MILAN, 28 April 2005 — AC Milan beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in their Champions League semifinal, first leg on Tuesday with a first half goal from Andriy Shevchenko and a last minute strike from substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson giving the Italians a great chance of a place in the final.
Shevchenko gave Milan the lead after 42 minutes at the San Siro when he latched on to a through ball from Kaka and outpaced Wilfred Bouma before firing past PSV’s Gomes from 10 meters.
Danish striker Tomasson wrapped up the victory in the last minute after PSV seemed to have done enough to give themselves a strong chance in next Wednesday’s second leg in Eindhoven.
PSV created a number of openings in their impressive performance and made it tough for Milan but Tomasson’s late strike leaves Milan favorites to reach the final in Istanbul on May 25.
It was Milan’s seventh successive Champions League match without conceding a goal - a new record for the competition - but without the suspended Alessandro Nesta their defense was uncharacteristically shaky against a pacey PSV attack. Milan made a positive start and Shevchenko had a chance in the second minute when skipper Paolo Maldini picked him out with a diagonal, cross-field pass but the Ukrainian shot meekly at PSV’s Brazilian keeper Heurelho Gomes. Clarence Seedorf and Hernan Crespo both forced saves out of Gomes during an intense spell of opening pressure from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
But they soon got a warning of the threat that PSV pose on the break when Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan tested Dida with a low shot that the Milan keeper uncomfortably fumbled out.
Farfan then showed his pace with a darting run that took him past Milan’s Dutch former PSV defender Jaap Stam and goalward but he could only scuff a harmless shot. The pace of South Korean Ji-Sung Park and American DaMarcus Beasley were causing Milan’s defense some problems but the Italians soon got off the back foot and restored their control over the game.
Brazilian Kaka, looking close to the impressive form of his first season in European football, burst through from midfield and had a shot well saved in the 31st minute and then shortly after he produced another, more powerful strike from the edge of the area which forced Gomes to full stretch.
It was Kaka who was then behind Milan’s breakthrough, opting for a direct ball over the top to Shevchenko who outpaced Bouma and coolly slotted past Gomes to give Milan the advantage at the break.
Guus Hiddink’s Dutch side were unaffected by the setback though and made a positive start to the second half with Dida again failing to keep hold of a shot from South Korean left-back Lee Young-Pyo and then his compatriot Park shot straight at the Milan keeper after being slipped in by Beasley.
West Brom Stay in Bottom Three After Draw
In London, West Bromwich Albion wasted a chance to move out of the Premier League relegation zone on Tuesday when they were held 1-1 at home by Blackburn Rovers.
Victory would have lifted Bryan Robson’s side above Crystal Palace into 17th place, but they were pegged back by Brett Emerton’s second-half equalizer after Kieran Richardson had shot them ahead in the 32nd minute.
With three games remaining Southampton are bottom with 28 points. Norwich City, West Brom and Crystal Palace all have 30 points, with Palace enjoying a superior goal difference.
West Brom, who are attempting to become the first side in Premier League history to survive after being bottom at Christmas, face Arsenal at home.
