Sparta Prague 1 - Barcelona 2

Barcelona: Hesp; Frank De Boer, Déhu; Reiziger, Guardiola (Xavi 60'), Bogarde; Cocu (Litmanen 74'), Gabri; Simao, Dani, Rivaldo (Ronald De Boer 46'). 2-3-2-3.

Barcelona ended the second phase of the Champions League with a late victory which leaves them undefeated so far in the competition. With the leadership of the group already in the bag, Van Gaal decided to rest some of his key players, including Figo, Abelardo, Kluivert and Puyol (the first two being anyway suspended for one game). Simao and Dani came in to the attack, with Spanish under 21 international Gabri playing in midfield in place of Ronald De Boer and Déhu coming in to the defence for a rare start. The initial attacks came from Barcelona, but Sionko went close on the quarter hour, and two minutes later Sparta took the lead with a shot from the edge of the area by Svoboda. The visitors came forward, with Blazek saving at the feet of Gabri and a tired Rivaldo placing a free kick just wide of the post. At half time Van Gaal rested his Brazilian star, bringing on Ronald De Boer in his place, and a few minutes later Barcelona were level after Gabri was put through by Dani. Van Gaal took off Guardiola who was still suffering from muscle fatigue, Xavi taking his place, and Litmanen came on for Cocu. Twenty minutes from time a goal by Dani was disallowed by referee Pederssen for a doubtful off side, television images later suggesting that a Sparta player had touched the ball last before it reached the Catalan striker. Prague needed a victory to stay in the competition however, and in the 88th minute the referee awarded them a penalty as they threw men forward. Hapal struck the ball softly to the left of Hesp, but the keeper got down quickly and saved. Barcelona counter-attacked rapidly and the ball reached Gabri, who beat Blazek from the edge of the area for his second goal of the night. Sparta still had time for one last effort, but it was Gabri again who cleared the ball from under the posts. The victory left Barcelona as group champions with 16 points, with Oporto also qualifying on 10. Sparta ended with 5 points, and Hertha Berlin with 2. Barcelona have won nine and drawn three of their twelve games to date, with an average of three goals a game. Their rival in the quarter finals will be Chelsea, with the first game in London, and if they win that they will play the winner of Lazio and Chelsea in the semi finals. Bookmakers in London made them 9-4 favourites to win the cup.

Valencia 0 - Manchester United 0

Valencia: Cañizares; Angloma, Djukic, Pellegrino, Carboni; Angulo, Farinós, Gerard, Kily González; Claudio López, Juan Sánchez (Ilie 70'). 4-4-2.

Valencia made history on Tuesday night, reaching the quarter final of the number one European competition for the first time ever. A record 48,000 crowd turned up to see them play reigning champions Manchester United, needing at least a point to be sure of qualifying. Héctor Cúper was missing his injured club captain Mendieta and left out a not fully fit Ilie, with Angulo and Juan Sánchez filling their positions adequately. Manchester United's intentions were clear from the initial line up, with a strong defence but without twin strikers Cole and Yorke. Beckham was suspended and Giggs was out injured, and Fortune, an ex Atlético Madrid player, played on the left of midfield, with Sheringham and Solksjaer up front. Both teams started off looking for victory, with efforts from Gerard, Kily and Sánchez being blocked by Bosnich and his defence early on, and Sheringham and Solksjaer replying later in the half. Ten minutes before half time a long shot from Angloma on the right bounced off the far post and back into play, but no-one could follow up. After half time the match took a turn for the worse, with neither team wanting to risk their qualifying position, and the last twenty minutes in particular were terribly boring. Jordi Cruyff came on for Solksjaer halfway through the half, the ex Barcelona and Celta player being applauded by an appreciative crowd, and Ilie replaced Juan Sánchez. The biggest cheer of the night however was when the fourth referee put up his sign to show that there would only be one minute of injury time: the crowd had had enough. Even so, Valencia fans were jubilant as their team finished runners up to United in the group, and celebrations went on into the night. Valencia were drawn against Lazio in the quarter final, the first match being in the Mestalla stadium and the second in Italy, with a possible prize of a semi final tie against Barcelona if both get through. The talking point of the draw was the possibility of Piojo López playing against his future club. Piojo is rumoured to have signed a pre-contract with the Italians. Valencian authorities praised the Manchester United fans for their good behaviour throughout the day.

Rosenborg 0 - Real Madrid 0

Real Madrid: Casillas; Salgado, Hierro (Karanka 46'), Iván Campo, Roberto Carlos; McManaman, Iván Helguera, Redondo, Guti; Arganzo (Balic 55', Karembeu 84')Raúl. 4-3-1-2.

Real Madrid joined their Spanish colleagues in the quarter final after beating the Norwegian champions on a cold night in Trondheim. For the umpteenth time their hero was Raúl, who scored the only goal of the night in the third minute of the match, rounding the keeper after picking up a long pass from Hierro. Del Bosque opted to play Iván Campo in defence in place of Karanka and gave Steve McManaman a place in the starting line up on the right wing for Geremi. Iván Helguera came in to join Redondo in a defensive midfield, and with Morientes out for a month and Anelka gone walk-about, young striker David Arganzo was given a chance alongside Raúl in attack. After Raúl's goal Madrid could have gone further ahead as Roberto Carlos struck a powerful free kick straight at the keeper and Raúl tried a difficult shot with Aganzo unmarked on the far post. A few minutes later Aganzo shot just wide, and McManaman hit the post after a cross from Raúl. At half time Hierro had to go off with an injury which will keep him out for around three weeks, Karanka coming on in his place. Six minutes into the half the game changed however, as referee Levnikov sent off Guti for wasting time, his second bookable offence. Although the decision on the second card was debatable, Guti must control his temper on the field of play, as he left his side once again with ten men for the fourth time this season. The youngster has talent and could be holding down a regular place in Spain's international side, but instead he is heading the villain's table as the most booked player in the country. Del Bosque was forced to retreat, and he brought on midfielder Balic for his first appearance for several months following a serious injury. This is not the Bosnian international's season however, and he had to leave the field only 28 minutes later after he was hurt in a hard tackle, Karembeu coming on for the last six minutes. Rosenborg did all the attacking in the second half, but Casillas made some excellent saves and Iván Campo for once was superb in defence. Rosenborg's giant striker Carew, rumoured to be joining Valencia next season, could have scored a hat full, but he couldn't find the target and ended up being booed by his own supporters. In the end the victory was the only result which would have put Real Madrid through as Dynamo Kiev beat an unrecognisable Bayern Munich side, and the Spanish team qualify on a better individual goal average after finishing level on 10 points with the Ukranians. Their reward is a quarter final tie with Manchester United, with the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Before you ask, no we can't get hold of any tickets.