Lazio 2 - Real Madrid 2

Real Madrid: César; Michel Salgado, Hierro, Geremi, Roberto Carlos; Iván Helguera (Celades 63'), Makelele; Figo (Karanka 92'), Guti (Munitis 70'), Solari; Raúl. 4-2-3-1.

Goals:
1-0. 03. Nedved. Shot through legs of Hierro and César after run by Castroman.
1-1. 32. Solari. Beat offside trap to chip over keeper from left of area.
2-1. 53. Crespo. Toe-poke into goal after Geremi failed to control in area.
2-2. 72. Raúl. Header into top corner after Munitis floated in cross from right.

Group D league table:
Real Madrid........... 10 points
Leeds United .......... 9 points
Anderlecht................ 3 points
Lazio........................... 1 point

Real Madrid qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League after coming from behind twice to earn a point in Rome. With two important league matches coming up against Deportivo and Barcelona, Del Bosque decided to rest some of his key players, although in the end not as many as was thought. McManaman and Morientes were in anyway unavailable through injury, and Casillas and Karanka stayed on the bench, with César taking over in goal, Geremi returning from injury to take up an unfamiliar central defensive role, and Solari given the nod on the left wing after impressing in training. Lazio were missing Verón and Nesta, both suspended after the last match. The atmosphere at the Olympic stadium was hostile, with Simeone heating things up in the week before the game with controversial declarations in the sports papers. The teams came out to a wall of bright flares, with an idiot on a microphone leading the chanting completely out of tune (why do clubs allow that to happen?).

Strangely the first half followed the last match exactly, with Lazio scoring in the third minute and Madrid equalising in the 32nd. Lazio's first was the work of Castroman, running through the defence before squaring the ball across to the edge of the area where Nedved just arrived before Hierro, firing a shot through the defender's legs which caught César unawares. The keeper made up for his error a few minutes later, saving from Simeone at close range and then again from the dangerous Castroman. At the other end Raúl forced Perruzzi to save at full stretch from a snap shot at the edge of the area. Lazio were looking for a second, and after referee Pereira ruled out a goal from Salas for offside, Crespo headed against the post from a corner, with Pancaro putting a shot just over the bar from the rebound. But Madrid were quick on the counter-attack, and when Makelele returned Perruzzi's kick, Solari ran through the defence to chip the ball over the keeper from the left of the area.

Madrid's defence kept out the Romans up to half time, but eight minutes into the second half Castroman again took the ball into the area. Geremi got to it and tried to chest it down, but he lost control and Crespo nipped in to poke the ball past César from a yard out. Helguera picked up a third yellow card for the championship, which means he misses the next game with Leeds, and Celades replaced him soon afterwards, and then Roberto Carlos was felled by an object thrown from the crowd, probably a coin. With 20 minutes to go Munitis came on for Guti, and almost immediately he swung the ball over from the right for Raúl to beat his man and head over the stranded keeper into the top corner of the net. Everyone went quiet, except for the idiot on the microphone who tried to pick up his fellow supporters, but despite an injury time header by Castroman against the bar Lazio were out of the competition. Madrid raced back home to prepare for Saturday's top of the table clash at Deportivo, safe in the knowledge that with Leeds beating Anderlecht they will be in the quarter finals.