LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Holders AC Milan
virtually booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-1
thrashing of Deportivo Coruna at the San Siro on Tuesday.
In the night's other quarter-final, first-leg match Porto also
put themselves in the driving seat with a comfortable 2-0 home win over French
champions Olympique Lyon.
Milan, aiming to repeat their feat of 14 years ago by winning
Europe's premier club competition two seasons in a row, banged in four goals in
nine minutes to recover from a nervy start.
Brazilian midfielder Kaka wrote himself into San Siro folklore
with two goals, while Serie A's leading scorer Andriy Shevchenko and midfielder
Andrea Pirlo were also on target.
Yet Deportivo, bolstered by their victory in the San Siro last
season and their elimination of Juventus in the previous round, had looked on
course for a shock.
Milan's experienced defence, including skipper Paolo Maldini
who set a new record of playing in 130 European club matches, stood motionless
as Depor striker Walter Pandiani rose unmarked to head powerfully past
goalkeeper Dida after 11 minutes.
The silky Spanish side continued to trouble the hosts but the
game turned on the stroke of halftime when the 21-year-old Kaka controlled a
Cafu cross on his thigh before slamming a volley past Jose Molina.
Ukrainian Shevchenko made it 2-1 with a low drive 21 seconds
into the second half before Kaka buried his second from 20 metres four minutes
later. Pirlo then put Milan in cruise control with a curling 25-metre free kick.
UEFA Cup holders Porto, conquerors of Manchester United in the
last round, needed a stroke of luck to break the deadlock in the Antas stadium.
Striker Benni McCarthy's 44th-minute volley flashed across
goal and struck the in-rushing Deco Souza, who claimed his first Champions
League goal this season.
Porto, European Cup winners in 1987, gained valuable breathing
space after 71 minutes when Deco's pinpoint cross was headed in by defender
Ricardo Carvalho.
The result maintained Porto's record of not having lost at
home to a French side for more than 30 years and put them firmly on track for a
likely meeting with Milan in the last four.
Wednesday's quarter-finals feature the all-London derby
between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and Monaco's visit to Real Madrid.
