Lokomotiv Moscow ... 0 AC Milan ... 1AC Milan secured a place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable 1-0 away win over Lokomotiv Moscow yesterday evening.

Brazil striker Rivaldo calmly slotted home a 34th-minute penalty after Lokomotiv defender Vadim Yevseyev was judged to have held down Filippo Inzaghi as the Italians maintained a 100 per cent record in the group with a fourth consecutive 1-0 win.

Milan captain Paolo Maldini celebrated the victory by breaking Giuseppe Bergomi's Italian record for appearances in European competition after playing a full 90 minutes in Moscow. It took Maldini's appearance total in all of UEFA's club competitions to 118 games, breaking the old mark set by the former Inter Milan defender.

Lokomotiv, who needed to win to have a realistic chance of making the last eight, pressed forward from the start but the Italians held firm and quickly asserted their authority. They had the first scoring chance after 15 minutes when Clarence Seedorf redirected Rivaldo's low free-kick from the left goalwards but Sergei Ovchinnikov made a point-blank save.

The Dutch midfielder tested Ovchinnikov again six minutes later with a well-taken volley from 30 yards, but once again the Lokomotiv goalkeeper was equal to the task. Rivaldo then fired a 20-metre free kick just wide of the left-hand post in an action-packed first half hour.

Milan controlled the tempo after the interval with precise passing and fine ball control. Rivaldo and late substitute Rui Costa could have added a second in the dying minutes, but both just missed the target.

LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW: Ovchinnikov; Nizhegorodov, Ignashevich, Yevseyev, Sennikov; Sirkhayev, Izmailov, Maminov, Loskov, Mnguni; Cesar. Subs: Pimenov for Sirkhayev (58 mins); Parks for Cesar (82 mins).

AC MILAN: Dida; Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze, Costacurta; Gattuso, Redondo, Seedorf; Rivaldo, Serginho; Inzaghi. Subs: Brocchi for Redondo (76 mins); Rui Costa for Serginho (86 mins); Tomasson for Inzaghi (84 mins).

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).