AC Milan 2 PSV Eindhoven 0: The bad news for Chelsea and Liverpool is that, unless PSV Eindhoven somehow turn this tie upside down next Wednesday, whichever English side reaches the final will find Andriy Shevchenko waiting for them next month in Istanbul.
Milan have now gone 10 hours and 14 minutes since conceding a Champions League goal, but, even for a club that places so much emphasis on defensive strategy, their talismanic striker remains their most potent weapon.
The European footballer of the year was at his rampaging best and his first-half strike, supplemented by a late effort from the substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson, means Milan will be in a considerable position of strength for the return when the Dutch club must work out how to break down a defence that has given up only three goals in the competition.
Whether they are capable of such a feat of escapology is highly doubtful, although they can at least console themselves that there were long spells when they caused disquiet among the Milanese public, particularly in the second half when they squandered more chances than they will care to remember.
Milan ought to be grateful their opponents had nobody of Shevchenko's calibre to puncture their optimism.
PSV had been portrayed as limited opponents, and when Shevchenko found space at the far post to direct a volley goalwards the Dutch defenders were asking questions of one another as early as the second minute.
Guus Hiddink's team must have been relieved to emerge unscathed from this early period of near-unremitting pressure, yet paradoxically the most inviting chance of the first 30 minutes fell to Eindhoven's Peruvian forward Jefferson Farfan, who found that rare luxury, space behind the Milan defence, but lost his nerve after running clear and presented Dida with an easy save.
Kaka, Milan's Brazilian playmaker, brought a fine save from Heurelho Gomes, and then, three minutes before the interval, his exquisite through ball dissected the entire Dutch defence to send Shevchenko running clear. The pass was weighted so perfectly it would have been impudent for Shevchenko to pass up the chance and, ruthless as ever, the Ukrainian striker stroked the ball confidently past Gomes.
Early in the second half Dida came close to presenting Eindhoven with the softest of equalisers, fumbling Young-Pyo Lee's shot on the goal-line.
The Dutch champions were intent on getting the away goal but they found their former player Jaap Stam in imperious form at the heart of Milan's defence.
Suddenly Eindhoven were finding space every time they attacked. The home side were looking ragged before Kaka's shot took a fortuitous deflection into Tomasson's path and he swept the ball in from eight yards.
AC MILAN: Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Kaladze, Shevchenko, Gattuso, Crespo (Tomasson 64), Seedorf (Serginho 81), Pirlo (Ambrosini 72), Kaka, Stam. Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Costacurta, Inzaghi, Rui Costa. Booked: Seedorf. Goals: Shevchenko 42, Tomasson 90.
PSV: Gomes, Ooijer, Lee, Alex, Bouma (Lucius 46), Van Bommel, Park, Cocu, Beasley (Vennegoor of Hesselink 61), Vogel, Farfan. Subs Not Used: Zoetebier, Addo, Bogelund, Afellay, Sibon. Booked: Gomes, Ooijer.
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).
