Coelho made a despairing tackle which only succeeded in knocking the ball to Bendtner, who slid across to push his shot into the empty net.
A pair of farcical mistakes from Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski had proved decisive in the first leg at the Dragao Stadium, but it was Porto who shot themselves in the foot in the 25th minute.
Fucile had the chance to clear deep in his own half but tried to play his way out of trouble and instead gifted possession to Arshavin with a careless pass.
Arshavin escaped his markers with a clever flick and whipped over a low cross that Bendtner gleefully prodded past Helton for his seventh goal of the season.
Bendtner has never lacked confidence so his belief must have been sky-high by now and he almost completed his hat-trick with a curling strike which Helton pushed away for a corner.
By the time Abou Diaby’s header was saved by Helton, Arsenal were playing with such verve and imagination that the tie looked all but over already.
Nasri’s elegant play in midfield was more than compensating for the absence of Fabregas and the Frenchman forced a sprawling stop from Helton as Arsenal went for the kill.
Arsenal hadn’t overturned a first leg deficit when they played the return at home for over 30 years and they had a scare early in the second half when Nasri had to clear off the line from Cristian Rodriguez’s header.
But that only served to spark the Gunners back into life and Nasri extinguished Porto’s hopes with a breath-taking goal in the 63rd minute.
Taking possession wide on the right edge of the Porto penalty area, he jinked past three Porto defenders with a mesmerising dribble and unleashed a fierce strike that gave Helton no chance.
Arsenal weren’t finished there and, in the 66th minute, Arshavin sent substitute Eboue galloping clear and the defender rounded Helton before slotting home.
There was still time for one more goal as Fucile gave away a penalty with a foul on Eboue in stoppage time and Bendtner stroked in his hat-trick from the spot.
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World Cup countdown : Argentina 1 Germany 0
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Diego Maradona’s Argentina beat Germany 0-1 in a highly anticipated international friendly on Wednesday. The only goal of the match came from Gonzalo Higuain.
Argentina were by far the better side in the first half and came close to scoring the opening goal when Angel Di Maria got past two defenders and blasted a shot onto the German crossbar.
But the visitors did get a reward for their performance in the 45th minute. Goalkeeper Adler stormed out of the penalty area in an attempt to clear the ball, but missed and allowed Gonzalo Higuain to take advantage and score.
The second half showed a more balanced encounter with Germany spending more time on Argentina’s half, but Joachim Löw’s men failed to create any danger near the goal.
The Germans begin their World Cup Group D campaign against Australia on June 13, and face Serbia and Ghana in the remaining games. Argentina are drawn into Group B with Nigeria, Korea Republic and Greece.
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World Cup countdown: Portugal 2 China 0
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Portugal earned a hard-fought 2-0 win over China PR in an international friendly played on Wednesday.
The city of Coimbra was the venue for the match, in which Portugal drew first blood through Hugo Almeida after 37 minutes.
The rather fruitless encounter never truly came to life, although Portugal did add a second goal four minutes into injury time as a Liedson strike was deflected by a defender.
The Portuguese face a tough challenge in South Africa, next June, as they share Group G with Cote d’Ivoire, Korea DPR and Brazil.
China did not qualify for the World Cup finals.
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World Cup countdown: England 3 Egypt 1
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England delivered a solid second-half performance to beat African champions Egypt 3-1 in a friendly on Wednesday.
It was no easy encounter for Fabio Capello’s side however as a very motivated Egyptian team impressed the home crowd at Wembley stadium in the first half.
The Africans even got the opening goal on 23 minutes, as Mohamed Zidan picked up the ball near the halfway line, got past a defender and struck past Rob Green for 0-1.
But England improved in the second half and equalised three minutes before the hour mark. Gareth Barry delivered the ball in the penalty area and Peter Crouch side-footed it home at the first post.
And the hosts went on to take the lead in the 75th minute, as keeper Al-Hadari initially parried a shot from James Milner but could not prevent that Shaun Wright-Phillips scored on the rebound.
The game was all but decided five minutes later. Crouch appeared to be offside when receiving a pass from Wright-Phillips, but was allowed to go on and netted the home team’s third of the night, 3-1.
England play the United States in their first group game on June 12, and face Algeria and Slovenia in the following matches. Egypt failed to qualify for the World Cup.