Champions League Matchday 8: Chelsea, Liverpool, Roma and Valencia Fight On

By: Bob | March 6th, 2007

The nerves were high, the tension palpable and the quality of play was at a fairly high level. All in all, there was some excellent midweek action Tuesday and we have more in store for us Wednesday. Four teams have booked their way into the Champions League elite eight. Four teams have been knocked out. Here is a quick and dirty recap from the first day of Matchday 8.

Liverpool 0 Barcelona 1 (agg 2-2) – After a scoreless first half the tournament holders Barcelona really started to put on the pressure. A goal by Eidur Gudjohnsen in the 75th minute added to the drama, but in the end Liverpool were able to hold on to advance on away goals. Much more about this to come on the jubilant Liverpool Offside and the not so jubilant Barcelona Offside.

Lyon 0 AS Roma 2 (agg 0-2) – Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day. Roma jumped on an out of sorts Lyon side early and never looked back. Francesco Totti and Alessandro Mancini scored first-half goals as Roma advanced into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time. Tip of the gap to Roma keeper Alexander Doni for keeping a clean sheet despite being under a lot of pressure in the second half. More to come on the France Offside and Italy Offside.

Chelsea 2 Porto 1 (agg 3-2) – Things got very interesting in the first half when Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma put the visitors on top in the game and level in the tie, but Chelsea showed great class in the second half with goals by Arjen Robben and Michael Ballack proving to be the difference. Much more to come from the Chelsea Offside once Andy is home from the match and presumably his joyous hangover wears off.

Valencia 0 Inter Milan 0 (agg 2-2) – Neither side was especially impressive but it was a tightly played match full of drama. Valencia held off a late challenge by Inter to advance on away goals. The end of the match saw a crazy fight that ended up spilling into the tunnels. It will be interesting to see if Valencia face any discipline in the next round. The sad vibe is on the Inter Milan Offside and more about the fight can be found on the Italy Offside.

Previews of Wednesday’s matches and more coverage from today’s tilts are on the Champions League Offside.