Liverpool won their second straight away game in the Champions League, beating PSV Eindhoven 3-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich twice came back with goals from Daniel van Buyten to hold six-time European Cup champions AC Milan to a 2-2 draw, giving the German team two away goals heading into next Wednesday’s second leg.
Steven Gerrard, John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch scored for Liverpool, who won their fifth European Cup two seasons ago.
Gerrard jumped over the back of teammate Dirk Kuyt in the 27th minute to head in a cross from Steve Finnan. Kuyt had looked as if he was going for a shot, but he ducked in time for Gerrard to knock the ball past PSV goalkeeper Gomes.
Riise made it 2-0 in the 49th, controlling a poor clearance from Timmy Simons with his chest in the centre of the field and then sending a long-range shot past the diving Gomes.
Finnan set up Crouch for the third goal in the 63rd, crossing into the centre for the tall England forward to head in. Crouch scored three goals against Arsenal on Saturday in the Premier League in his return from injury.
”It is painful,” Simons said. ”I think their players were more disciplined and we made plenty of mistakes.”
Jefferson Farfan, PSV’s leading scorer with 17 goals this season, came off at half-time and was replaced by China defender Sun Xiang.
PSV, the 1988 European Cup champion, has not won a match since defender Alex injured his hamstring on March 11 against Excelsior Rotterdam.
Gerrard’s goal was his 15th in the European Cup, making him Liverpool’s all-time leader in the competition. The Liverpool captain has scored 19 goals in all European competition, trailing only Ian Rush and Michael Owen.
Liverpool also started with an away win in the previous round, beating last year’s champions FC Barcelona 2-1. The English team then advanced to the quarterfinals on away goals despite a 1-0 loss at home in the second leg.
Van Buyten first equalised for Bayern in the 78th minute, scoring from close range after picking up a loose ball. He scored his second goal in the third minute of injury time with a volley off a free kick.
Andrea Pirlo gave Milan the lead in the 40th by looping a header over Bayern goalkeeper Michel Rensing.
Rensing, who was making only his second Champions League appearance, started in place of regular goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The Bayern captain was banned from Tuesday’s game for improper conduct after throwing his urine sample during a doping test after his team’s win over Real Madrid in the previous round.
Kaka again put Milan ahead in the 84th from the penalty spot after Lucio took down the Brazil playmaker a minute earlier.
Replays clearly showed that Lucio cleared the ball correctly, however, and Kaka scored after vehement arguments from Bayern.
Besides playing at Bayern next week, Milan will also be without striker Alberto Gilardino. He was given a yellow card in the 53rd for continuing to play after being whistled for offsides, ruling him out of the second leg because of too many cards. Filippo Inzaghi, who replaced Gilardino in the 72nd, is likely to get the start instead.
On Wednesday, AS Roma host Manchester United and Chelsea take on Valencia.
Roma are playing in the quarterfinals for the first time since the tournament was renamed the Champions League in 1992. The last time the Italian team advanced to the last eight of the European Cup in 1984, they reached the final.
Man United are trying to repeat their 1999 feat of winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. — Sapa-AP