MILAN, April 18 - Barcelona took a step towards
the Champions League final when a Ludovic Giuly goal earned them
a 1-0 win over AC Milan in their semi-final first leg at the San
Siro stadium on Tuesday.
Frenchman Giuly's strike in the 57th minute -- with a sharp
finish after he raced on to a superb pass from Brazilian
Ronaldinho -- came after Milan had three times gone close to an
opener.
Alberto Gilardino hit the post in the 14th minute and then
Andriy Shevchenko had a header parried by Barca keeper Victor
Valdes before Gilardino wasted a great chance in the 51st.
Barca could have come away with an even better result,
Ronaldinho hitting the post at the end of a swift counter-attack
while Milan wasted another chance when substitute Massimo
Ambrosini screwed a shot wide in the 81st minute.