United prevail in stormy encounter

Champions League round-up : Manchester United flew home clutching a priceless 1-0 Champions League lead and left behind a storm…

Champions League round-up: Manchester United flew home clutching a priceless 1-0 Champions League lead and left behind a storm of controversy that included a furious Lille coaching staff, who attempted to haul their players off the pitch before the final whistle.

Lille keeper Tony Sylva was still lining his wall up when Ryan Giggs calmly stroked his free-kick into the top corner seven minutes from time.

The home players raced to Dutch referee Eric Braamhaar, clearly unable to comprehend how the official had allowed the goal to stand.

But Braamhaar was not for turning and triggered a quite stunning reaction from the home bench, with the signal clearly going out for the Lille players to head to the sideline and end the game.

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Thankfully, sanity prevailed and the contest continued, allowing United to claim a victory in a game which, until those bizarre last few minutes seemed set to be remembered for the chilling security scare inside the visitors end where fans seemed to get crushed in front of a 10 foot barrier.

Mercifully, no-one was injured in the incident, although that was hardly due to the actions of the riot police, who fired tear gas into the enclosure.

In Holland, Arsenal's hopes of progressing towards a second successive final suffered a knock-back tonight as they lost 1-0 at PSV Eindhoven.

The Gunners never really hit top gear in the Philips Stadion, where chances were at a premium.

In the end, it was a fine long-range effort from Ecuador midfielder Edison Mendez on the hour which settled matters - and gave the Dutch league leaders a slender advantage to take back to Emirates Stadium in a fortnight's time.

For the Gunners, there is now little chance to reflect on this result as they prepare for Sunday's Carling Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium.

Celtic had to produce all their battling qualities to hold AC Milan to a goalless draw at Parkhead. In an open and entertaining game, Italy World Cup star Alberto Gilardino had several chances to put the classy visitors ahead but the Hoops, who never really threatened, survived with their goal intact.

The Bank of Scotland Premier League champions may need to score at least once in the San Siro in a fortnight if they are to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time.

Raul struck twice as Real Madrid got the better of old foes Bayern Munich with a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu.

The Spain striker put Real in front when he squeezed the ball in from a tight angle after tumbling past Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn in the 10th minute.

Bayern equalised against the run of play when Brazilian centre-back Lucio headed in from five metres out after Mark van Bommel had clipped a free kick into the area midway through the half.

But Raul struck again five minutes later, taking his tally of goals in the Champions League to 56 when he headed in on the line and fellow striker Ruud van Nistelrooy added a third before the break with a cool finish after a David Beckham free kick.

Bayern dominated for most of the second half but looked to be heading for an emphatic defeat until former Barcelona player Mark van Bommel netted with a stunning shot from the edge of the area that put the Germans right back in the tie.