The giants awake

Real Madrid roars back to earn 4-2 quarterfinal win over Monaco

Real Madrid's stars put four goals past Monaco's Flavio Roma. Clive Mason/Getty Images

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- Real Madrid fought back from a goal down at halftime to secure a convincing 4-2 win over Monaco in a pulsating Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.

In the night's other first-leg tie Arsenal got a vital away goal as they earned a 1-1 draw at London rivals Chelsea with the eventual winners facing Real or Monaco in the semifinals.

At the Bernabeu, Monaco stunned Real when they snatched the lead late in the first half after centre back Sebastien Squillaci took advantage of hesitant defending to poke home from close range at the second attempt.

But Real moved up a gear in the second half and goals from defender Ivan Helguera, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo helped them storm into a 4-1 lead nine minutes from time.

Monaco refused to fold, however, and gave themselves hope of a second-leg comeback when Real old boy Fernando Morientes scored with a terrific header just over a minute later.

Real's David Beckham and Monaco's Lucas Bernardi will both miss the return in France after picking up bookings.

"Unfortunately I picked up the yellow card," said Beckham. "But the important thing is that I think we played really well in the second half and created a lot of scoring opportunities."

Monaco, who lost the Ligue 1 leadership to title rivals Olympique Lyon at the weekend, made a nervous start as they conceded possession to Real and sat back in their own half in the opening minutes.

Real skipper Raul, making a record 86th appearance in the Champions League, had the first chance in the ninth minute but sent a powerful header over the bar from five metres after Zidane wafted in a cross from the left.

Minutes later Ronaldo threatened after good work from Michel Salgado on the right but Gael Givet reacted quickly to snap the ball away from the Brazilian's feet as he prepared to shoot.

But Real were made to pay for their failure to convert their chances when Monaco took the lead two minutes before halftime in one of their few forays into their opponents' area.

Midfielder Lucas Bernardi's cross eventually found Ludovic Giuly on the edge of the area and the Monaco playmaker managed to squirt a pass to Squillaci who poked home after the ball had rebounded off Real defender Alvaro Mejia.

BUNDLED IN

But Real were a different side in the second half and got back on level terms just six minutes after the restart when substitute centre-back Ivan Helguera bundled in from three metres after Monaco's defence failed to clear a Beckham corner.

After squandering several good chances, Real finally took the lead on 70 minutes when Zidane drilled in at the near post after snapping up the rebound from a Luis Figo shot and seven minutes later Figo himself got on the scoresheet to make it 3-1.

The Portuguese winger headed in from two metres out after Monaco goalkeeper Flavio Roma had saved his penalty, given when Ronaldo had been brought down in the area by Squillaci.

The visitors barely had to time to draw breath when Ronaldo added a fourth. Racing on to a Zidane through ball, the Brazilian steadied himself and shot low past Roma.

Monaco gave themselves hope of a second leg fightback when Morientes, who will return to Real when his loan spell ends in June, scored with a terrific header just over a minute later after a great cross from substitute Jaroslav Plasil.

Monaco ground down by superior Madrid, says Deschamps

MADRID (Reuters) -- Monaco were worn down by a slick second-half performance from an accomplished Real Madrid but coach Didier Deschamps says his young team's 4-2 loss still leaves them with hope in their Champions League quarter-final.

"We had a very good first half when we were still physically 100 percent. We had some good opportunities to score but Real Madrid are a side that tire you out," the former French captain told a news conference after Wednesday's match.

"When we left more space for Real Madrid there was a big difference in talent and we had a very bad half hour in the second half," he added after the first leg at the Bernabeu.

Monaco had stunned Real by taking the lead late in the first half thanks to a goal from centre-back Sebastien Squillaci but the Primera Liga leaders moved up a gear after the break.

An early strike from defender Ivan Helguera and quick-fire goals from Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo put the home side 4-1 up with eight minutes left before Monaco kept their hopes alive with a header from Real old boy Fernando Morientes.

After a run of indifferent form in Ligue 1, Deschamps was phlegmatic about Monaco's prospects of reaching the semi-finals where they would face the winners of the tie between Chelsea and Arsenal, which finished 1-1 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

ALWAYS HOPE

"The superiority of Real Madrid is not in doubt but there is always hope," he said. "It is a pity there wasn't just one goal in it and then we would be more optimistic about our chances."

Real's Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz said Helguera's goal at the start of the second half had settled his side after they had squandered a handful of earlier opportunities.

"We started the game nervously," he said. "The goal took a long time coming even though we had a lot of opportunities but after we scored we calmed down a lot and started passing the ball around in the second half."

Queiroz said the two-goal advantage would not alter his tactics for the next game and declined to speculate on whether he would rather face Chelsea or Arsenal in the semi-finals.

"Right now Monaco are the most dangerous rivals we have," he said. "We will play attacking football against them, otherwise we wouldn't be Real Madrid."

A late booking for midfielder David Beckham means the England captain will miss the second leg but Quieroz felt his team had the resources to cope with his absence.

"In the past we have had to make do without key players like Zidane and Ronaldo," he said. "And this time we are confident we can get a result with the players we have."

Summary

Real Madrid (Spain) 4 Monaco (France) 2 - result

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Scorers:

Real Madrid - Ivan Helguera 51, Zinedine Zidane 70, Luis Figo 77, Ronaldo 81

Monaco - Sebastien Squillaci 43, Fernando Morientes 83

Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 70,000

Teams:

Real Madrid: 1-Iker Casillas, 2-Michel Salgado, 6-Ivan Helguera, 33-Alvaro Mejia, 15-Raul Bravo (22-Francisco Pavon 28); 10-Luis Figo, 23-David Beckham, 14-Guti (26-Borja 77), 5-Zinedine Zidane, 7-Raul, 9-Ronaldo (21-Santiago Solari 82)

Monaco: 30-Flavio Roma; 32-Gael Givet (4-Hugo Ibarra 83), 27-Julien Rodriguez, 19-Sebastien Squillaci, 3-Patrice Evra (35-Hassan El Fakiri 89); 14-Edouard Cisse (6-Jaroslav Plasil 67), 7-Lucas Bernardi, 15-Andreas Zikos, 25-Jerome Rothen; 8-Ludovic Giuly, 10-Fernando Morientes

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)

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