Champions League, second round, first leg

Chelsea 1 - Barcelona 2

Barcelona took a huge step towards reaching the quarter finals of the competition after beating Chelsea 1-2 in Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Both sides had chances in a lively first half, but the turning point came shortly before half time when Del Horno was sent off for a hard tackle on Leo Messi. Even so the English side took the lead, Motta turning the ball past his own keeper from Lampard's free kick early in the second half. The Catalans equalised though when Terry headed Ronaldinho's free kick over his own keeper a few minutes later, and after a period of pressure Eto'o headed the winner from Márquez's cross ten minutes from the end. It was the first time that Chelsea had lost at home since José Mourinho took over a couple of seasons ago, and the result gives Barça the best possible chance of taking revenge for their elimination from the competition last season. (22.02.06)

Rangers 2 - Villarreal 2

Villarreal came away from their first leg tie against Rangers with a result which sets them up nicely for the return match, although they must think themselves hard done by after having two goals disallowed, going ahead twice and then putting through their own net late on. Pellegrini's side took the lead in the eighth minute with a Riquelme penalty after Prso handled in the area, and Gonzalo had a goal disallowed for a previous foul soon afterwards. Loevenkrans equalised though after a good run by Burke, but Forlán had another goal ruled out at the other end before he finally got his first Champions League goal for his side after Gonzalo set him up. However with eight minutes to go Peña deflected a ball over the head of Viera trying to cut out Buffel's cross, leaving the scores even for the second leg in Spain in a fortnight's time. (22.02.06)

Real Madrid 0 - Arsenal 1

First blood to the British! A depleted Arsenal side beat Real Madrid 0-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the first of three Champions League ties between Spanish and British sides. The on-form Madrid were expected to have the upper hand against a team missing several key players, but Reyes and Henry came close to giving the visitors the lead early on. Beckham in particular could have scored a couple of times as the hosts worked their way back in to the game, but just two minutes after the restart Henry picked up the ball in midfield and ran past four defenders to score what was to be the only goal of the match. It was the first time Madrid had lost to an English club at home in the history of the competition, and they now need to win in Highbury in a fortnight's time if they are to progress to the next round. (21.02.06)