AS Roma earned a 2-1 win over 10-man Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and Valencia held host Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.
Roma got goals from Rodrigo Taddei and Mirko Vucinic at Stadio Olimpico, where Man United fans fought briefly with police after the first goal. Didier Drogba scored the equaliser for Chelsea, the two-time defending English champions who have never won the European Cup.
Taddei scored from inside the area in the 44th minute, sending a low shot from 12m past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after a deflection off Man United defender Wes Brown.
Taddei had another shot on goal moments earlier, but Van der Sar made the save and knocked the ball out for a corner. Amantino Mancini quickly placed the ball and tapped it Francesco Totti, who then passed it back to Mancini before his cross found Taddei in the centre.
After the goal, opposing fans taunted each other by banging on the partition separating the sections of fans. One fan was seen lying with blood covering his face as police hit fans with night sticks to restore order.
Wayne Rooney equalised for United in the 60th, chesting down a cross from Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and easily shooting past Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni. The goal was Rooney’s first in the Champions League since he scored three in his debut against Fenerbahce in September 2004.
But Vucinic put Roma ahead again in the 66th, putting in a rebound after Mancini’s hard shot was stopped by Van der Sar.
United played with 10 men after midfielder Paul Scholes received his second yellow card in the 34th for taking down Totti. In the 26th, the former England international brought down Christian Wilhelmsson.
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.
Chelsea
Drogba equalised for Chelsea with a header in the 53rd minute after a long, looping pass from Ashley Cole.
Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares sent a goal kick straight at Cole, who controlled the ball and sent it right back toward the Valencia box. The ball bounced once and Drogba got to it before Valencia defender Roberto Ayala.
David Silva gave Valencia the lead in the 30th, taking a throw in on the left and dribbling toward the middle before unleashing a hard, 25m shot that left Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech no chance.
On Tuesday, Liverpool earned a 3-0 win at PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich twice came back to hold AC Milan to a 2-2 draw.
Steven Gerrard, John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch scored for Liverpool, who won their fifth European Cup two seasons ago and eliminated last year’s winners, FC Barcelona, in the previous round.
Daniel van Buyten twice equalised for Bayern at six-time champions Milan, the last coming in the third minute of injury time. Andrea Pirlo and Kaka scored for Milan. — Sapa-AP