Leverkusen and Barcelona triumph in Euro thrillers
Bayer Leverkusen produced a scintillating attacking display to reach the Champions League semifinals at Liverpool's expense on Tuesday, while Barcelona joined them after an early scare against Panathinaikos.
An 84th-minute goal by Lucio sealed a dramatic 4-2 victory for Leverkusen in Germany that gave them a 4-3 aggregate success and a place in the last four against either Manchester United or Deportivo Coruna.
In the Catalan capital Barcelona conceded an early goal but roared back to win 3-1 against Greek opponents Panathinaikos, scraping through 3-2 overall to set up a semifinal against either Spanish rivals Real Madrid or holders Bayern Munich.
Two-goal Michael Ballack was the inspiration behind Leverkusen's stunning triumph as the Bundesliga leaders reached the semifinals of European soccer's premier club competition for the first time.
The German international gave Leverkusen a deserved 16th-minute lead and, after Abel Xavier's equaliser for Liverpool, headed them back in front just after the hour.
There was plenty of drama to come, though. Dimitar Berbatov quickly made it 3-1 to Bayer before Jari Litmanen looked to have put Liverpool, who won the first leg 1-0, through on away goals when he scored with 11 minutes to go.
But Lucio had the final word and Liverpool were left to regret a hat-trick of Michael Owen misses as they suffered their first loss in 16 away games in Europe.
"I can hardly believe it," said Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmoeller. "We have been rewarded for taking risks. I said before the game that we had nothing to lose and we just kept going forward."
OWEN MISSES
Germany coach Rudi Voeller, a former sporting director and player at Leverkusen, added: "That was sensational. That is the biggest victory in the club's history.
"The team believe in themselves despite their setbacks. They always played aggressively and took risks."
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, back in the dugout at a European away game for the first time since heart surgery, lamented Owen's misses.
"We had the opportunity to kill the game off -- we had the chances," said the Frenchman.
Barcelona lost 1-0 in Greece in the first leg and suffered another shock when Michalis Konstantinou drove 1996 semifinalists Panathinaikos in front after only eight minutes, meaning Barcelona needed to score three to progress.
They duly did. The 1992 European champions equalised after 23 minutes when Javier Saviola fed Luis Enrique who prodded the ball home.
The Spanish international headed his second five minutes into the second half, by which time Barcelona had brought on Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert.
Saviola coolly scored the decisive third goal after 61 minutes as Carles Rexach's side reached the semifinals for the first time since 2000.
