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ARSENAL-MILAN: OFFICIAL FORMATIONS

ARSENAL: Lehmann; Sagna, Gallas, Tourè, Clichy; Ebouè, Flamini, Fabregas, Hleb; Eduardo, Adebayor.
MILAN: Kalac; Oddo, Nesta, Kaladze, Maldini; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kakà, Seedorf; Pato.

[timothy]

45'+1' Generic Event The first half has ended 0-0 between Arsenal and Milan
45' Generic Event Larsen awards 1 minute of injury time
44' Action Zeljko Kalac Great intervention with the body by the Australian goalkeeper who stops the shot from the left hand side by Flamini
43' Action Emmanuel Eboue Goes in the right hand side, but his shot hits the outside net
42' Action Paolo Maldini Recovers a dangerous ball served by Adebayor for Eduardo
41' Action Andrea Pirlo Long ball forward towards Pato, Clichy wins the ball
38' Action Pato Great accelleration on the right hand side by the Brazilian who enters the penalty area with the ball to his feet, but Senderos stops him
36' Action Zeljko Kalac Central save following the shot by Flamini following a cross by Sagna
35' Action Cesc Fabregas Takes a set-piece from the right hand side, long ball on the second post, Senderos shoots towards goal but the ball goes out
33' Yellow card Pato
32' Action Gennaro Ivan Gattuso Great anticipation on Adebayor on the cross from the right hand side by Sagna
28' Action Massimo Oddo Great sprint on the wing following the pass by Kaka, overtakes the defender, but Kaka fails to take advantage of the triangle
27' Action Andrea Pirlo Tries a through ball for Pato, but the Brazilian does not reach the ball
26' Action Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor Ball forwards towards Adebayor who runs away in speed and concludes over the bar
25' Action Kakha Kaladze A cross towards Pirlo but Senderos anticipates the ball
23' Action William Gallas Shot form the edge of the penalty area, but the ball goes far wide on the left hand side
21' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Ball towards Eduardo who does not manage to arrive on the ball and Milan counter attack
20' Corner kick Zeljko Kalac Confident save following a corner kick by Fabregas
19' Action Kakha Kaladze Deflects in corner following a feint by Adebayor
17' Action Alessandro Nesta He closes very well on Adebayor, spot-kick for Kalac
16' Generic Event Ball possession for Milan
12' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Ball towards the middle, Maldini clears with a header
12' Action Paolo Maldini Closes in corner Eboue who went in from the right hand side
11' Action Alessandro Nesta Cross from the left hand side by Clichy searching Adebayor, but the Rossonero player clears with a header
9' Action Zeljko Kalac Easy save following the header by Adebayor
8' Substitution Kolo Toure
Philippe Senderos
7' Corner kick Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor Following the corner kick, he hit by accident Kaladze in the face
6' Action Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor Following a long ball forward by Lehman, he ran with the ball and entered the penalty area, but Oddo made a great intervention to deflect the ball in corner
5' Action Pato Shot towards goal from the distance, but Toure deflects in corner and falls to the gorund
5' Corner kick Clarence Seedorf Ball towards the first post, Lehmann deflects it
3' Action Alessandro Nesta Great anticipation on Eboue, as the Rossonero player throws the ball outside
2' Off side Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor
2' Action Clarence Seedorf Forward towards Kaka in the penalty area, but Sagna clears
1' Generic Event Referee Larsen whistles the start to Arsenal-Milan

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90'+4' Action Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor Cross from the right hand side by Walcott, Adebayor hits the bar with a header from very close range in an empty net
90'+4' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Maldini clears
90'+4' Generic Event Larsen whistles the end of Arsenal-Milan 0-0
90'+3' Off side Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor
90'+2' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Ball towards the middle, Emerson clears, Walcott picks up the ball, but his shot is saved by Kalac
90' Substitution Emmanuel Eboue
Theo Walcott
90' Action Andrea Pirlo Another free-kick goes out
90' Generic Event 4 minutes of injury time
89' Action Nicklas Bendtner Counter attack by Arsenal, but Bendtner's shot goes above the bar
88' Action Andrea Pirlo Takes a free-kick from 33 metres away, but the ball goes wide
87' Action Paolo Maldini Clears with a header a cross from the right hand side by Eboue
86' Substitution Clarence Seedorf
Emerson
86' Corner kick Andrea Pirlo Ball towards the first post, Gilardino turns towards goal, but Lehmann saves
84' Action Nicklas Bendtner Cross from the right hand side for Adebayor, who does not catch the ball
84' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas
83' Action Zeljko Kalac Another save by the Australian goalkeeper following a shot from the distance by Fabregas
82' Action Zeljko Kalac Great control on the edge of the penalty area by Adebayor who shoots towards goal, but the goalkeeper saves comfortably
81' Yellow card Emmanuel Eboue For diving following a contrast with Jankulovksi inside the penalty area
79' Action Zeljko Kalac Catches the cross of Eboue
77' Substitution Pato
Alberto Gilardino
77' Injury Pato Cramps for the Brazilian
76' Action Kakha Kaladze Clears a dangerous ball of Bendtner
75' Action Zeljko Kalac Confident save following a shot from the distance by Fabregas
74' Action Eduardo Eduardo A left-footer, completely out
74' Substitution Eduardo Eduardo
Nicklas Bendtner
71' Action Pato Ball forward by Pirlo, Pato tries to move between three defenders, confusion in the penalty area and the ball goes out
70' Yellow card Philippe Senderos For a foul on Kaka
69' Action Kaká Right footer from the edge of the penalty area, ball goes out
67' Action Andrea Pirlo Pirlo crosses but the ball is cleared with a header by Clichy
66' Action Kaká Great acceleration by Kaka who serves the ball forward towards Pato, but the young Rossonero player does not reach the ball
64' Action Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor Tries to catch the ball sent forward by Fabregas, but the ball goes out
63' Action Massimo Oddo Kaka opens on the right hand side, shot goes out
62' Action Andrea Pirlo Takes a free-kick from centre of the pitch, but when attacked throws the ball out
61' Action Massimo Oddo Seedorf opens on the right hand side for Oddo, crosses towards the middle, recovers all Lehmann
59' Action Andrea Pirlo Pirlo opens on the left hand side for Paro, the Brazilian crosses towards the middle, but Kaka does not arrive
56' Action Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor A long ball forward for Fabregas, tries to stop the ball in front of goal, but he does not arrive
55' Action Eduardo Eduardo A central shot towards goal which goes just above the bar
54' Action Zeljko Kalac A save as he came out to stop Adebayor who was all alone in front of goal
53' Action Emmanuel Eboue A right footer which goes just wide on the right hand side of Kalac
53' Off side Sheyi Emanuel Adebayor A pass by Fabregas for his team-mate who scores, but Larsen signals the offside
52' Action Andrea Pirlo Pirlo sends the ball forward for Kaka, but it's too long, Ricky tries to change everything by passingon the right hand side towards Pato who is stopped by Senderos
51' Off side Pato On the long ball forward by Kaka
50' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Ball towards the middle, Kalac saves without a problem
50' Substitution Alessandro Nesta
Marek Jankulovski
49' Corner kick Cesc Fabregas Ball towards the middle, again a corner kick deflected by Kaka in the middle of the penalty area
48' Action Massimo Oddo Great stop in corner on Ebuoe
46' Generic Event The second half of Arsenal-Milan has started
46' Action Clarence Seedorf Forward towards Kaka who fails to control the ball

[timothy]

MILAN THE UNOPENED SAFE

Adebayor and the physical strength of Arsenal did not find unprepared a proud and confident Milan side. It ended 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium, with the final verdict arriving on the 4th of March at San Siro.

LONDON - The youth's ardour of the Arsene Wenger army hit the wall of muscles of a proud and confident Milan side. The clash between the Gunners and the Rossoneri ended 0-0 at the Emirates Stadium and we wait for the final verdict in two weeks time at San Siro.

Carlo Ancelotti's lads, armoured by two extraordinary players like Nesta and Kaladze, return to Milan with the knowledge of having played a game of great personality, confirming themselves as a very reliable team in the moments which matter.

The game against Arsenal was without doubt a complicated game, played against an opponent of great quaality, who thanks to a very technical midfield, had for large portions of the game the possibility to impose and attack the Rossoneri's defence. However, once again, the central defensive duo formed by Kaladze and Nesta, who had to come out in the second half due to an injury, has confirmed the wonderful moment of form by not allowing anything to Adebayor.

Under the profile of the physical impact, the match was surely won by the London team, who thanks to pressing and freshness have often brought the Rossoneri to the limit of their possibilityes, but once again the excellent game read by the defensive department of Carlo Ancelotti has made it sure that the game remained on the right tracks of a balanced game, which saw in the draw the right final result.

For once also luck was on Maldini and team-mates' side, as with one second to go, they saw an Adebayor head hit the bar.

Now there's the obligation in the second leg to do something more in attack. In fact Seedorf and Kaka had a game of sacrifice, trying to support Pato who was always very dangerous in speed, but not incisive to open the Gunners' defence.

Now the sentence for the 4th of March, but this Milan side has the strong sensation of being able to do well.

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WE'RE SATISFIED

Soon after landing at the international airport of Malpensa, Massimo Oddo and Kakha Kaladze talked about the match against Arsenal yesterday.

- THE DECLARATIONS OF ODDO AND KALADZE -

MILAN - Here are the declarations made this afternoon by Massimo Oddo and Kakha Kaladze as they arrived at the international airport of Malpensa:

MASSIMO ODDO:

"Yesterday night we were unable to express ourselves fully because of some difficulties we encountered. The environment wasn't hostile, we've played in more difficult pitches than the Emirates stadium, but Arsenal pressed us a lot, they are a team who play very well and put their opponents in difficulty, interchanging their roles and creating numerical advantages. Our athletic condition is good overall, but we can improve. Personally I'm quite happy about my performance and for that I only have to thank my team mates.
On Sunday we have Palermo, we will try to improve on our result in the first match, when we played an excellent match which did not finish in the best way, but it wasn't our fault. Against Palermo we have to do our best to win and get the three points."

KAKHA KALADZE:

"I think it went well last night and also the result is very positive. Arsenal are a team who attack a lot, they moved around well on the pitch, but again, Milan played a great match and we are satisfied."

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MILAN MOST POPULAR ITALIAN CLUB IN EUROPE

BERLIN - Barcelona are the most popular and beloved team in Europe. This was confirmed by a survey made by German organisation Sport+Markt, which found that there are 50 million fans of the Catalan club. On the basis of this survey made across Europe, Barcelona are ahead of rivals Real Madrid (45,9 million fans), and English clubs Manchester United (32,8 million) and Arsenal (22,9 million). In the top five there is also Milan, the first of the Italian teams, with 22,2 million fans. Bayern Munich, the most title-winning club in German football, are in sixth place with 20 million fans, ahead of Chelsea, which according to the survey made by the German organisation, is the club who have most increased their number of fans, with the amount of fans in Europe having increased by five times.

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ARSENAL: THE WORDS OF ADEBAYOR

MILAN - Here are the declarations made by Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor the day after the first leg of the eighth finals Arsenal-Milan: "Now it gets very difficult, but we have a good team with a great spirit. We will fight all together to obtain the qualification. We have two players like Fabregas and Hleb who can be crucial for us and let's hope we get back Rosicky in time for the second leg."

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FLAMINI, THE "GATTUSO" OF THE GUNNERS

MILAN - The new edition of the weekly magazine of the official Uefa website, uefa.com, dedicates a section in particular to Mathieu Flamini, the Gunners midfielder, who his team-mates at Arsenal have renamed "Gattuso"

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AMAURI: 'Milan proved to be strong'

MILAN - Palermo attacker Amauri followed the match between Milan and Arsenal. The Rosanero yesterday praised the performance of Carlo Ancelotti's side at the Emirates Stadium and spoke about Sunday evening's clash at San Siro For all the declarations of Amauri

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SERIE A: THE OTHER GAMES

MILAN - Here are the referees of the 24th matchday in Serie A - Saturday: Torino - Parma (6pm): Ayroldi of Molfetta; Reggina - Juventus (8.30pm): Dondarini of Finale Emilia. Sunday, 3pm: Atalanta - Siena: Celi of Campobasso; Cagliari - Lazio: Pierpaoli of Firenze; Empoli - Catania: Brighi di Cesena; Livorno - Napoli: Saccani of Mantova; Roma - Fiorentina: Morganti of Ascoli Piceno; Sampdoria - Inter: Rocchi of Firenze; Udinese - Genoa: Orsato of Schio;

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MILAN-PALERMO: GIANNOCCARO WILL REF

MILAN - Sunday night's game, which will be played between Milan and Palermo at San Siro at 8.30pm, will be directed by Antonio Giannoccaro. The assistants will be Massimiliano Rosi and Massimiliano Grilli. Mauro Bergonzi is the fourth official.

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RONIE: 'Now I think about recovering'

MILAN - 'It's all still very recent, it was a very tough hit, mentally very difficult. I don't know yet if I'll continue playing. Now I only think about recovering. I know it will be difficult to do it again, but I hope I will make it.' These are just a few of the declarations made by Ronaldo today, in his first press conference after the operation.

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FONTANA: 'We'll have to be perfect'

MILAN - Palermo goalkeeper Alberto Fontana talked about the upcoming match against Milan: 'Against Milan we'll have to play the perfect match, hoping they will not be at their best. I fear their free kicks from 30 meters, I hope we don't give those away because they have Pirlo, a player who can be really dangerous from that distance.'

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LIKE AGAINST MANCHESTER

Yesterday Adriano Galliani talked about various subjects before a Lega Calcio meeting. among which the fourth striker, Kalac, Inzaghi, and the second leg against Arsenal.

MILAN - Yesterday the discussion at the Lega Calcio offices was about the TV rights, but Adriano Galliani there were other subjects to talk about before entering the headquarters at Via Rosellini in Milan. The Milan delegate administrator answered the journalists' questions, the first of which were on the upcoming transfer campaign, focusing especially on the strikers' department: "I'm not talking about the transfer market. I don't want to do that until the end of the season. Certainly we need a striker, because of Ronaldo's injury. Without a doubt we are keeping Gilardino, Inzaghi and Pato (in rigorous alphabetical order), so we certainly need a fourth." Among the names being rumoured are Benzema, Drogba, Adebayor and Shevchenko, to which Galliani replied: "They're all fine."

The discussion then verted on the return game in the Champions League at San Siro against Arsenal: "It won't be easy. This team is first in the English league, so they must be one of the best in Europe... and we think we are too. Nothing should change for the second leg, we know it will be a very tough game, in which we have a 50% chance of qualifying. Normally, when Milan have the second match at home they do well and progress, but it remains a difficult game, because Arsenal are a good team."

Concerning the match in London, Kaká felt the team could have done more...: "You can always do more in life. In London Milan gave a tough, proud performance. We were able to suffer when we had to suffer. I still have in mind the perfect match we played against Manchester United... let's hope to repeat it against Arsenal."

Another topic was the performances and the future of Kalac: "Kalac already has a contract for next season, so he will be between the posts also next season. I don't think that in today's football world we can still distinguish between first choice players and reserves. Right now he is doing well, that's why I think he will continue playing. Some of you (journalists) did not believe in the player, but we expected performances of this calibre from him. That's why we bought him. Zeljko did well both with Roda and with Perugia and let's not forget he came for free."

The last topic, before entering the Lega Calcio offices, was the forward line: "Inzaghi has scored 5 goals in 3 finals. I don't want to be the coach, but this is much like a final... let's leave that problem to Ancelotti. Concerning Gilardino's unhappiness, I can understand him. Having an unhappy striker is a problem that all big teams have. You need to have four: two play, while the other two don't. I've also heard about Crespo's complaints..."

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THE HEART SAYS TO PLAY

A week after the operation to the knee, Ronaldo spoke during the press conference. The heart of the player says to return to play, but he must wait a long rehabilitation and understand how his physique will react.

MILAN – The press conference organized to hear Ronaldo, before he left the Pitie-Salpetrieren clinic of Paris, was full of topics, but at the same time we understood how the ‘Fenomeno’ is feeling. Ronie is still hope to return to play, but before everything else he must only and exclusively think about the rehabilitation. It will not be easy, but probably shorter than the first serious injury, that of eight years ago.

Ronaldo, even though he lives through this terrible moment, he still seems incredulous:
“Everything is still very recent, it just happened and no one expected this incident. It was a very tough blow, very tough mentally. I cannot still believe that it really happened.” One of the first questions was directed towards his future and his return to the football world. “For the return I must still think. I still don’t know if I will continue to play. Now I only think about recovering in the best possible way. I know that it will be very tough again, but I hope to succeed.”

The doubt whether Ronie still wants to return to play or no is soon revealed. Even here the reply is very clear: “I have a lot of desire to return to play. My heart says to continue playing, but I must see how my physique responds. Lately it is giving important signals: it is very tired and has suffered a lot. If at the end of the recovery path I will be very well, then I will be back on the pitch, otherwise I will take the very tough decision to quit."

On one thing the number 9 seems optimistic: “I don’t know exactly how long this rehabilitation period will last, but surely it will be take less time than the previous one, that of eight years ago. I will do my best to win this battle against my physique.” Ronaldo does not have a high morale, but despite this he has not lost the lucidity not even when some questions were more dangerous than others, like when they asked him if he thinks that if something specific has caused the injury: "I don't think about the causes. It happened and that's it. I have many other things to think about now. I don’t know what to say about Milan, my contract expires in June. Milan is a home for me, I have a family there that waits for me. What annoys me is how it went…Right now it’s difficult to talk about a contract.”

Before ending the touching press conference, Ronaldo wanted to thank those who gave him a lot of affection in these last days: "I thank all of my team-mates who were close to me, who have suffered with me, who sent me many messages. I also thank the President and the entire club. The people who, even though I don’t know them, made me understand that around me there is a lot of affection. I also thank my family. In these moments I can only say thanks, because without this type of support I don’t know if I would have managed.”