LONDON, 25 March 2004 — Holders AC Milan scored four goals in nine minutes to move to the brink of the Champions League semifinals with a 4-1 thrashing of Deportivo Coruna on Tuesday.
In the evening’s other quarterfinal, first leg match Porto put themselves in the driving seat with a comfortable 2-0 home win over French champions Olympique Lyon.
Milan, aiming to repeat their feat of 14 years ago by winning Europe’s premier club competition two seasons in a row, produced an explosive burst of attacking football to recover from a nervy start at the San Siro.
Brazilian midfielder Kaka struck twice, and Serie A’s leading scorer Andriy Shevchenko and midfielder Andrea Pirlo were also on target.
Shevchenko’s clinical strike was his 21st in Europe for Milan, breaking the all-time club record he had shared with Jose Altafini.
Deportivo, bolstered by their victory in the San Siro last season and their elimination of Juventus in the previous round, had looked on course for a shock.
Milan’s experienced defense, including skipper Paolo Maldini who set a new record of playing in 130 European club matches, stood motionless as striker Walter Pandiani rose unmarked to head powerfully past goalkeeper Dida after 11 minutes.
The silky Spanish side continued to trouble the hosts but the game turned on the stroke of halftime with a supreme piece of skill from Kaka. The 21-year-old controlled a cross from fellow Brazilian Cafu on his right thigh in one movement before slamming a left-foot volley past Jose Molina.
Ukrainian Shevchenko made it 2-1 with a low drive 21 seconds into the second half before Kaka slotted his second from 20 meters four minutes later. Pirlo then put Milan in cruise control with a curling 25-meter free kick.
Serie A leaders Milan are unbeaten in Europe and the Italian League since Dec. 21, and their rich vein of form shows no sign of faltering.
“We have an important advantage now going into the second leg. But we need to go there and play our game, hopefully, as we did tonight,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti.
“We took control of the game with great ease and really played well. Three goals in nine minutes is an incredible performance.”
UEFA Cup holders Porto, conquerors of Manchester United in the last round, needed plenty of patience and a stroke of luck to break the deadlock in the Antas stadium.
Striker Benni McCarthy’s 44th-minute volley flashed across goal and struck the in-rushing Deco Souza, who claimed his first Champions League goal this season.
Porto, European Cup winners in 1987, gained valuable breathing space after 71 minutes when Deco’s flighted free kick was headed in by defender Ricardo Carvalho.
The result maintained Porto’s record of not having lost at home to a French side for more than 30 years and put them firmly on track for a likely meeting with Milan in the last four.
Coach Jose Mourinho said he was delighted with his team’s patient approach.
“We kept our composure and that helped us play a good game, although there are still 90 minutes to go in the tie,” he said.
