Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool
and AS Monaco advanced to the second round of the European Champions
League on Wednesday night, completing the 16-team field.
Playing in front of 82,000 empty seats in Rome's Olympic Stadium, Real
Madrid beat AS Roma 3-0 on two goals by Luis Figo and one by Ronaldo.
The Union of European Football Associations ordered the Italian team to
play without fans after referee Anders Frisk was struck by an object
thrown from the stands in a game on Sept. 15.
``It was a horrible atmosphere to play in,'' Real Madrid midfielder
David Beckham said. ``I wouldn't like to play in it again. You could
hear some of things that the players are shouting on the bench to you.''
Bayer Leverkusen, the team U.S. forward Landon Donovan will join next
month, advanced with a 3-0 win over visiting Dynamo Kiev. Bayer
Leverkusen and Real Madrid each went 3-1-2 to advance from Group B.
In Group A, Liverpool (3-2-1) rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to
defeat visiting Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1. Liverpool, which got goals from
Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Neil Mellor, and Steven Gerrard, joined Arsenal,
Chelsea and Manchester United to give England four teams in the second
round for the first time.
``At halftime I did think it was a mountain to climb, but we climbed it,''
Gerrard said.
AS Monaco (4-2) finished atop Group A with a 5-0 win at Deportivo de La
Coruna.
The other teams in the second round are AC Milan, Internazionale of
Milan and Juventus of Turin (Italy); Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen (Germany);
Lyon (France); Barcelona (Spain); PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands); and FC
Porto (Portugal). The draw for the start of the knockout phase is Dec.
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