The Champions League quarter-finals are finely poised after Manchester United-Bayern Munich and Barcelona-Atletico Madrid ended 1-1.

Both will be decided only by the second leg, which will be played next Wednesday evening.

The Champions League quarter-finals are finely poised after Manchester United-Bayern Munich and Barcelona-Atletico Madrid ended 1-1.

Both will be decided only by the second leg, which will be played next Wednesday evening.

For the full Barcelona-Atletico Madrid match report and comments, go to our sister site Football-Espana.net

Bayern dominated possession at Old Trafford, but it was Manchester United who had the best chances on the counter-attack.

Danny Welbeck had the ball in the net, but the whistle had already been blown for dangerous play, then he tried to chip Manuel Neuer one-on-one and was denied by an outstretched hand.

The hosts took a surprise lead when a Wayne Rooney corner was floated in for the head of Nemanja Vidic, who has already signed for Inter next season.

Bayern reacted quickly, as Mario Mandzukic knocked down a cross for Bastian Schweinsteiger’s half-volley under the bar.

Antonio Valencia was fortunate not to be sent off, as he was already on a yellow card when clattering into Jerome Boateng.

The Champions League holders had more chances to win the away leg with Arjen Robben and Mandzukic, but again a counter proved dangerous and Javi Martinez had to take a yellow card for the team when bringing down Abel Hernandez.

Schweinsteiger received two bookings and saw red at the 90th minute for a challenge on Rooney, meaning he and Martinez will both be suspended for the second leg.

Barcelona suffered a shock of their own against Atletico Madrid in the all-Spanish Champions League derby.

Both sides had to deal with early blows, as Gerard Pique and Diego Costa went off injured in the opening half-hour.

David Villa and Andres Iniesta had chances, but substitute Diego Ribas stunned Camp Nou with a sensational strike to give Atletico Madrid the lead.

The former Juventus flop picked up the ball almost 30 yards from goal down the right channel and unleashed a screamer of a right-foot shot into the near top corner.

Barça poured forward and peppered the Atleti goal with shots from Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi until Neymar drew level.

Iniesta prodded a through ball with the outside of his boot for a perfectly-timed Neymar run round the back of Juanfran, curling the finish across Thibaut Courtois.

The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper flew to fingertip an Iniesta effort round the base of the near post and did the same on a Messi free kick.

It was all Barcelona, but without any more goals to show for it, so Atleti will fancy their chances of qualification at the Vicente Calderon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector