Arsenal put Milan out; Man Utd, Barca in last 8

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March 05, 2008 06:43 IST

Arsenal sent holders Milan packing from the Champions League on Tuesday as the English Premier League leaders booked a quarter-final place with a 2-0 win at the San Siro.

Manchester United and Barcelona made smooth progress while Turkish surprise package Fenerbahce sneaked through on penalties after their first knockout round, second-leg match against Sevilla finished at 5-5.

Goals from Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor guided Arsenal to victory in Milan, the first by an English side against the Rossoneri at the San Siro.

English champions United were made to work hard for a 1-0 win over Olympique Lyon at Old Trafford that gave them a 2-1 aggregate victory over the French side after Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 30th goal of the season.

Barcelona completed a 4-2 aggregate win over Celtic with a 1-0 second leg win at the Nou Camp thanks to an early goal from Xavi while Fenerbahce were indebted to goalkeeper Volkan Demirel for saving three spot-kicks in the shootout.

Demirel, at fault for at least one goal in regular time, turned hero by denying Julien Escude, Enzo Maresca and Daniel Alves in the shootout Fenerbahce won 3-2.

Alves and Seydou Keita had given Sevilla a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes but goals from Brazilian striker Deivid either side of Frederic Kanoute's strike made it 3-2 on the night to force a dramatic ending to the contest.

STUNNING STRIKE

Milan dominated the opening stages of a titanic tussle but Arsenal quickly found their feet and always looked more likely to score before Fabregas finally broke the deadlock with a stunning strike in the 84th minute.

The midfielder took the ball in his stride and beat Zeljko Kalac in goal with a rasping low shot from 30 metres that crept into the bottom right corner before Adebayor sealed the win from close range in injury time.

The Togo striker was left with a simple tap-in at the far post to score his first Champions League goal of the season after substitute Theo Walcott delivered a perfect low cross.

Manchester United did not look particularly impressive in a 4-5-1 formation with Rooney on his own up front and survived several nervy moments before and after Ronaldo netted his sixth goal of the competition and his 80th in a United shirt.

The winger pounced on a rebound from Anderson's initial effort and threaded his shot past Gregory Coupet in the 41st minute as United equalled the record held by Juventus of 10 straight Champions League home wins.

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