LONDON, 15 April 2005 — Former European champions Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven turned the clock back on Wednesday as they clinched places in the Champions League semifinals.
Liverpool, European champions four times between 1977 and 1984, defended superbly for 90 minutes to earn a 0-0 draw with Juventus in their quarterfinal second leg.
They advanced 2-1 on aggregate and now meet Chelsea in the first all-English semifinal in the competition’s 50-year history after the London side knocked out Bayern Munich 6-5 on aggregate on Tuesday.
PSV, European champions in 1988 under current boss Guss Hiddink, drew 1-1 at home with Olympique Lyon of France leaving the tie all-square at 2-2 on aggregate at the end of 90 minutes. With extra time failing to produce a winner, the tie became the first in the history of the Champions League knockout stages to be decided on penalties. PSV won the shootout 4-2 and will now almost certainly meet AC Milan in their semifinal.
Those matches are scheduled for April 26 and 27 with the second legs on May 3 and 4. The final is in Istanbul on May 25.
AC Milan are likely to go through after a meeting of UEFA’s disciplinary panel today when the governing body will decide on the outcome of the quarterfinal with Inter Milan, which was abandoned on Tuesday after 73 minutes.
The match was stopped when Inter fans hailed flares and missiles down on to the pitch after having a goal disallowed by German referee Markus Merk when they were trailing 1-0 to their archrivals on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. Liverpool not only had to see off Juve in their first match in Turin since the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985 when a charge by their fans led to the death of 39 mostly Italian supporters but they also had to keep their nerve in a hostile environment.
A huge police presence prevented any major incidents although eight Juventus fans were arrested after an attack on a Liverpool supporter earlier on Wednesday and there was some crowd trouble before the kickoff inside and outside the stadium.
But Juve fans had more reason to rue the events of the night rather than the tragedy of 20 years ago as their team failed to break down Liverpool’s solid rearguard in which Sami Hyypia was outstanding as his side reached the last four for the first time since 1985.
Liverpool now face Chelsea who have beaten them three times this season — 1-0 at home and away in the Premier League and 3-2 in the English League Cup final at the end of February.
It will be the fourth time Chelsea have played another English team in European competition dating back to 1971 and they have won three of those four games and drawn the other.
In the other quarterfinal, Sylvain Wiltord gave Lyon the lead after 10 minutes in Eindhoven, their 28th goal of the competition, but it proved to be their last.
Alex equalized for PSV early in the second half and neither side could find their way through to score again.
Brazilian substitute Robert hit the winning penalty after his compatriot and goalkeeper Gomes had saved penalties by Lyon’s Ghanaian midfielder Mickael Essien and Eric Abidal.
Hartson Hat Trick Takes Celtic Back to the Top
In Glasgow, Welsh international striker John Hartson ended his goal drought with a hat trick to take Celtic back to the top of the Scottish Premier League following a 4-0 win at bottom club Livingston on Wednesday.
Hartson, who had not found the net during his last four club games, scored three minutes before the break with a volley, then headed the second after 75 minutes before adding his first penalty of the season with four minutes left.
Stanislav Varga added the fourth in the final seconds. The result took Celtic to 80 points from 32 games, two clear of Rangers who lost 1-0 at home to Dundee United on Tuesday.
Third-placed Hibernian, meanwhile, bounced back from 1-0 down at halftime in the Edinburgh derby to beat Hearts 2-1 at Tynecastle. Lee Miller nodded the opening goal for Hearts only for Garry O’Connor to level in the second half before Dean Shiels grabbed the winner. Hibs, with 56 points from 32 games, strengthened their challenge for a UEFA Cup place by moving four points clear of Aberdeen in fourth.
