Football story by Georgina Scane, Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:28:00 GMT


It was a good day for Spain yesterday as Barcelona and Villarreal kept their date with the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Also through were Italian giants Juventus, who left it late and sneaked past Werder Bremen on away goals rule.

Barcelona were in a tense encounter with Chelsea at Nou Camp, but the match was played out without any incident. Although both sides had plenty of opportunities it was only in the 78th minute that Ronaldinho broke the deadlock and Barca seemed sure to qualify. Frank Lampard pulled a consolation goal for Chelsea through a penalty after John Terry was taken down in the box, but by then it was too late.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho felt that his team went out due to bad luck, "We played against them four matches in two seasons and 11 against 11 they never beat us. That's the reality," he said. "Details make a big difference. We had a difficult job to do and the reality is who is in the next round." His Barca counterpart Frank Rijkaard said his team deserved to win, "We always work hard for a good result but I have nothing against Chelsea or their coach. I have great respect for the work he is doing,” he stressed.

Italian giants Juventus seemed set for an early exit, but a major blunder by Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese allowed Emerson to score a late goal after David Trezeguet had cancelled out Johan Micoud's early strike. Juve went through on away goals rule. The other Spanish team Villarreal beat Rangers on the away goals rule as they drew 1-1 last night. Peter Lovenkrands scored for Rangers, while Rodolf Arruabarrena equalized for Villarreal.

More Sporting Stuff