05/04/2005
Liverpool earn slender lead, Lyon held by PSV
Liverpool claimed a slender advantage over
Juventus in their Champions League quarter-final with a 2-1 first-leg
win on an emotional night at Anfield on Tuesday.
Olympique Lyon conceded a late goal in a 1-1 home draw with PSV
Eindhoven, leaving the other tie also precariously balanced going into
next week's second legs.
AC Milan play neighbours Inter and Chelsea face Bayern Munich in the
other quarter-final first leg games on Wednesday.
Liverpool and Juventus were meeting for the first time since the Heysel
Stadium tragedy 20 years ago in which 39 fans, mainly Italian, were
killed when a wall collapsed following crowd trouble at the European Cup
final in Brussels.
A minute's silence was observed in memory of those who died, and Phil
Neal and Michel Platini, captains 20 years ago, took part in a ceremony
in which Liverpool fans took a banner to the Juve supporters with the
message "in memory and friendship".
Fans from both clubs staged a football match in the city before kickoff
while many Juve supporters joined in a stirring rendition of Liverpool's
anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Any danger that the weight of the occasion would stifle the players was
quickly erased, however, as four-time European champions Liverpool
rolled back the years with a tremendous display of attacking football in
the first half.
Defender Sami Hyypia volleyed them ahead after 10 minutes and 15 minutes
later Luis Garcia lashed a swirling shot past helpless goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon to put Liverpool 2-0 ahead against a shell-shocked Juve.
The Italians regrouped, however, and snatched a vital away goal to take
back to Turin just past the hour.
Defender Fabio Cannavaro's downward header found a way past Liverpool's
young keeper Scott Carson to give the twice European champions a
lifeline.
French champions Lyon, one of the competition's most impressive
performers, dominated PSV for an hour after Florent Malouda had given
them a 12th-minute lead.
They had chances to seize control of the match but were stunned 11
minutes from time when Philip Cocu's solo run and speculative shot
squeezed inside Gregory Coupet's left-hand post to give the Dutch
champions a slight edge in the tie.
PSV, who beat last year's runners-up Monaco in the previous round, last
made an impression in European football's top club competition when they
won the trophy in 1988.