Soccer: Chelsea, Real Madrid advance

Chelsea and Real Madrid both advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League this morning.

The duo join Barcelona, Inter Milan, Man Utd, Schalke, Shakhtar Donetsk and Tottenham in the final eight.

Chelsea advanced despite being held to a frustrating scoreless draw by FC Copenhagen in their second leg match-up.

The Premier League champions, who won the first leg 2-0 in Denmark, couldn't turn their domination into goals at Stamford Bridge three weeks later but encountered few problems at the other end to become the third English team to progress.

Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, starting up front together with Fernando Torres on the bench, wasted Chelsea's best chances in a fairly one-sided match, while John Obi Mikel headed against the crossbar in the second half.

Copenhagen threatened sporadically, although Dame N'Doye hit the post with a first-half free kick.

Meanwhile Real Madrid reached the quarterfinals for the first time in seven years after beating Lyon 3-0 after goals from Marcelo, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria.

Madrid went through 4-1 on aggregate, reaching the final stages for the first time since losing in the 2004 semifinals to Monaco.

With the series at 1-1, Marcelo received the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo on his return from injury and dribbled free into the area before beating goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a curling shot in the 37th minute.

Lyon turned the ball over often at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and paid for it when Benzema found the net in the 66th.

Di Maria scored from a breakaway in the 76th to seal the match for the nine-time champions.

- AP