Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
Andy Pakes previews this Sunday afternoon clash in the first edition of Game of the Week for 2012
Dave Hughes tells us about his sporting hero, Wes Morgan
An early away goal would have put pressure on United after the first-leg 1-1 draw, but Marseille could not manage one until the 83rd minute, by which time United had already scored two.
The ever-impressive Hernandez scored both goals for Man United, the first a tap in from a low Wayne Rooney cross after just five minutes. His second came from similar circumstances, this time converting a Ryan Giggs cross after 75 minutes to seemingly put the game to bed.
But eight minutes later Wes Brown headed into his own net from a corner, leaving Marseille needing just one goal to go through on away goals. However the French champions were unable to create any real chances and the game ended 2-1, with United progressing.
Chelsea’s game against Copenhagen was far less eventful, ending 0-0. Defending a 2-0 first-leg away victory it was always very unlikely that Chelsea would fail to progress.
A rare Copenhagen chance occurred in the first half when a Dame N’Doye free-kick came back off the post but Copenhagen failed to get themselves back in the tie.
Chelsea dominated possession and put together some fantastic moves but, in spite of some close efforts, were unable to find a break-through. Ultimately the hard work was done in the first-leg, and Chelsea were comfortable in completing victory.
Bayern Munich and Inter Milan played out a fascinating encounter in Tuesday’s other game, with Inter scoring two late goals to drag out of the grave their Champions League campaign. Samuel Eto’o scored after just three minutes to put Inter, who were 2-1 down after the first-leg, back in the tie.
What followed was 20 minutes of balanced football before a Julio Cesar error gifted Mario Gomez a goal, shortly followed by a Thomas Müller finish that put Bayern two goals up.
There seemed to be no way back for Inter, who were being outplayed by a strong looking Bayern side, but somehow they pulled back the two goals they needed to win on away goals, first from a clinical Wesley Sneijder finish (63), then a late Goran Pandev effort after good work from Eto’o (88).
Real Madrid’s progress was more straightforward as they defeated Lyon 3-0. Lyon had given themselves a sniff after a 1-1 draw in the first-leg but it was always going to be difficult containing Real at the Bernabeu. Goals from Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria ensured victory and Madrid will play the Premiership’s third representative, Tottenham, in the quarter-finals.
Champions League Draw Quarter Finals:
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Chelsea v Manchester United
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter Milan v Schalke
Semi-finals:
Inter Milan or Schalke v Chelsea or Manchester United
Real Madrid or Tottenham v Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk
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