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Panathinaikos draws Madrid, advances Posted: Wednesday March 20, 2002 5:17 PMUpdated: Wednesday March 20, 2002 8:27 PM ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Panathinaikos played to a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on Wednesday to gain the point it needed to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Real finished atop Group C with 16 points from six games. Panathinaikos accumulated a total of eight points for second place, two points ahead Sparta Prague, which finished third. Portugal's FC Porto, which lost to Sparta 2-0 Wednesday, finished fourth with four points. Eight-time European champions Real Madrid fielded a virtual reserve side. Coach Vicente del Bosque decided to rest several key players, such as Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Raul Gonzalez, Michel Salgado, Luis Figo and Francisco Pavon. Panathinaikos charged forward from the kickoff, taking the lead in the eighth minute with a ground hugging, right-footed drive from outside the area by Nikos Lymberopoulos. But two minutes later, a sellout crowd of 16,000 at Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium silenced when Fernando Morientes leveled with a lob. Keeper Iker Casillas saved a blistering shot by Michalis Constantinou with an outstretched leg in the 13th. Panathinaikos' best scoring chance came in the 35th when Jan Michaelsen beat a Real defender, but his shot went wide with Casillas out of position. In the 64th, Yiannis Goumas gave Panathinaikos a 2-1 lead with a header off a free-kick from Goran Vlaovic. One minute later, Casillas made a spectacular save to a powerful shot by Michaelsen. Javier Portillo, who replaced Morientes in the 60th, leveled in the 84th with a bullet-like shot from 30 meters (yards). Real Madrid want Liverpool in quarterfinalsReal Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque would favor a Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, he hinted after his side drew their final group match against Panathinaikos on Wednesday. "I would like to avoid Deportivo La Coruna in the next round so we can have as many Spanish teams as possible in the semis," he said. Deportivo also beat Real in the Spanish King's Cup final two weeks ago. Del Bosque was left with only Liverpool after admitting that Real would prefer not to face holders Bayern Munich in a repeat of last season's semifinal. "I wouldn't favor Bayern either, they are the reigning European champions. At this stage all the teams are difficult," Del Bosque said. The draw for the quarter-finals will be held at European body UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday. Del Bosque saluted youth team star Javier Garcia Portillo, who marked his debut with a fantastic 80th-minute strike to earn the Spaniards a 2-2 draw. "When he replaced Morientes he fitted straight into the team and played well for the last half hour," he said. 'United best' Panathinaikos counterpart Sergio Markarian was more emphatic in his choice of a quarterfinal opponent. "I have said for fun that I would like to play Manchester United," Markarian said. "When I was coach of Paraguay I was asked by FIFA to select the three best players in three positions. I chose [David] Beckham, [Juan Sebastian] Veron and [Ruud] van Nistelrooy. I believe they have the best players in the world," he said. "To beat Manchester United would be an incredible achievement, but there are easier teams to play." The coach of the Athens team paid tribute to the mental strength of his side, stressing that the European adventure does not have to stop here. "The psychological approach of these players has been excellent and that has been the key for us. "We are back among the best eight teams in Europe and that is a great thing for Greek football," he said. SummaryPanathinaikos 2 Real Madrid 2 - result Champions League second stage, group C Scorers: Panathinaikos - Nikos Liberopoulos 9, Yiannis Goumas 64 Real Madrid - Fernando Morientes 11, Javier Garcia 80 Halftime: 1-1; Attendance: 17,000 Panathinaikos: 1-Antonis Nikopolidis; 2-Rene Henriksen, 8-Yiannis Goumas, 4-Yourkas Seitaridis, 30-Panayiotis Fyssas, 12-Jan Michaelsen, 26-Giorgos Karagounis, 5-Fernando Galetto, 21-Nikos Liberopoulos (14-Leonidas Vokolos 77), 7-Goran Vlaovic (9-Krzysztof Warzycha 86), 19-Michalis Konstantinou (23-Emmanuel Olisadebe 71) Real Madrid: 1-Iker Cassilas; 15-Geremi, 12-Ivan Campo, 33-Ruben, 30-Raul Bravo, 8-Steve McManaman (21-Santiago Solari 79), 16-Flavio Conceicao, 20-Albert Celades, 26-Oscar Minambres, 11-Savio (32-Valdo 74), 9-Fernando Morientes (39-Javier Garcia 60) Referee: Domenico Messina (Italy)
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