Liverpool reach semi-finals

Liverpool eliminated Juventus to set up a first-ever all-English semi-final against Chelsea in the Champions League yesterday while PSV Eindhoven will play either Milan or Inter in the other semi.

Liverpool drew 0-0 in Turin to go through 2-1 on aggregate and will now face Chelsea who eliminated Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

PSV knocked out Lyon 4-2 on penalties after extra time failed to separate the teams who finished 1-1 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate.

The Dutch side now meet the eventual winner of the other quarter-final which was abandoned because of crowd trouble after 73 minutes on Tuesday with Milan holding a 3-0 aggregate lead over Inter.

UEFA's Disciplinary panel will rule on the outcome of that game tomorrow and are expected to hand the tie to Milan because Inter's fans caused the game to be abandoned with Milan winning 1-0 on the night.

PSV's penalty shoot-out victory was the first in any knockout round of the Champions League, although the 1996, 2000 and 2003 finals were all decided on penalties.

Robert hit the winning penalty for 1988 European champions PSV. In normal time France striker Sylvain Wiltord gave Lyon a 10th-minute lead. PSV levelled five minutes into the second half with a fierce shot by Brazilian defender Alex.

In Turin, the closest Juve came to scoring was when Fabio Cannavaro headed against the post after 78 minutes and they will regret the great chance missed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the early stages of a drab match.

"I'm very proud of the staff and the players," Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said. "For us it's important to give this result to our fans."

Juve coach Fabio Capello said: "They were a difficult side to play against because they closed down the space and were then quick on the break. We had a good game, but we just weren't able to score."

Liverpool's outstanding defending ensured they eliminated the joint leaders of Serie A in a game that reversed traditional stereotypes of English and Italian approaches.

While Liverpool produced a classic Italian-style 'catenaccio' defensive display relying on counter-attacks, a well below par Juve were often reduced to old-fashioned English 'route one' football relying on long balls forward.

The triumph means Liverpool reach the last four in Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 1985 when they went on to lose 1-0 to Juventus in the ill-fated final at the Heysel Stadium.

The tragedy at that game, which resulted in the deaths of 39 mostly Italian fans, hung over both legs of this quarter-final tie - the first meeting of the clubs since the final in Brussels.

The return game took place in a contrasting atmosphere to the first-leg at Anfield where Liverpool fans had attempted to make peace and offer friendship before their team won 2-1.

After clashes between Juve fans and police outside the stadium yesterday, Italian supporters threw objects into the Liverpool section shortly before kick-off with some English fans returning the missiles into the Juventus stand.

Juventus fans did pay their own tribute to the victims of the tragedy that occurred 20 years ago, however, with banners that drew respectful applause from around the ground.

Other banners in English were more blunt, declaring 'English Animals' and 'Easy to speak - difficult to pardon murders'.

Once the game was underway Juve had an early chance to take the lead on the night when Gianluca Zambrotta burst down the left and slipped a low cross to Ibrahimovic but the Swedish striker shot over from just seven metres.

That was the only real chance of a scrappy first half with both teams giving the ball away too easily in midfield.

Liverpool, with Czech striker Milan Baros alone in attack, showed little ambition to push forward but with a one-goal lead from the first leg they had no need to.

Desperate to liven up his attack Juve coach Fabio Capello brought on Uruguayan striker Marcelo Zalayeta at half-time in place of his ineffective compatriot Ruben Olivera.

Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek was brought into action in the 64th minute as he dived to push away a header from Emerson who met a free-kick from Mauro Camoranesi.

Then Juve struck the woodwork when Del Piero fired a free-kick across the area and defender Djimi Traore's back-header struck Fabio Cannavaro on the head and rebounded against the post.

That was the last real threat from the Italians whose late pressure brought no danger to Dudek and relief to Liverpool's Spanish coach Benitez who has succeeded in returning the club to the European elite in his first season at Merseyside.

Quarter-Finals - 2nd Legs