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Man United beats Porto 1-0, advances to semifinals
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a spectacular long-range goal Wednesday to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over FC Porto and a spot in the Champions League semifinals with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Ronaldo began his run from just inside the Porto half in the sixth minute and sent a rising shot from 40 meters (yards) past diving goalkeeper Helton and into the top corner of goal in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
"To do it at that point in the game gave us a real platform to go into the game," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "We wanted to start the game quickly with good tempo ... but to get a start like that, no one can expect it, no one can expect that type of goal."
Defending champion United stretched its unbeaten run in the Champions League to 23 games by becoming the first English team to win at Porto in 12 matches. The English team won a second leg away from home for the first time since 1999, when it also won the continent's top club competition.
Man United will next play English rival Arsenal in the semifinals after the Gunners beat Villarreal 3-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate. Chelsea will face Barcelona for the other place in the May 27 final in Rome.
"It's two good football teams so it should be a fantastic semifinal," Ferguson said. "We'll look forward to it."
Ferguson, who was marking his 150th Champions League match in charge of the club, had said earlier this week that he expected more from Ronaldo. The Portugal forward, who was playing center forward and was jeered by the local fans with every touch, replied with an impressive individual effort for his second goal of the competition.
"He's the quickest player we have and I felt that by using him in that role tonight we could stretch their back four," Ferguson said. "He's always willing to attack defenders, he's always a threat."
United showed better discipline to start than at the first leg at Old Trafford and controlled the play at the Stadium of Dragon from the fourth minute when goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar stopped winger Hulk's low shot.
Still, Ronaldo's long-range effort was the only chance the English champion's could muster despite controlling play until Porto began to rally in the 20th when Bruno Alves sent a free kick just wide of near post.
"We tried to change and spread the team around the field and hope Manchester would make some mistakes," Jose Gomes, who replaced suspended coach Jesualdo Ferreira, said through a translator.
The Portuguese champions continued to press and Van der Sar denied Lisandro Lopez five minutes later. The visitors finally penetrated the Porto area but Helton was well positioned to stop Ryan Giggs' volley in the 30th.
Porto captain Lucho Gonzalez left with an injury a minute later, and Mariano replaced him.
Alves then connected with Raul Meireles' floating free kick in the 41st, but the Porto center back headed wide as United's defense -- with Rio Ferdinand back from a back injury -- limited Porto's opportunities inside the area.
"They had to chase. That early (goal) had them on the back foot. I don't think they made any chances in the match," Ferguson said. "(We) defended very, very well and that was the key to it really, because if we get back to that foundation of not giving away goals then we can do well."
Helton soon stepped up to clear a dangerous centering pass, and then denied Dimitar Berbatov at the start of the second half as Porto looked for the equalizer that would put it through to the semifinals for the first time since 2004, when it had eliminated United on its way to winning the Champions League.
Hulk, unable to generate from the flank, tried to score with a free kick from the edge of the area in the 58th but it swerved directly at Van der Sar.
Porto had several other scoring chances, but Mariano, Rolando and substitute Ernesto Farias couldn't score the equalizer.
"We feel very bad. You can understand our emotions. We feel that wasn't a very just result today," Gomes said. "They scored one goal today and it was scored by the best player in the world." Associated Press
Hamburg, Bremen fight for German footballing pride in UEFA second legs
Germany's two remaining international sides have excellent chances in Thursday's UEFA Cup matches, having both won their first-leg games. But if they progress, they'll meet each other.
If the two teams both do advance to the semifinals, it will mean Germany is guaranteed a spot in the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul on May 20. And such a match-up would be all the more of a treat since the two Northern German sides are also local rivals with no love lost.
But for that scenario to come to pass, both teams need to close the deal on the road -- Hamburg against English Premier side Manchester City, and Bremen versus Italian Serie A competitors Udinese.
Bremen should be fairly confident, as their Italian opponents are languishing in 12th place in their domestic league.
But Werder are only tenth in the Bundesliga, and their talented Brazilian playmaker Diego is touch-and-go ahead of the clash in Italy. What's more, coach Thomas Schaaf will have to hope that his inconsistent defense has one of its better evenings.
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Hamburg, with the third-best record in the Germany, will also fancy their chances against Man City, who are currently in eleventh place in the Premier League.
Coach Martin Jol has no serious injury worries, although Hamburg should be aware that City do have a very good home record. Still, the Northern Germans have been difficult to score against in all competitions this season so there's no reason why they shouldn't prevail in Manchester.
And even if Bremen or Hamburg or both should falter on Thursday evening, they'll still be seeing a bit of one another in the coming weeks.
The two rivals meet for a league match next week and clash again in the semifinals of the German Cup on May 10. dw-world.de
