Real Madrid's David Beckham (right) embraces Arsenal's Thierry Henry (left) after swapping jerseys following their Champions League knockout first leg match at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid February 21, 2006. Arsenal won the match 1-0 and returned yesterday to draw 0-0 at Highbury, advancing 1-0 on aggregate. - REUTERS
london, (reuters)
LIVERPOOL'S REIGN AS European champions ended yesterday when they lost 2-0 at home to Benfica and tumbled out of the Champions League.
Liverpool, the five-time champions, lost 3-0 on aggregate and were followed through the exit door by nine-time winners Real Madrid who drew 0-0 at Arsenal but lost 1-0 over two legs.
Six-time champions AC Milan did reach the quarter-finals after crushing four-time winners Bayern Munich 4-1 at the San Siro for a 5-2 aggregate win.
The result meant more pain for the Germans at the hands of Italian opposition after Werder Bremen were knocked out of the competition by Juventus on Tuesday and the national side were thumped 4-1 by Italy in last week's friendly in Florence.
Olympique Lyon, managed by former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, remain the competition's dark horses after an emphatic 4-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven.
The Dutch side played the second half with 10 men after skipper Philip Cocu was sent off after picking up two yellow cards inside 42 minutes.
Lyon went through 5-0 on aggregate to avenge last season's quarter-final defeat to PSV with Tiago scoring twice and Sylvain Wiltord and Fred adding the others.
SIMAO STRIKES
Benfica went to Anfield having lost seven of their eight matches in England over the years but doubled their 1-0 lead from the first leg after 36 minutes through Simao Sabrosa.
He was on the verge of joining Liverpool last summer before the move stalled when they refused to match Benfica's asking price of £11 million ($19.13 million).
The winger showed the Anfield crowd a glimpse of what they were missing when he curled an unstoppable shot past Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina from 20 metres.
Substitute Fabrizio Miccoli added a second a minute from time with a close-range bicycle kick that sent the holders crashing out of the competition.
Although Liverpool battled bravely to defend their crown and hit the post twice, they failed to score for a fourth successive Champions League match as their 14-game campaign, which began in the first qualifying round last July, ended in a shattering anti-climax.
It was Benfica's first away win in the Champions League at the 11th attempt and, though they remain outsiders, the victory keeps them on course to lift the European Cup for the first time since their back-to-back successes in 1961 and 1962.
MILAN FOCUSED
Milan, who lost last season's final to Liverpool in Istanbul on penalties, remain focused on a seventh European success by advancing to the last eight with a 4-1 win over Bayern after the first leg had finished 1-1 in Germany.
Filippo Inzaghi fashioned Milan's success with two goals, taking his total in European competition to 50, while Andriy Shevchenko, who missed a penalty, scored soon after that miss with a superbly executed header. Kaka added a fourth late on.
Bayern had given themselves some hope when Valerien Ismael took advantage of a slip by Milan keeper Dida in the 35th minute to make the score 2-1.
However, the Italians showed no signs of faltering and stretched their unbeaten home Champions League record to 12 matches -- a new club record.
ARSENAL THROUGH
Arsenal also reached the quarter-finals after a goalless draw with Real Madrid at Highbury following their stunning 1-0 win at the Bernabeu in the first leg.
Despite the lack of goals the match was high on excitement and goalmouth action with both sides hitting the woodwork.
Spaniard Jose´ Antonio Reyes should have scored against his countrymen but wrapped a shot against the bar in the first half while Raul hit the post for Madrid in the second.
Arsenal have now played six Champions League matches without conceding a goal -- just one match short of Milan's all-time record of seven games between November 2004 and April last year.
Benfica, Milan, Arsenal and Lyon join Barcelona, Villarreal and Juventus, who all came through on Tuesday, in the last eight, while the final first knockout round tie between Inter Milan and Ajax Amsterdam will be decided in Italy next Tuesday.
The draw for the quarter-finals takes place in Paris tomorrow -- the venue for the final on May 17.
Those matches are scheduled for March 28/29 and April 4/5 with the semi-finals on April 18/19 and March 25/26.
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