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PSG, Juventus reach CL quarters

Richard ConnorMarch 6, 2013

Paris Saint Germain have progressed to the quarterfinals of the Champions League at the expense of Valencia, with a 1-1 draw. Things were not so close in Turin, where Glasgow Celtic had a mountain to climb but lost 2-0.

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PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 06: Ezequiel Lavezzi of PSG givesd a team mate a thumbs up during the Round of 16 UEFA Champions League match between Paris St Germain and Valencia CF at Parc des Princes on March 6, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Fußball Champions League Paris St Germain gegen Valencia CFImage: Getty Images

Parisians PSG made a lively start Wednesday evening, having the first real sight of a goal when forward Lucas Moura ran into the penalty area to lash a strong shot across the face of the goal.

Valencia were badly in need of a goal though, and Roberto Soldado almost had one, tricking the defense with a clever one-two but failing to make it register. The Spaniards kept at the attack with Brazilian Jonas having some particularly bright moments, while PSG - without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic - failed to get a single shot on target.

At one point it looked as though PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti might give David Beckham, limbering up on the sidelines, an outing.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man didn't make an appearance as the second half got underway Wednesday evening. If anything, Valencia became even more attacking and the game really came to life. It was in the 55th minute that the approach paid off courtesy of Jonas, who latched onto a ball lost by Blaise Matuidi in midfield. The Brazilian lined up a clean shot from outside the penalty area, and the ball whizzed past PSG defender Alex and into the net.

Football player David Beckham (2L), arrives on the bench ( Christophe Morin / IP3)
It looked as though Beckham might come on from the bench for a while, but he didn'tImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Paris only took 11 minutes to hit back. Kevin Gameiro ran at the Valencia defense before Ezequiel Lavezzi took the ball off him. Lavezzi's first effort was saved but he steered in the rebound with his thigh.

Despite some plucky attacking from Valencia, PSG defended stoutly to hang on to the draw, winning 3-2 on aggregate to progress.

Mountain to climb

In Turin, Celtic appeared to start the better side, having to overcome a 3-0 deficit sustained in Glasgow if they were to reach the quarterfinals.

But Juventus soaked up the pressure to hit back against the run of play. The Scots had almost 60 percent of possession when, after 24 minutes, Alessandro Matri broke the deadlock.

Fabio Quagliarella had fired in a shot that Celtic keeper Fraser Forster was only able to parry - Matri was on hand to ensure from close range that the follow-up was more successful.

Juventus' Alessandro Matri (C) celebrates with his teammates (Photo: REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino)
Juventus had in truth done all the hard work back in GlasgowImage: REUTERS

It was not such a setback for Celtic, who would have had to score four in any case to win without it going to penalties. Juventus took control of the match though, particularly after the break.

They doubled their lead on 65 minutes when Andrea Pirlo picked out Arturo Vidal who brought the ball down with his chest. Unselfishly, he squared it to Fabio Quagliarella who tapped it in.

If it finally broke the hearts of the Glaswegians' travelling army of fans, they didn't let it show, singing until the end, the final result 2-0 and a whopping 5-0 on aggregate.