 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Tottenham Hotspur pulled off a 1-0 win at AC Milan and Raul made a goalscoring return to Spain to earn Schalke a 1-1 draw at Valencia as the Champions League returned with two last-16 first-leg matches on Tuesday.
Spurs outplayed the Serie A leaders for much of the game and England striker Peter Crouch struck 10 minutes from time with a fine breakaway goal for the Premier League side.
Spanish forward Raul produced a trademark finish from close range to cancel out Roberto Soldado's early strike for Valencia and take his record Champions League goal scoring tally to 69.
Spurs, who lost 4-3 to Inter Milan at the San Siro in the group stage after fighting back from 4-0 down, dominated the first half but failed to find a way through the Milan defence.
The Italians improved following the introduction of Alexandre Pato as a second-half substitute and Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes made two instinctive saves to keep out powerful headers from Mario Yepes.
Tottenham looked pleased to be heading for a draw before England winger Aaron Lennon burst into the Milan half and laid the ball off perfectly for the unmarked Crouch to score with a clinical low shot.
At the Mestalla, Soldado put Valencia ahead in the 17th minute but Raul equalised for Schalke midway through the second half, turning sharply to score with a low shot from eight metres.
Schalke's Lukas Schmitz was sent off in stoppage time following his second yellow card.
Arsenal host Barcelona and AS Roma entertain Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday with the other four first-leg ties to be played next week.
