By ADAM TROXTELL
Liverpool kept its solitary chance of a trophy alive thanks to a second-half goal against Blackburn in Wednesday’s FA Cup quarterfinal replay.
Philippe Coutinho provided the breakthrough in the 70th minute to send the Reds to Wembley where they will play Aston Villa in a semifinal on April 19. Blackburn held Liverpool at Anfield a month ago to set up the replay at Ewood Park.
Before providing the winner, Coutinho came close to opening the scoring in the first half. Following a corner kick, the ball ended up at the Brazilians feet before his low strike was eventually cleared by goalkeeper Simon Eastwood.
Blackburn was less fortunate during the next chance he created from a corner. After the ball was cleared back to him, Coutinho exchanged a one-two pass with Jordan Henderson and fired a shot in off of the post.
From there, Blackburn sunk to eventual defeat. Despite causing a few scary moments around the Liverpool goal, it was the Reds who dominated their way into the next round.
Here are some more news and notes for your Wednesday evening:
NEUER PENALTY SAVE SENDS BAYERN TO CUP SEMIS
After a scoreless 120 minuets between two of the Bundesliga’s in-form teams, the dreaded penalty shootout was needed to send Bayern Munich into the next round of the DFB Pokal.
Manuel Neuer saved Josip Drmic’s first kick from the spot for Bayer Leverkusen, providing the eventual 5-3 win for Bayern in Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Leverkusen made each of their next attempts, but the damage was done early.
Leverkusen had a golden opportunity to beat the league leaders in stoppage time. Karim Bellarabi picked up a giveaway at midfield and slid the ball across Neuer where Julian Brandt was a fraction late to send his shot wide.
Ariminia Bielefeld will join Bayern in the semifinal round after they emerged from another penalty shootout, 5-4 against Borussia Monchengladbach. The teams finished regulation tied 1-1 after a pair of first-half goals.
LAZIO THROUGH TO COPPA ITALIA FINAL
Lazio will face Juventus in the Coppa Italia final after overcoming Napoli in a semifinal second-leg on the road.
Brazilian forward Felipe Anderson provided the difference in the 79th minute, maneuvering down the right before his low cross into the goal area was deflected home by second-half substitute Senad Lulic. The teams entered the San Paolo in Napoli tied 1-1 from the first leg.
Lulic was a hero at the other end a few minutes later. Lorenzo Insigne’s low shot was heading into an empty net before the Bosnian winger slid in to deflect the ball over the goal.
Elsewhere in Italy, Parma’s lengthy wait for a league win arrived in a 1-0 victory against Udinese. Silvestre Varela’s 70th minute strike handed the home side its first win in Serie A since January.
BARCELONA, REAL VICTORIOUS IN MIDWEEK LA LIGA ACTION
The top of the Spanish Primera Division remains unchanged after leaders Barcelona and second-placed Real Madrid exited Wednesday’s action with a victory.
A pair of Luis Suarez goals led Barcelona to a 4-0 win against struggling Almeria. Lionel Messi’s 33rd La Liga goal of the season got things started in the 33rd minute, and Marc Bartra added the third goal in the 75th minute.
Real Madrid kept the gap at the top to four points with a 2-0 win against fellow Madrid side Rayo Vallecano. Los Blancos faced more of a fight, however, with Rayo putting eight shots on Iker Casillas’ goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo handed Real the lead with a 68th minute strike before James Rodriguez added a second just six minutes later.
Elsewhere in Spain, Deportivo La Coruna and Cordoba played out a 1-1 draw. A late strike denied Granada of a valuable win in their 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo.
RUSSIA AWARDED, CROATIA PUNISHED IN UEFA RULINGS
Europe’s soccer governing body had some good news for Russia on Wednesday, but also some bad for Croatia.
UEFA took action in the wake of an abandoned Euro 2016 qualifier in Montenegro last month by handing the Russians an automatic 3-0 victory. The game was initially halted soon after kickoff when goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was struck by a flare thrown by the crowd.
It later continued after Akinfeev was subbed off and taken to the hospital, only for more trouble later to bring about a complete stop of play. In addition, Montenegro must play its next qualifier behind closed doors when Lichtenstein visits Podgorica.
Croatia must also play its next qualifying game against Italy in an empty stadium. UEFA made the ruling as punishment for alleged racist behavior by some Croatian fans during the country’s 5-1 win against Norway in March. Fans also set off fireworks and threw objects onto the field.
PSG TOPS SAINT ETIENNE TO REACH COUPE DE FRANCE FINAL
A hat-trick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic led Paris Saint-Germain in a 4-1 win against Saint Etienne, sending the club to the Coupe De France final.
PSG will now play Auxerre in the final. Ibrahimovic opened the scoring by converting a 21st minute penalty, before later scoring twice in the final 10 minutes.
Ezequiel Lavezzi’s headed goal from Javier Pastore’s cross in the 60th minute restored the lead for PSG. Romain Hamouma had equalized for Saint Etienne within four minutes of Ibrahimovic’s penalty.