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FC Porto and AS Monaco bid for European club crown in 'battle of the giantkillers'
It is now final. UEFA Cup holders FC Porto will face AS Monaco in the final of the UEFA Champions League at the Arena
AufSchalke on May 26. Two surprise packages who have provided emphatic evidence of their class with victories over hot
favourites such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea during the knock-out stages.
In France the celebrations have not just been restricted to the Principality of Monaco - the entire country is gripped
by cup final fever. It is the first time in eleven years that a team from the land of the reigning European champions
has reached the final of European football's most prestigious competition. Didier Deschamps' players booked their ticket
for Gelsenkirchen with a 2-2 draw at Premier League club Chelsea.
Monaco had to withstand a tremendous onslaught in London before emerging triumphant. In a bid to cancel out their 3-1
defeat in the first leg Chelsea piled on the pressure right from the start. The home side were already 2-0 up just
before half-time thanks to goals from Gronkjaer (22) and Lampard (44) when Ibarra controversially pulled one back for
Monaco in first-half stoppage time. It was claimed that the ball came off the goalscorer's arm, but in the second half
Morientes removed any doubt with a second goal on the hour. The main reason for super-rich Chelsea's demise in front of
42,500 fans was their failure to take their chances. The 2-2 second-leg draw was enough to see Monaco through to their
first European Cup final.
FC Porto had already claimed their place in the final a day earlier. After a 1-0 success (first leg: 0-0) over Deportivo
La Coruna in front of 34,600 spectators at the Riazor, the UEFA Cup holders are now bidding to be crowned kings of
European football. The decisive goal came from Brazilian striker Derlei Silva. Some 17 years after Porto's legendary
European Cup triumph against Bayern Munich in Vienna, the whole of Portugal is hoping history will repeat itself. A
number of Portuguese newspapers dedicated their entire front page to their heroes after the win over La Coruna. After
the final whistle Porto coach Jose Mourinho said: "May 26 will be a fantastic day. Up until now we've been used to
watching the final on television."
Semi-final first legs
20 April 2004
AS Monaco (1) 3-1 (1) Chelsea FC
AS Monaco: Roma, Evra, Ibarra, Bernardi, Giuly (Nonda 83), Prso (Cisse 57), Morientes, Zikos, Rothen (Plasil 89), Rodriguez, Givet
Chelsea FC: Ambrosio, Makelele, Desailly, Lampard, Melchiot (Hasselbaink 62), Bridge, Parker (Huth 69), Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Terry, Gronkjaer (Veron 46)
Goals: 1-0 Prso (17), 1-1 Crespo (22), 2-1 Morientes (78), 3-1 Nonda (83)
Attendance: 15,000
Red card: Zikos (53.)
Yellow cards: Ibarra - Melchiot, Makelele, Terry
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)
21 April 2004
FC Porto (0) 0-0 (0) Deportivo La Coruna
FC Porto: Vitor Baia, Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Nuno Valente, Paulo Ferreira, Costinha (Mendes 46), Deco, Maniche, Carlos Alberto, Alenitchev (Janauskas 46), McCarthy (Ferreira 70).
La Coruna: Molina, Manuel Pablo, Romero, Naybet, Andrade, Mauro Silva, Sergio (Duscher 79), Victor (Cesar 88), Valeron, Pandiani, Luque
Attendance: 50,818
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
Semi-final second legs
4 May 2004
Deportivo La Coruna (0) 0-1 (0) FC Porto
La Coruna: Molina, Manuel Pablo, Romero, Naybet, Cesar, Sergio (Tristan 67), Duscher, Victor (Scaloni 55), Valeron, Luque (Fran 73), Pandiani
FC Porto: Vitor Baia, Nuno Valente, Paulo Ferreira, Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Maniche, Pedro Mendes (Bosingwa 87), Deco, Derlei (McCarthy 90), Carlos Alberto (Pedro Emanuel 68)
Goal: 0-1 Derlei (60)
Attendance: 34,600
Yellow cards: Naybet, Tristan - Carlos Alberto, Pedro Mendes
Red card: Naybet (70)
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
5 May 2004
Chelsea FC (2) 2-2 (1) AS Monaco
Chelsea FC: Cudicini, Melchiot (Johnson 64), Gallas, Terry, Bridge, Gronkjaer, Lampard, Geremi (Parker 69), Cole, Hasselbaink (Crespo 69), Gudjohnsen
AS Monaco: Roma, Evra, Squillaci (Plasil 45), Rodriguez, Givet, Ibarra, Cisse, Rothen, Bernardi, Morientes (Nonda 81), Giuly (Prso 67)
Goals: 1-0 Gronkjaer (22), 2-0 Lampard (44), 2-1 Ibarra (45), 2-2 Morientes (60)
Attendance: 37,132
Yellow cards: Cole, Johnson - Evra, Bernardi, Rothen
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
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