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AC-Milan 4 – 0 Arsenal EUROPE: Champions League – Play Offs

Arsenal have suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the San Siro.

Serie A giants Milan made the breakthrough after 15 minutes when former Spurs midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng smashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

In a poor first-half attacking display from the Gunners, Laurent Koscielny could only put a tame header at Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal from Robin van Persie’s free kick.

The hosts doubled their lead just before the break when Robinho cushioned his header into the net after good work down the left flank from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Second Half

Despite bringing on Thierry Henry for the second half, Arsenal found themselves 3-0 down minutes after the break when Robinho hit a low shot past Wojciech Szczesny following Thomas Vermaelen’s slip.

However, Arsene Wenger side’s night was made worse when Ibrahimovic fired in from the penalty spot on 77 minutes after he was tripped in the area by Johan Djourou.

Gunners skipper van Persie had another chance shortly after, but his header forced a low save from Abbiati.

The result leaves Arsenal with the slimmest chance of qualification when they host Milan at the Emirates Stadium for the second leg on Tuesday, March 6.

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Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona (1-3) Champions League – Play Offs

Alexis Sanchez hit his first Champions League goals, and Lionel Messi added a third, as Barcelona won their last-16 tie first leg at Bayer Leverkusen.

Sanchez capped a dominant first half for the defending champions by slotting home from the brilliant Messi’s pass.

Michal Kadlec equalised with a header from Vedran Corluka’s cross but Sanchez rounded Bernd Leno to tap in and restore his side’s advantage.

Messi shot against the post before sealing the victory with a volley.

A comfortable win with three away goals puts Barca in a commanding position going into the second leg at home on 7 March.

Leverkusen will need a huge upset in the Nou Camp if they are to reach the last eight for the first time since making the 2002 final.

Despite drawing level shortly after half-time, they were outclassed overall and it took some dogged defending to keep the scoreline respectable.

Barcelona stun Real Madrid in El Clasico, Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona

FC Barcelona got the league back on track with a thrilling 1-3 comeback win at Santiago Bernebeu. The match started with a disaster as far as Barca were concerened. We went a goal down in the very first minute following a horrendous mistake by Valdes. But this match was about whether Barca’s grit and they dig deep and produced a brilliant comeback. Sanchez equalised in the 30th minute and Xavi and Fabregas scored in the second half to conquer the stadium of Santiago Bernebeu. This is Real Madrid’s first defeat at home and also this looks like their first defeat after going 1-0 up.

This clash had a huge importance as it set the phsycology for the rest of the clashes this season. Many of the pundits would like this victory. Many were arguing that Mourinho’s second season is really when he push things up opponent’s throat. But this one didn’t go according to the script for him. One of the most disappointed football writer would be Sid Lowe from Guardian who predicted a Real Madrid win. He did last season also. So he is officially our lucky charm. Putting to rest all confusion regarding the formation and line-up, Guardiola decided to go with a 4-3-3 formation. David Villa was ommitted from the starting line-up again and Cesc took his position. We had Valdes on the goal; Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal formed the defender. The midfield had the Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets. The front trio had Cesc, Messi and Sanchez, with Cesc playing teh false 9 role. Meanwhile Real Madrid went with a 4-3-3 formation, with Casillas, Coentrao, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Diarra, Ozil, Maria, Benzema and Ronaldo.

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