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| March 13, 2003 | Thursday | Muharram 9, 1424 |
Shearer double offers Newcastle hope but Arsenal falter
PARIS, March 12: Veteran striker Alan Shearer struck both his side’s goals in a 2-2 draw with Inter Milan on Tuesday to give Newcastle a fighting chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
While Barcelona glided into the last eight with a 2-0 victory over last year’s beaten finalists Bayer Leverkusen in the other Group A game, Arsenal and ten-man AS Roma drew 1-1 and Ajax held Valencia to the same score to leave Group B delicately poised going into next week’s final second phase matches.
Any of the four sides from Group B could still qualify.
Shearer followed up his hat-trick in the last match, against Leverkusen, with two goals at the San Siro.
However his efforts just before half-time and in the 50th minute were equalised first by Christian Vieri - with his first Champions League goal in almost six years - and then Ivan Cordoba.
The draw left Newcastle third in the group with seven points, one behind Inter and six adrift of Barcelona, who are unbeaten in this year’s competition.
If Newcastle win their last match, against Barcelona at St James’ Park next Wednesday, and Inter fail to beat Leverkusen in Germany the English side will qualify.
But a draw in both matches would see Inter joining their city rivals AC Milan in the quarter-finals.
Newcastle manager Bobby Robson rued his side’s missed chances.
Inter’s coach Hector Cuper was cursing the yellow card that rules Vieri out of next week’s match.
Arsenal’s ambitions were dealt a blow at Highbury as Roma battled back from the sending-off of Francesco Totti to keep their hopes of a place in the quarterfinals alive.
After going a goal down to Patrick Vieira’s header, the Italians had Totti controversially sent off mid-way through the first half after his hand struck the face of Arsenal defender Martin Keown as he jumped for a ball.
But the Italians grabbed an equaliser from Antonio Cassano in first half injury time and Arsenal failed to convert a host of second-half chances.
The English Premiership champions’ fourth straight draw in the group leaves them second to Ajax although both teams have seven points. Valencia are one behind and Roma are hanging on with four points.
The draw means Arsenal have to go to Valencia next week and avoid defeat to ensure a place in the last eight - no easy feat against a side who have appeared in two of the last three Champions League finals.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was confident his side could get the required result in Spain.
“We’ve been very strong away from home and it seems logical enough to say I’m confident. We have won in Rome, played a draw at Ajax and I’m confident we can get a result in Valencia.”
Wenger’s opposite number, Fabio Capello, accused Keown of play-acting in a bid to earn a red card for Totti, the golden boy of Italian football.
“It is supposed to be Italian defenders who go down easily and the English who play the game fairly. But that was not very fairplay,” said Capello.
Ajax coach Ronald Koeman said his young side now deserved to progress to the quarterfinals after holding Valencia to a draw in Amsterdam.
A Kily Gonzalez penalty was equalised by a header from Ajax’s Petri Pasanen to keep both teams in contention.
Koeman said justice would be served if his side obtained the point they need away at Roma.
Valencia coach Raphael Benitez said: “This was a good point won from a very good Ajax side and everything remains possible in Group B.”
Needing just a point to qualify from Group A, Javier Saviola gave Barcelona the lead at the Nou Camp in the 17th minute.
Frank de Boer’s header early in the second half was deflected into the net by Leverkusen defender Thomas Kleine to guarantee Barcelona a ticket to the last eight and top spot in the group.
The Germans have meanwhile failed to score a single point in the second phase.
Results
GROUP A
In Barcelona:
Barcelona 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0
In Milan:
Inter Milan 2 Newcastle United 2
GROUP B
In Amsterdam:
Ajax Amsterdam 1 Valencia 1
In
London: Arsenal 1 AS Roma 1
—AFP
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