Real join Barca on Champions League scrapheap

It was always going to be a tall order, and Real Madrid found to their cost that a one-goal advantage is worth nothing when millions of dollars in Champions League revenue is at stake.

Real, the nine-time European champions, were left wanting after a determined Juventus overcame a 1-0 first leg deficit to seal a majestic 2-0 win on the night and 2-1 aggregate which booked their quarter-final ticket and left Spain without a club in the competition for the first time in over a decade.

A second half goal by France international striker David Trezeguet squared the match at full time, and Marcelo Zalayeta's superb drive gave Juve the win that will leave the whole of Spain, except perhaps the Catalans, seething.

Real's demise however will be little consolation for the Catalan supporters of their arch rivals Barcelona, who saw their team crash out on Tuesday to Chelsea with an aggregate score of 5-4.

It means there will be no Spanish team in the last eight of Europe's premier club competition for the first time since the new format, in which teams qualify for the quarter finals via two-legs ties and not from two separate groups, was introduced in 1994/95.

But Juve coach Fabio Capello, who guided Real to the Spanish league title in the 1996/97 season, made no excuses for his wild celebrations after the final whistle.

"Beating Real is never easy and it provoked a different emotion in me," he said after dancing his way down the tunnel.

"I think it's the first time that I have celebrated in such a way manner, but now I'd like to do it all over again."

"It was a huge task after the defeat in Madrid and we knew that it was going to be tough, but we played with heart, determination and a lot of quality."

Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo failed to hide his disappointment at failing to reach the last eight.

"It was a tight game, but one that was there to be won," said the Brazilian.

As the pain is felt in Spain, Italians will be forgiven for celebrating the triumphant return of their football to Europe's biggest stage.

AC Milan, the European champions in 2003, dumped Manchester United, the 1999 champions, out of the competition on Tuesday to book their ticket.

And Juventus and Milan could yet be joined by their Serie A rivals Inter Milan, who will play the second leg of their knockout round against reigning European champions FC Porto next week.

The match, which sits at 1-1 after the first leg, had to be postponed to March 15 because Inter and Milan share the San Siro stadium and both were scheduled to play home matches on Tuesday.

Another English giant dumped out of the competition was Arsenal, the Champions League's perennial underachievers who beat Bayern Munich 1-0 at Highbury on Wednesday but went out 3-2 on aggregate.

Arsene Wenger had branded that display as the worst in Europe of his eight years in Highbury and Arsenal's manager admitted his side had been left with too much to do.

"We lost against a very good side and we wish them well for the rest of the competition. 1-0 is a good result at home -- it is the goals we gave away in the first leg that have cost us," lamented the Frenchman.

But as Italy's football ego enjoys a boost, they would do well to be wary of some determined last eight guests - including Chelsea and Liverpool.

Chelsea, under the guidance of Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho - who guided FC Porto to victory last year - have emerged as serious contenders for the trophy.

And Liverpool did their hopes no harm at all with a 6-2 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen.

The Reds' also have a foreign manager in Rafael Benitez. And the Spaniard was feeling cocky enough after their 3-1 win in Leverkusen to suggest their underdog status couuld prove useful.

"I am not going to say we can win the Champions League," declared Benitez. "We will just wait and see who we get in Friday's draw."

"But a lot of other teams will have watched our match and think 'be careful'."

Also qualified were PSV Eindhoven, who put last year's beaten finalists Monaco to the sword 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate.

For PSV manager Guus Hiddink, the result was logical.

"We played an exemplary match, although we were under a bit of pressure in the first half," said the Dutchman.

"We came here also to try and score, and not just to defend. In the second half we wanted to score another goal, and (Damarcus) Beasley came up with it thanks to a superb pass from Cocu."

"That proved fatal for Monaco, but it was a great result for us. We must be the team with the smallest budget of all the qualified teams."

It just goes to show, you don't need Real or Barcelona's millions if you want to challenge among Europe's top eight teams.