Final hurdle: Heartbreak for Milan duo

With Serie A leaders Inter suffering a shock 1-0 at home to Dutch side Feyenoord in the other semi-final first leg match, the chances of the two famous Milan sides meeting in the final on May 8 in Rotterdam are remote. Their absence would be another bitter blow to Italian club soccer, which is already reeling after none of its clubs managed to reach the last eight of the Champions League for the second successive year.

Brazil striker Ronaldo made his first appearance in three months as a substitute for Inter but he was totally upstaged by his compatriot Amoroso.

The Bundesliga’s joint top scorer needed only 39 minutes to complete his hat-trick against AC Milan. The pick of the three was his second goal after 34 minutes, when he lobbed the ball over a defender, controlled it on his thigh and volleyed the ball past Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati. Amoruso had earlier earned and converted an eighth-minute penalty and completed his hat-trick with a diving header after 39 minutes. Joerg Heinrich added the fourth in the second half to complete a sorry night for Milan. Dortmund, the 1997 European champions, will now travel to the San Siro next week as hot favourites to reach their first UEFA Cup final since 1993.

(Reuters)