Arsenal and Barcelona reach the Semi-finals

Arsenal’s goaless draw against Juventus was enough for Arsene Wenger’s young team to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League -- the club’s greatest ever achievement.

The overall result, 2-nil on aggregate, was a humiliation for Juve – who have dominated the Italian Serie A league all season.

German Jens Lehmann kept a clean sheet, setting a new record. No other club has ever played eight games without conceeding a goal.

Lehmann did well to keep a clean sheet especially against high-calibre players like Nedved and Treseguet dangerously close. In the second half Juventus piled on the pressure and looked as they were going to pull off a dramatic comeback.

But Czech striker Pavel Nedved blew any chance of Juventus getting back in the game. Ten minutes before the final whistle Nedved fouled Aresnal's Eboue and immediately got his marching orders.

Meanwhile the heated discussion about who is Germany's number one goalkeeper reached new heights on Wednesday. Bayern's management vehemently demanded an end to the two-year old goalkeeper debate and openly criticised national trainer Juergen Klinsmann.

In the other quarter-final return leg played on Wednesday Barcelona beat Benfica Lisbon 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals.

After missing a penalty, Ronaldinho slotted in his 7th goal of the Champions League tournament.

The Brazilian world footballer of the year Ronaldinho finding the back of the net after 19 minutes, following superb approach work from Henrik Larsson and Cameroon international striker Eto'o.

But throughout the game there was always a chance that Benfica would get that all important away goal which would have been enough for them to reach the semi-finals.

In the 89th minute Samuel Eto’o got the winning goal for the Spanish side.

So, in the semi-finals in two weeks time, Arsenal will next play surprise newcomers Villareal and AC Milan face Barcelona on 18th and 19th April.

AC Milan and Villareal advance to semi-finals

Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko, two world-class strikers single-handedly carried Italian club AC Milan into the semi-finals of the Champions League. After a 0-0 first leg, they scored all three goals in the second leg in a 3-1 victory against French side Olympique Lyon.

Seemingly lopsided, but this win was anything but a cinch for last year’s Champions League finalists. Inzaghi put Milan in front in the 25th minute, heading a cross past Lyon keeper Gregory Coupet.

The goal didn’t intimidate the perennial French league champions. In fact, only six minutes later, Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra got the deserved equaliser, silencing 78,000 rabid Milan supporters. Lyon coach Gerard Houllier’s squad played solid soccer, creating more chances than the hosts.

When the pressure was high, like when a Milan headball was flying directly into the corner of the goal, Lyon striker Sylvain Wiltord saved it on the line. Until the 87th minute, it looked as if the Frenchmen would end their quarter-finals jinx of the past two years.

That’s when Shevchenko launched a shot from the right side that beat Coupet, and like a pinball, the ball glanced off the left post, bounced to the right post, and then to the front of the net, onto the foot of Inzaghi who only had to knock it in. 2-1 Milan. Shevchenko would add one in stoppage time for the final score and Milan goes on to face Barcelona or Benfica in the semi-finals.

Villareal dispatches Inter

While the AC fans could cheer their team’s dramatic victory, supporters from city rivals Inter watched their team get sunk by the ‘Yellow Submarine’, namely Spanish club Villareal. Having lost 2-1 in the first leg in Milan, the Spaniards needed only a 1-0 victory to advance, and that is exactly what coach Manuel Pelligrini’s team managed.

Inter did not put up much of a challenge most of this match, but it took 58 minutes before Argentineans Juan Riquelme and Rodolfo Arruberrena combined to give Villareal that lone goal they needed.