Ronaldo had a night of huge frustration at the Bernabeu

European giants Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League at the first knockout round for the sixth year in succession after being held by Lyon.

The nine-times champions of Europe dominated the first half and should have been out of sight at the break.

Cristiano Ronaldo levelled the tie when he fired in left-footed on six minutes, but the home side failed to capitalise.

Lyon were a different side after the break, with several chances before Miralem Pjanic fizzed in a half-volley.

Real were in irresistible form from the outset and it seemed inconceivable that they would fail to find the net at least twice to overturn the tie and keep alive their hopes of playing in the final on their home ground in May.

They might have scored straight from the kick-off as Kaka ghosted through only to see his low shot kept out by Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris.

The wait for the opening goal to level up the tie was not a long one, however, as a spirited Ronaldo surged down the left flank and surprised Lloris with a first time left-footed shot that went through the keeper's legs, his seventh goal in six Champions League matches this season.

Wave after wave of Real attacks followed, but the patient build-up and elegant passing patterns could not create a second goal.

Gonzalo Higuain might have had a hat-trick, heading narrowly over, superbly denied by an outstretched Lloris left-hand low to his left - and the most clear-cut of all - hitting the post having rounded the keeper.

Lyon made two changes at the break and showed far more attacking intent, with Sidney Govou firing wildly over when well placed inside the area and Lisandro Lopez testing Iker Casillas with a fierce, swerving shot from distance.

With Real struggling to impose themselves, the visitors went close again and were unfortunate that Pjanic's teasing free-kick was closest to centre-half Cris, who failed to make proper contact inside the six-yard box when any significant touch would surely have found the target.

But Pjanic was the finisher as a clinical break saw him in space inside the area and he made no mistake with a firm shot from 12 yards.

Lisandro Lopez missed a golden opportunity to make it 2-1 on the night when he dragged horribly wide after Lyon had three on one on the break, but it did not prevent his side from reaching their fourth Champions League quarter-final, their first since 2006.

Rooney's 13th-minute header set United on their way to a comfortable victory

David Beckham's return to Old Trafford was brief and ended in the disappointment of comprehensive defeat as Manchester United swept past AC Milan into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Beckham only made a 27-minute appearance as a substitute, and while he was deservedly given a rapturous reception on the ground where he was once idolised, he found himself overshadowed by Wayne Rooney's latest masterclass.

AC Milan's hopes of reaching the last eight were already extinguished by the time Beckham entered to a standing ovation with United leading 3-0 - and Rooney was the man responsible as he repeated his two-goal demolition of the Italians at the San Siro on home territory.

Rooney headed United in front from Gary Neville's cross early on and extended United's 3-2 advantage from the first leg even further seconds after half-time after good work by Nani. Ji-Sung Park drilled in the third on the hour as United exerted complete control.

Darren Fletcher added the fourth with a diving header from Rafael's cross three minutes from time to put added gloss on a hugely satisfying evening for Sir Alex Ferguson as he bids to take United to the Champions League final for the third season in succession.

Beckham made a greater impact than most of his hapless colleagues after his introduction, with some trademark crosses and a full-blooded volley that flew straight at Edwin van der Sar.

And with the football business successfully concluded, United's supporters conducted a protest against the Glazer family, with huge banners unfurled around Old Trafford and thousands of green and gold scarves, the symbol of their discontent, on display.

Joel and Avi Glazer were in attendance at Old Trafford, and they were left in no doubt about the strength of feeling against their regime as the protests swept around the ground.

Fletcher's goal interrupted the well-orchestrated demonstration, but as a show of strength it was as impressive as some of United's play as they outclassed Milan.

Beckham milked the applause at the final whistle, but he had received a brutal demonstration of the gap between the club he left behind and the one he graces now, albeit on a temporary basis.

And Old Trafford's joy was complete as news filtered through that Real Madrid, regarded as one of their major rivals, had fallen at the hands of Lyon in the Bernabeu.

Beckham's hopes of celebrating his Old Trafford comeback with a place in Milan's starting line-up were dashed when he was only named on the bench - and he watched anxiously as Rooney posted the early warning signs.

The England striker was narrowly off target with a shot on the turn from the edge of the area, then the unlikely figure of Neville followed suit with a left-foot effort from long range that dipped just over the bar.

Milan had opportunities of their own amid the early sparring, with Ronaldinho's header falling agonisingly wide for Milan after Nani had unwittingly flicked on Andrea Pirlo's free-kick. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar then betrayed his reputation as an accomplished marksman with a desperate piece of control with only Van der Sar to beat.

United, in the predictable form of Rooney, made them pay for the failure to take those half-chances as they took the lead after 13 minutes.

Neville delivered a cross his old friend and former team-mate Beckham would have been proud of, and Rooney maintained his lethal form in the air by flashing a header past Christian Abbiati.

Milan's resolve was drastically reduced by this early setback and United were able to take control for the remainder of the half, with Fletcher almost adding a second with a rising drive that was only inches away.

Beckham was in the middle of receiving a standing ovation as he warmed up in the opening moments of the second half - only for Rooney to interrupt with United's second and decisive goal.

Great credit must go to Nani, who played in an inviting cross from the left flank with the outside of his right foot for the incoming Rooney to steer another expert finish past Abbiati.

If Milan harboured any hopes of rescuing this lost cause, they were finally snuffed out as Park put United three up on the hour. He took a Paul Scholes pass in his stride before evading his marker and burying his finish in the far corner beyond Abbiati.

Milan had been generous enough, and coach Leonardo then gave Old Trafford even more of what it wanted by sending on Beckham for a 27-minute cameo, which was greeted with a rapturous standing ovation.

The admiration for Beckham was arguably surpassed two minutes later when Rooney was replaced by Dimitar Berbatov. Old Trafford again rose as one for the England striker, who departed after delivering yet another virtuoso performance.

Fletcher's goal merely completed the formalities and, after Pippo Inzaghi missed a glorious chance to bag a consolation for Milan from a teasing Beckham cross in injury-time, United departed with confidence growing that they are on course to reach the final in Madrid in May.

Troussier has previously had a spell as Ivory Coast coach

Ivory Coast's football authorities have confirmed they have spoken to French coach Philippe Troussier about taking the Elephants to the World Cup.

With just three months to the World Cup, the team are still without a coach following the sacking of Vahid Halilhodzic.

Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, who will take over as boss of Turkey on 1 August, is the preferred choice of the Ivorians on a short-term basis.

But it is believed his contract with the Russian federation, which runs until the end of June, could be a sticking point in negotiations.

Ivorian Football Federation president Jacques Anouma said on Wednesday that no deal has yet been signed with any coach.

"I've actually met many, but none has yet been chosen," he said.

Earlier Federation spokesman Eric Kakou told the BBC that Troussier is also on their list.

Better known as 'The White Witch Doctor', Troussier is one of the most travelled coaches in Africa having had spells with Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and South Africa among other teams.

The 54-year-old, who led Japan to the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup as co-hosts with South Korea, was linked recently with the job of coaching North Korea.

At the moment he is the general manager of FC Ryukyu, a club in Japan's third-tier division.

Bendtner was atrocious on Saturday but in top form on Tuesday

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised the resolve and mental strength of Nicklas Bendtner after the striker hit a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Porto.

Bendtner missed a series of chances in Saturday's win over Burnley but responded by leading his side to the Champions League last eight on Tuesday.

"It shows you how football can change very quickly," said Wenger.

"He came back with good focus and the same belief - that is one of his strengths as well."

Bendtner scored twice in the opening half and capped off his performance by scoring a late penalty as Arsenal overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit by hammering their opponents to earn a 6-2 victory on aggregate.

"Nicklas had not lost the confidence, it remains relatively stable," added Wenger.

It was the first hat-trick of the Denmark international's career - and Bendtner insisted after the match that his atrocious finishing against the Clarets had not dented his self-belief.

"Every game I play I put it behind me as soon as it is finished," said the 22-year-old.

"Sometimes it is one of those days and against Porto I put it right. I am happy with the hat-trick but tomorrow we move on."

Wenger also hailed Samir Nasri, who capped an excellent performance with a superb goal, turning three defenders before firing in from an acute angle.

"What he has shown in the game, he has shown in training and I have expected that to come out," stated Wenger.

"He has talent and now he starts to be efficient - great players can assist and score goals, he is starting to do that now.

"We played fluent football with a positive start and the early goals gave us the belief we needed. We suffered a bit when we did not control the game at the start of the second half when we were not focused enough.

"Overall, though, we were good to watch and won with style."

Wenger has insisted his team would not fear drawing Chelsea or Manchester United - if their English rivals are part of the quarter-final draw when it takes places on 19 March.

United take on AC Milan on Wednesday at Old Trafford with a 3-2 first-leg advantage, while Chelsea trail Inter Milan 2-1 ahead of the return fixture at Stamford Bridge on 16 March.

Wenger stated: "I don't have a choice but I do not want to say we absolutely do not want to draw an English team.

"Maybe it is a good opportunity, if we get them, to show we can do well."

In two matches against Chelsea this season, Arsenal have been beaten 3-0 and 2-0, while Sir Alex Ferguson's United side have defeated them 2-1 and 3-1 in their meetings.

However, Wenger is adamant the Gunners would have nothing to fear if they come up against either rival.

The Frenchman believes his side can prevail if drawn against their domestic rivals and added: "If we get them, we cannot do worse than we did in the championship - we can only do better.

"We will take the draw we get and also we do not have to make a negative obsession of not playing against Chelsea or Manchester United.

"We are happy to be in the last eight - it is never easy to be in the top eight in Europe. The negative side is you only have good teams now - Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, so it will be difficult.

"At the beginning of the season, nobody expected this team to be where we are but we showed we have mental strength, we have good desire and good quality.

"I believe it is more important on our side to continue to improve - there are still some weak moments in the game we can deal better with, so before we talk about Barcelona or Manchester United it is important we continue to improve, then we have a chance."

The draw for the semi-finals will also take place on 19 March, with the first legs of the last-eight ties set to be played on 30/31 March and the second legs on 6/7 April.

The semi-final first legs are scheduled for 20/21 April, with the second legs one week later, while the final takes place at Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium on 22 May.

Meanwhile, Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira felt Tuesday's scoreline was not a fair reflection of the match.

"Arsenal turned the game around, put us under pressure and scored an early goal, that was the worst scenario we could imagine," commented Ferreira.

"They controlled the match but Porto deserved a bit more than we got. There were a couple of mistakes, which were decisive. You cannot do that against a team of such quality."

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