Sports / Soccer |
Milan qualify despite shock defeat(Reuters)Updated: 2006-11-22 09:05 ATHENS, Nov 21 - Three weeks after recording their first ever win in the group stages of the Champions League, AEK Athens posted number two when they stunned AC Milan 1-0 at a packed Olympic Stadium on Tuesday. The result did not, however, prevent six-times European champions Milan from reaching the knockout phase following Lille's 2-2 draw at home to Anderlecht in the other Group H match. AEK climbed into second place with seven points, three behind Milan and one ahead of Lille, and will qualify if they win at Anderlecht in their final group match on December 6. The goal came from a direct free kick by Brazilian striker Julio Cesar after Milan's Clarence Seedorf had fouled Nikos Liberopoulos just outside the penalty area. However, AEK owed their famous win just as much to a staunch defence and the heroics of their Italian goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino who made half a dozen top-class saves. Traianos Dellas put an early header over the bar but for most of the first half, AEK were on the back foot as Sorrentino kept out good efforts from Ricardo Oliveira and Kaka and twice denied Filippo Inzaghi. The Milan defence, including Alessandro Costacurta who at 40 years and 211 days became the oldest player ever to feature in the Champions League, was rarely troubled. FREE KICK The game changed, however, in the 33rd minute when Seedorf brought down Liberopoulos and Cesar fired low into the right-hand corner of Dida's goal. The second half produced plenty of end-to-end excitement as Milan desperately went in search of an equaliser with qualification at that stage not yet secured. Both Sorrentino and Dida were busy, the latter having to make an acrobatic save to prevent Julio Cesar adding a second. Dida injured himself in the process and was later replaced by Zeliko Kalac. Hard though they pushed, there was nothing that Milan could do and the 60,000 AEK fans duly celebrated in a sea of yellow and black flags. AEK coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer said: "It was a great night for AEK fans and for Greek football. The fans kept our team spirit fresh throughout the match. "AEK had never won a match before this campaign and no-one thought it would be possible for us to finish in the top two. Now we are one of the favourites to go through." "We had our chances to score, especially through Inzaghi, but luck turned its back on us," said Milan coach Carlo Ancellotti.
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