LONDON, April 5: This week's Champions League quarterfinal second legs seemed to be on the minds of players and coaches alike at the weekend with Arsenal, AC Milan, Monaco, Olympique Lyon, Porto and Deportivo Coruna all suffering domestic setbacks.
ENGLAND
The FA Cup produced its usual romance at the semifinal stage when Millwall beat fellow-first division side Sunderland 1-0 to reach the final for the first time in their history.
Australian Tim Cahill's 26th-minute goal made Millwall the first side from outside the top flight to reach the final since Sunderland in 1992. They will also play in next season's UEFA Cup for the first time.
In the May 22 final in Cardiff, Millwall will play Manchester United after the 10-time winners ended Arsenal's dream of a treble and a fourth successive appearance in the final with a 1-0 victory secured by a Paul Scholes goal in the first half.
In league action Chelsea maintained their dominance over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur as a goal by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink made it 28 league games since a Spurs win over the Blues. That 1-0 away win brought Chelsea within four points of Arsenal, who they meet in the Champions League on Tuesday, though the leaders have a game in hand.
GERMANY
Werder Bremen's charge towards the Bundesliga title slowed as they were held to their second successive draw - 1-1 at home to SC Freiburg. Dennis Kruppke put Freiburg ahead after 19 seconds, Brazilian striker Ailton earning a point with his 25th goal in 27 league games.
The draw took Werder to 63 points, seven clear of Bayern Munich, who won 2-0 at 10-man Kaiserslautern. VfB Stuttgart are third on 51 after thrashing Vfl Wolfsburg 5-1 away - a result which cost Wolfsburg coach Juergen Roeber his job.
SPAIN
Brazilian fullback Roberto Carlos scored with two deflected free kicks to give Real Madrid a fortunate 2-1 win at Albacete and keep them top. The goals midway through each half left Real 2-0 up but a superb shot by Libero Parri eight minutes from time produced a nervous finale.
Real remain top with 67 points, but only one clear of Valencia who scored two late goals to beat bottom club Murcia in the late match on Sunday. Deportivo Coruna, who play AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Real Betis and remain third on 57.
Barcelona, whose nine-match league winning streak came to an end when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal, are fourth on 56.
ITALY
Inter Milan beat defending champions Juventus 3-2 on Sunday providing a helping hand for city rivals and Serie A leaders AC Milan after they were held to a 1-1 draw at lowly Modena.
Juve's defeat means that with six games remaining AS Roma, who won 3-0 at Lecce, are the only side with a realistic chance of stopping European champions Milan claiming their 17th title.
Milan's second successive draw leaves them on 69 points with Roma on 60 but with a game in hand, while third-place Juve are now 10 points behind the leaders.
Brazilian Cesar grabbed a hat trick for fourth-placed Lazio in their 5-2 home win over Siena but Parma stayed level on points with the Rome side in the race for Champions League qualification after a 2-0 win at Chievo. Winless Ancona were relegated after their 1-0 home defeat to Sampdoria left them stranded on seven points at the foot of the table.
FRANCE
Olympique Lyon were beaten 2-1 by Olympique Marseille and leaders Monaco held to a 3-3 home draw by struggling AC Ajaccio to allow Paris St Germain, 3-2 winners over Nantes, back into the title race.
Monaco, who face Real Madrid on Tuesday, lead the way with 64 points to the 63 of Lyon and 60 of PSG. It could have been worse for the leaders, who trailed Ajaccio 3-0 at home at halftime but fought back to grab a point via Dada Prso's equaliser in the fifth minute of injury time.
Defending champions Lyon went down to their sixth defeat as Camel Meriem scored Marseille's (2-1) winner six minutes from time.
PORTUGAL
Porto lost a league match for the first time this season when they were beaten 2-0 at Gil Vicente but they remain comfortably on course for the title. Mid-table Gil Vicente scored twice in three minutes midway through the second half, through Jose Gamper and Luis Coentrao after mistakes by defender Ricardo Carvalho and keeper Vitor Baia.
Porto visit Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday, leading 2-0 from the first leg of their quarter-final. -Reuters
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