Liverpool, April 12:

With a three-goal, first-leg lead, and facing a weakened PSV Eindhoven, Liverpool didn’t need a super-human effort to reach European Champions League semi-finals. A 1-0 victory at Anfield Road on Wednesday was enough.

Peter Crouch scored the only goal, but Liverpool had wrapped up the quarter-final with a 3-0 win in the Netherlands. Crouch scored into an open net in the 67th minute to give Liverpool a 4-0 aggregate win and make it the third English team to reach the last four. Chelsea and Manchester United have already advanced as the other two English team.

PSV goalkeeper Gomes made a save moments before Crouch’s goal, but he couldn’t recover in time to stop the England striker from scoring off a pass from Robbie Fowler. But the visitors came close to scoring in the third minute. Jefferson Farfan forced a save out of Pepe Reina when he headed in a cross from Phillip Cocu.

PSV had their task made harder in the 64th when 18-year-old Dirk Marcellis was expelled in his debut match for a right-footed lunge at Zeden.

In Munich, Bayern Munich were knocked out after suffering a 2-0 home defeat to AC Milan. Bayern’s proud home record of 11 Champions League games without defeat, held since November 2004, came to an abrupt end as they lost the quarter-final 4-2 on aggregate. The Italians came alive midway through the first-half with two goals in less than five minutes by Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi, which booked Milan a semi-final berth against Manchester United.

But the disappointment was acute for the Germans, who had held the advantage from the first-leg 2-2 draw at the San Siro last week. Milan now face Manchester United in the semi-final on April 24/25.