New Delhi: Real Madrid are out of the Champions League in the first knock-out stage for the fourth successive time, and Arsenal will now end their season without a trophy. They, too, are out of the Champions league a few days after they were dumped out both in the Carling Cup and the FA Cup.
Real Madrid have not won in their last eight visits to Bayern Munich, and their 3-2 first leg win was in danger of being nullified in the witches cauldron. But Real were most definitely not prepared for this.
Madrid kicked off the game and 9 seconds later, the quickest goal in Champions League history. It couldn't have been a worse start for the Spanish giants, and they just could not shake it off.
Bayern scored again in the second half; the towering Lucio heading in a corner. To their credit Real didn't give up and the livewire Robinho was controversially brought down in the box late in the game. Ruud van Nistelrooy converted the penalty. Real threw themselves at Bayern, but it was too little too late. Bayern sealed a place in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal needed to score twice to reach the last eight and were given a lifeline when PSV's Alex diverted Denilson's corner into his own goal after 58 minutes.
Arsene Wenger's side then paid the price for missing chances. Alex made amends for his own goal by heading in Edison Mendez's free-kick with eight minutes left for the vital away goal. Arsenal's promising season is now dead and buried.
Henrik Larsson sent Manchester United into the Champions League last eight in his final game at Old Trafford.
The Swedish striker sealed victory in the 72nd minute when he headed home Cristiano Ronaldo's cross from the left. It was the 35-year-old's first Champions League goal for United and will be his last as he returns to Swedish club Helsingborg this month.
Celtic gave AC Milan as good as they got for 180 minutes. But football can be cruel sometimes as brazilian Kaka scored from a brilliant solo run in the last minutes of extra time to send the Italian super club into the quarter-finals.
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