Barcelona has now the first chance of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League Final, after beating AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro. Milan can only hope for a miracle in Barcelona in the second leg. The atmosphere on San Siro Stadium was sensational and the crowd burst into cheers when the two teams entered the field. The match was worth watching, rising to the extent of Barcelona president Juan Laporta's expectations, who previously said that: "it doesn`t matter if we win or lose. The important thing is to please the fans."

Milan started off better, but the lack of a true striker like Inzaghi was obvious, especially when his replacement, Alberto Gilardino, fired the post from 5 metres in the 13th minute of the first half. Seedorf crossed superbly for Shevcenko's header, but Barca goalkeeper Valdes was there to save it. Barcelona was kept out of Dida's post; the only time the Catalans broke through, Giuly did not manage to reach Ronaldinho's cross into the Milan area.

The second half brought a new missing chance for Gilardino. Kaka provided him with an excellent chance, but the Italian fired a header way past Valdes's post. The 58th minute: Ronaldinho turns Gatuso around, the Italian stumbles, giving the brazilian star a chance to find Giuly with a superb pass. From there, the French only had to find the goal. And he did it in style, beating Dida in the short angle. Then, it was all Barca until the finish. Wonderful passes, great attacking and a great chance for Ronaldinho, who fired a shot into Dida's post.

The final minutes of the game finds Milan putting a lot of pressure on the Catalans, trying to squeeze the equalizer, but Ambrosini wasted a wonderful pass by Kaka, shooting poorly near Valdes's post. It all finished right there, Milan having no chances till the end. The Catalans are now favourites before the second leg, in Nou Camp.

"It was a great win against a great team. We played pretty good the first half, but they took advantage of the free spaces in our game the second. We have to be very careful, there are still 90 more minutes to be played", said brazilian Ronaldinho. Van Bronkhurst added: "I hope we meet Arsenal in the final. I played there for 2 years and wish them all the luck in the world."

On the other hand, Carlo Ancelotti did not lose hope: "It was a good match. We had some scoring chances in the end but we didn`t score. We still have to play the second leg. If they won here, than means we can also win there."

The second leg will take place on Camp Nou Stadium, a week from now, on the 25th of April, at 20.45 CET.