March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

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PARIS, March 19: A rare header by Brazilian superstar Ronaldo sneaked holders Real Madrid into the Champions League quarterfinals as they beat Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0 in their Group C clash and recorded their first victory in the Russian capital in nine visits.

But for a dreadful miss by Lokomotiv’s Brazilian midfielder Julio Cesar in the dying minutes it would have been farewell to the Spanish nine-time European champions and instead Germany’s 1997 Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund would have progressed after their 1-0 victory over AC Milan in Milan.

Instead Real remain on course to retain their title having finished a point ahead of Dortmund while Germany is left with no representative in the last eight for the first time in 19 years.

Group D’s matches saw both sides that made the last eight, United and Juventus lose.

United fielded a weakened side made up of raw youngsters and crusty veterans and paid the price going down 2-0 to Deportivo La Coruna while Juventus were beaten by surprise packages Basel, who came from a goal down to snatch a 2-1 victory with an injury-time winner.

While Juventus, Basel and Deportivo all finished level on points it was the Italians who progressed as Basel needed to beat them by four clear goals.

Ronaldo finished off a splendid move by Madrid in the 35th minute which involved Zinedine Zidane, Raul and then a cross from Luis Figo which escaped the Lokomotiv defence, the Brazilian having lost his marker.

The 26-year-old Brazilian celebrated by tapping the top of his shaven head indicating how rare it is for him to score with it and what was only his second goal of the campaign.

Zidane said it had not been an enjoyable experience playing on a distinctly poor quality pitch but made no excuses for the below-par performance of the nine-time European champions.

The two goal hero of France’s 1998 World Cup triumph over Brazil said they had met tougher resistance than they had expected from Lokomotiv.

There was no such consolation for Dortmund’s coach Matthias Sammer, who must be sorely regretting the injury time goal they conceded to Real at home when leading 1-0.

Sammer, though, denied there was anything wrong with German football after watching his side win thanks to a 80th minute goal from Czech international Jan Koller.

Defender Rene Gattuso admitted Milan, who have slipped away in the race for the Italian title after three consecutive draws, were second best to the German champions.

Basel’s slim hopes of a quarter final place were wiped out by Juventus midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi in the tenth minute - though they showed the spirit that has seen them dispose of Liverpool among others in this campaign to come back and take the three points.

Midfielder Mario Cantaluppi levelled the match in the 38th minute when he volleyed in from close range after the Juventus back four failed to clear the ball.

Basel’s impressive Argentine striker Christian Gimenez sealed victory when he latched onto a corner, volleying the ball into the Juventus net in the 92nd minute.

Down-and-out Deportivo La Coruna wiped the smile from Alex Ferguson’s face as the Galicians took advantage of Manchester United’s complacency to prevail.—AFP