Madrid, Chelsea into Champions League quarters

LONDON (AP):

Real Madrid reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in seven years by sweeping aside Lyon yesterday; and Chelsea relied on their first-leg goals to oust FC Copenhagen.

Karim Benzema scored against his former club to help Madrid beat Lyon 3-0 and send Jose Mourinho's squad through 4-1 on aggregate. Marcelo and Angel Di Maria also found the net.

Not only does the victory end Madrid's miserable record, but it keeps Mourinho on course to become the first coach to win the competition with three different clubs, having led Inter Milan to the trophy last season and FC Porto to the 2004 title.

While Madrid are nine-time European champions, Chelsea have yet to conquer the continent.

Having won 2-0 in the away leg at Copenhagen, Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge by the Danish champions.

"We needed to be careful at the back, any goal would have given them belief," Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech said. "The job was done, we kept a clean sheet. The only thing missing was converting our chances."

Chelsea and Madrid will join Inter Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, Tottenham, Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk in tomorrow's draw for the last eight.

It is a draw Madrid have not been in since 2004, but now Mourinho will be hoping to deliver the club's 10th European title.

Slight advantage

The away goal from the 1-1 draw in the first leg gave Madrid a slight advantage and Marcelo made it 2-1 in the 37th minute.

Benzema found the back of the net with a header soon after but he was ruled offside. However, the France striker scored in the 66th, latching on to Marcelo's long pass upfield and slotting the ball through goalkeeper Hugo Lloris' legs.

Madrid's 25th successive home win in all competitions was sealed 10 minutes later by Angel Di Maria, who chipped the ball over Lloris after being released by Mesut Oezil's header.

"We couldn't match them tonight. We came up against a very good team that closed us down from the outset," Lyon coach Claude Puel said. "We couldn't loosen up, we made a lot of mistakes and we showed nerves."

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea never looked troubled - thanks to Nicolas Anelka's first-leg double - but Carlo Ancelotti's side was overly relaxed against Copenhagen at times. Anelka was too casual with his flicked finish after 20 minutes, with goalkeeper Johan Wiland easily blocking the effort.

Chelsea nearly paid for it five minutes later when Dame N'Doye hit the post with a free kick that had beaten Cech.

The goal-frame was also hit by the home side in the second half, when John Obi Mikel headed against the crossbar.