AC Milan – Internazionale

The Rossoneri have the honour of being at 'home' first as the two Milan giants go head-to-head with Inter still smarting from going out on away goals in their own stadium the last time the pair met in this competition. Milan haven't lost to their city rivals in nine matches; join us at 7.45 to see if they can make it a perfect ten.

See if you can get your head around this: Inter are the away team in this leg, and yet they are playing in their home stadium! Crazy stuff.

As the Champions League 'anthem' plays in the background, the teams shake hands and pat each other's behinds. Very amicable.

Milan have been boosted by the return of Shevchenko, the European Footballer of the Year. He's been out for almost two months, but is back playing his first game tonight. Nice timing.

Conversely, Inter are missing their main striker, Adriano, although they have gone with an attacking formation with Cruz and Martins up front.

There is a minute's silence for the death of Pope John Paul II. As you would expect, it is impeccably observed.

Inter kick off. They are playing in their away strip of all-white. Very angelic, although it doesn't show much respect for the poor kit lady.

Inter clearly value the away goal; they have shown that with the selection of two strikers. They enjoy the early possession, though are forced back by Milan.

Whistles ring out whenever Inter have the ball, indicating that Milan have far more fans in the stadium than their counterparts.

Crespo makes an excellent run down the right channel, and wins a corner off Cordoba. The set-piece is curled in by Seedorf, but the boys in white clear.

I expect there will be some spicey words between the players this evening. "Cardamom, chili, turmeric." See what I did there? Clever boy.

Goal news from Stamford Bridge: Chelsea 1-0 Bayern Munich. Joe Cole has netted an early goal with a deflected drive.

Cafu and Favalli clash and Milan win the free-kick. Pirlo curls the ball in but Cordoba rises at the far post to flick the ball clear. Milan are getting more of the ball now, and Inter seem happy to play on the break.

There is a tremendous atmosphere inside the San Siro tonight, readers. Seedorf wins a throw in deep in Inter territory. A little fact for you, my friends: Seedorf has won the Champions League three times with three different clubs. Wowzers.

Cruz wins a free-kick as he is bundled over by Stam, thirty yards out. The referee might have played the advantage, as Cambiasso had burst in to a dangerous position, but he instead gives free-kick.

Ooooh! Mihilovic curls the free-kick towards the top-corner, but Dida dives full-length to tip the ball out for a corner.

Disappointing delivery from the corner gifts possession back to Milan, who counter through Shevchenko.

'Rino' Gattuso; he's sporting a beard that makes him look like a Canadian logger. He looks so angry. If I had to find one word to sum him up, it would be: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Kaka beats his marker and breaks down the right wing. He tries to curl a ball in to Crespo, who had found a yard of space in the penalty area, but his pass is cut out. Nice break from the 'home' side.

The television cameras pick out Adriano in the crowd. He looks very glum. Perhaps he's just had some bad news; he's forgotten to pay his tax bill, or the oven in his penthouse flat has broken.

Favalli has to be alert to snuff out some danger from Kaka, who had again drifted out on to the right touchline. Strangely, Milan look at their most dangerous when Inter have got possession of the ball.

Pirlo almost curls a ball out to Shevchenko, who had peeled off his marker and out to the left channel, but the pass is off target.

Inter are struggling to do anything with the ball on the rare occasions they get hold of it in Milan's half. Dida comes to collect a long ball lofted in to the penalty area towards Martins.

Pirlo curls in a free-kick in to a congested penalty area, but Mihilovic rises highest to head clear. Cafu collects the loose ball and wins a corner when his cross is deflected behind.

Good spell of pressure from Milan. Seedorf collects the half-cleared corner, and puts another cross in to the box. An off-side flag ends the danger.

A mistake from Cambiasso leads to another Milan counter. Seedorf does well to hold off a couple of challenges, but the move breaks down.

Sloppy play from Cafu as he loses out on the left wing to Stankovic. Inter have Cruz and Martins in the box, but the low cross is cut out. A heart-stopping moment for the veteran Brazilian.

A Mihilovic foul 35 yards out gives Pirlo the chance to shoot. His right-foot effort deflects off the wall and out for a corner. Pirlo has sensational hair; so bouncy and thick and full of life.

Veron picks up the ball after Zanetti holds off the challenge of Gattuso. He does well to spot a through ball towards Cruz, but his pass is over-hit and goes out for a goal-kick.

This time Veron does find Cruz on the outside of the area. His first effort is blocked, but it falls to him once again. His second shot gets past his marker, but it flies over Dida's bar.

DID YOU KNOW? Inter have only been beaten once, in all competitions, this season? And which team do you think got the better of them? Milan. Very good. Football is a funny old game, isn't it? All sorts of quirky little stats and eccentricities.

Martins does well to get past Maldini on the right wing. He blasts over a low cross towards Cruz, but Nesta slides in to put the ball out for a throw-in.

A little quiet spell at the moment, but we'll forgive the players for that.

Zanetti wins a corner for his side when his attempted through-ball to Martins is deflected. Mihilovic takes the corner from the right, and Cordoba's flicked effort at the near post flies just wide.

Favalli tries to loft a ball over Cafu towards Stankovic, but it skids out of play. Immediately, Cafu sprints up field to try and take advantage of the space, but he's not seen by his team-mates.

As might have been expected, the defences have been on top in the first half-hour.

Veron slides a nice ball in to the area where Zanetti had found some space. His attempted shot on the turn is deflected back to Veron, who hits a first-time, left-foot volley wide of the far post.

Gattuso is booked after chatting too long to the referee following a 50-50 decision that went against him. It's a significant booking, as it means he misses the second leg.

Veron cracks a free-kick from 30 yards. It's well-hit but straight at Dida, who palms it over the bar for a corner.

Inter have been the better side for the last ten minutes, and look the more likely to score. Veron is becoming an increasing influence on the game, and is finding his range of passes.

Favalli breaks down the left, crosses, and Cruz seems to take the ball off the boot of Martins as the big Inter striker was about to hit a first-time effort.

Gattuso's facial hair, I'm thinking, makes him look like a Renaissance painter; arty, creative, a little pretentious and yet, somehow, incredibly angry and vicious.

Crespo is found on the left-hand side of the area by Kaka, but his prod towards goal is deflected out for a corner by a sliding Cordoba.

Inter have worked very hard in midfield to deny Seedorf, Kaka and Pirlo any time on the ball to pick their passes in to Crespo and Shevchenko.

Cruz pounces, like a mountain tiger, on a loose ball 40 yards out and attempts to loft a little ball over the top of Nesta and Stam for Martins to run on to. His crafty plan is thwarted by an off-side flag.

So, approaching half-time, Mancini is sure to be the happiest manager. His team have been the better of the two, though I'm sure he will be looking for an away goal in the second half.

Seedorf flicks a ball out to Cafu, who wins a corner when his attempted cross is deflected out of play. There are one or two jeers being heard from the crowd.

Ooooh! Favalli finds Cruz, who turns so sharply in the penalty area and curls a shot towards goal. Dida is alert enough to palm the ball wide and out for a corner.

Seedorf tries to find Crespo through the middle but again his pass is over-hit and possession is given away cheaply.

Cruz is working hard, tracking back to help his side, but he gives away a free-kick after a foul on Kaka in a very dangerous area.

GOAL: Pirlo curls the ball in to the six-yard box, and Stam gets up above Cordoba to glance a header inside the far post.

Stam's first goal for AC Milan comes at a great time for his club. The goal is right against the run of play and utterly undeserved.

HALF TIME: Stam's late goal means that the home side have the advantage, despite being outplayed for most of the first 45 minutes.

Flares in the crowd as the players re-enter. Flares are very common in Italy, aren't they? Why only in Italy and not in other countries? I can't tell you. I really can't.

Milan kick off the second half. They will have been delighted, obviously, by their late goal. Inter look dejected, like a small boy just been told that he's having Brussell sprouts for tea.

Stam fouls Martins on the edge of the area. Quite why the striker, who must be seven feet tall and weigh 400lbs, had to throw himself to the ground so energetically is beyond me. In fact, more than that, it downright angers me.

Mihilovic takes the set-piece, 20 yards out and central. The Milan wall seem to squeeze up a couple of yards and the Inter defender can only curl his shot over the bar.

Veron is very frustrated when the referee gives a free-kick against him. He does that hand gesture that is so popular on the continent: raising one hand to his mouth as though feeding himself a slice of bread.

Kaka breaks through the middle and passes to Shevchenko, who had pulled out to the left. The striker attempts to cut inside and shoot, but his effort is blocked just outside the area.

Maldini almost plays in Seedorf behind the back of the Inter defence, but it is over-hit. Milan look a much better side at the start of the second half.

Goal news from Stamford Bridge: Chelsea 1-1 Bayern.

Cheers from the Inter fans as Vieri begins to warm up on the sidelines. He looks healthy. I say 'healthy', I actually mean over-weight.

Shevchenko is just inches short of getting on the end of a Kaka cross, curled in towards the far post. The striker and Toldo end up in a heap in the back of the net.

SUB: Veiri on, Cruz off. The equivalent of finally deciding that, when attempting to batter down the drawbridge to a very lucrative castle, using the trunk of a Giant Red Wood would be more successful than using a small twig.

Vieri almost manages to chase down Stankovic's through-ball, though Dida sprints off his line to collect just inches from the striker's boot.

The tireless Cafu brings the ball forward to start another Milan attack. Favalli and Zanetti are working very hard to close down the space, however.

Goal news from Stamford Bridge: Chelsea 2-1 Bayern. Frank Lampard volley from Drogba's knock-down.

Inter are beginning to have a little more of the ball, but there is a great red and black wall to get through before they can even think about threatening the goal.

Favalli skips past Cafu on the left wing and cuts back a nice ball in to the area. Just as Vieri is pulling back his left-foot to crash home from 12 yards, Pirlo slides in to nick the ball clear. Great defending.

Nice play from Martins; he skips past a couple of players and flicks a pass in to the feet of Veiri, but the substitute had drifted a yard off-side.

Stam is booked for sliding in from behind on Vieri. Mihilovic summons up all his frustration, screws it up in to a little ball, and unleashes it in a 45-yard shot at goal.

Mihilovic is then booked for remonstrating with the referee that the defensive wall wasn't ten yards from the free-kick. Idiot.

Some nice neat touches down the left touchline allows Seedorf to break clear. He curls a nice ball in towards Crespo, but it drifts just over his head.

Inter prepare to make another substitution as Milan enjoy another spell of possession. Inter have defended well throughout, but have been undone by that rash challenge from Cruz.

Shevechenko gets in behind Mihilovic, but the ball takes him away from goal and he can't quite find a team-mate with his pass from the by-line.

SUB: Karagounis on, Veron off for Inter. Kaladze on, Nesta off for Milan. Goal news from England: Chelsea 3-1 Bayern. Lampard turns and volleys from inside the box.

Karagounis has added a bit of energy to the Inter play; he's immediately in to the action, drifting past a couple of players before sprinting to make sure his colleague has a passing option.

Karagounis has started on the left wing, with Stankovic shifted over to the right. Milan have kept an excellent shape to their defence, though, and Inter will have to work very hard to create something.

Mihilovic follows Shevchenko's run out to the right wing, and sends him toppling with a crunching challenge out on the touchline.

GOAL: Pirlo swings in the free-kick, Shevchenko drifts in between two markers in the six-yard box and heads past Toldo.

The European Footballer of the Year takes his shirt off and exposes a very pale chest during his celebration. He certainly hasn't spent his two months out injured sunbathing.

Did I mention that Shevchenko was booked for his celebration? He was. The Milan supporters are going mental; jumping, shouting, clapping, cheering, dancing - you name the verb, those crazy kids are doing it.

Kaladze is found by a neat pass from Crespo, and his cross towards Shevchenko requires a great interception from Cordoba.

Favalli gives away a corner when he diverts a cross behind. It's taken short, but Inter eventually clear. They are struggling to get a hold of the ball at the moment, however, and Milan soon have them under pressure again.

Martins almost gets on the end of a flicked header from Vieri, but Stam is again on hand to deny him on the edge of the area. He's been outstanding tonight.

SUB: Zanetti off, Van Der Mayde on. The Dutch winger has come on for the final ten minutes in an effort to spread the game wide. Will it work? I don't know.

Van Der Meyde's first contribution is to cut in from the left wing and curl a cross towards Vieri, which Dida comes out and collects under a little pressure.

Goal news: Chelsea 4-1 Bayern. Drogba prods home from close range.

Seedorf is robbed on the edge of the area, Cambiasso picks up the loose ball and smashes it past Dida but the whistle had already gone for Vieri's foul on Seedorf.

SUB: Ambrossini on, Crespo off. A defensive move from Ancelotti, who is obviously very happy with the result as it stands.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but Seedorf seems to have a very large head. Maybe he has an abnormally big brain. I have a friend with a very big head. I call him 'Big Head'.

I'm risking my reputation here, but I just can't see Inter coming back from this. Milan's defence has been excellent tonight, and I can't imagine them conceding two goals without scoring themselves in the second leg.

Oooh! Inter finally create some pressure. A ball is lofted in to the box, and finds its way to Stankovic at the far post. Instead of clipping a cross over to his team-mates, he decides to lash a shot goalwards from an impossible angle, hitting the post with Dida beaten.

Milan win their seventh corner, and Pirlo takes his time over the set-piece. He does eventually curl the cross in to the box, but Milan have only two players forward and Inter easily clear.

Van Der Meyde illicts a free-kick from Stam when he throws himself to the ground on the left side of the penalty area. The ball is lofted in, but Dida collects well.

A nice spell of possession between Seedorf and Shevchenko results in the Ukranian striker crashing a left-foot drive in towards goal. Toldo has to tip the shot over the bar for another corner.

Instead of Inter piling on the pressure in their search for an away goal, it's Milan who are able to knock the ball about with some comfort.

FULL TIME: Milan are in an excellent position to progress to the semi-final - and beyond. They were so well organised, and managed to squeeze a couple of vital goals through set-pieces.