Esteban Cambiasso fired Inter to a 2-1 first-leg victory over Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday, while a 30m drive by Mark Gonzalez salvaged a 1-1 draw for CSKA Moscow against Sevilla.
In a high quality and evenly contested game at San Siro, Inter coach Jose Mourinho gained an advantage over the Premier League team he led to back-to-back English titles in 2005 and 2006.
“There were no surprises for me, no surprises from Chelsea — just two teams playing with the quality they have,” Mourinho said.
PHOTO: AFP
“Chelsea can play better, Inter can play better, but this is the reality of the Champions League. Sometimes it’s difficult to express your qualities. This is a knockout, so you know any mistake can cost you qualification,” he said.
Chelsea, managed by former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, only need to win the second leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on March 16 to reach the quarter-finals on away goals.
Ancelotti fielded an attacking formation of three strikers but his side trailed after only three minutes.
Diego Milito collected a ball from Samuel Eto’o and easily sidestepped Chelsea captain John Terry before firing past goalkeeper Petr Cech at his near post.
After Chelsea striker Didier Drogba’s free kick from 25m hit the Inter bar, the visitors equalized in the 51st minute.
Salomon Kalou scored with a 22m shot inside the far post after a determined run by right back Branislav Ivanovic had opened up the defense.
But Chelsea was level for only four minutes. Cambiasso hit a shot that was blocked and followed up with a low, left-footer that flew inside the far post.
Chelsea lost Cech to a calf muscle injury in the 60th and replaced him with Hilario.
At Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Sevilla went ahead in the 25th minute when an unmarked Alvaro Negredo tapped the ball into an empty net from a cross by Jesus Navas. But CSKA earned the draw when Gonzalez fired in a left-footed shot in the 66th minute.
“It would have been better to win but this can be considered a good result,” Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez said. “We needed to make short passes because of the artificial pitch. We got a draw and we will decide everything in the second leg.”
■FA CUP
AP, LONDON
Ryan Shawcross and Tuncay Sanli scored extra-time goals as Stoke beat Manchester City 3-1 in an FA Cup fifth-round replay on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals.
While Tottenham and Aston Villa made it safely into the last eight with replay victories, big-spending City’s only realistic target now is finishing fourth in the Premier League, which would at least mean qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Stoke now face Chelsea in the last eight of soccer’s oldest club competition.
In a dramatic game at the Britannia Stadium, Dave Kitson gave Stoke a 79th-minute lead but Craig Bellamy leveled for City two minutes later.
City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off before the game went into extra time and Shawcross regained the lead for Stoke in the 95th minute. Tuncay sealed the win for Stoke in the 99th minute when he went on a run before firing in the third.
Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice as eight-time FA Cup winner Tottenham thrashed Bolton 4-0 to reach the last eight, where they will visit Fulham.
Bolton aided Tottenham’s cause by scoring two own goals, with goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and defender Andy O’Brien finding their own net.
Two penalties by John Carew in the last nine minutes gave Villa a 3-1 victory over cash-strapped Crystal Palace in another replay.
Gabriel Agbonlahor headed Villa in front before a penalty by Darren Ambrose pulled Palace back level at Villa Park.
Villa will next visit second-tier Reading, who reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 1927 by winning 3-2 after extra time at West Bromwich Albion.
Reading were trailing 2-1 in injury time after 90 minutes before Brian Howard equalized and Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the winner in the fifth minute of extra time.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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