INTER MILAN fought back to earn a precious 1-1 draw against Anderlecht in Brussels last night in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Bruno Versavel gave Anderlecht a first-half lead, but substitute Maurizio Ganz had only been on the pitch 10 minutes when he drove in a 75th-minute equaliser which makes Inter favourites to reach the semi-finals.
English coach Roy Hodgson was due much of the credit for the draw, his tactical switch to a more attacking line-up midway through the second half soon paying off with the equaliser.
Inter had been trailing for nearly an hour, but they had made a bright enough start and had created a series of chances.
Anderlecht looked dangerous whenever Ghanaian international defender Samuel Johnson moved forward, but it was Tibor Selymes who provided the breakthrough.
The Romanian collected a long crossfield on the left wing, sent a hopeful ball into the middle on the bounce and Versavet lashed it home with a superb first-time half-volley from 20 yards.
Inter went looking for the equaliser and Zamorano was put through again in the 37th minute; this time the Chilean beat De Vlieger to the ball, but his flick went agonisingly wide of the far post.
Inter kept up their search for an equaliser in the second half and - they very nearly found it after a neat touch from Youri Djorkaeff on 50 minutes. The Frenchman split the Anderlecht defence with a back-heel and lined up Zamorano for a snap shot which De Vlieger did well to push over.
With about 25 minutes to go, Hodgson re-shuffled his pack - throwing on Italian strikers Ganz - and Marco Branca and pulling Djorkaeff back into his usual play-making role. The more attacking line-up paid dividends within 10 minutes as Inter made it all square.
The move started with a delicate chip from Argentine Javier Zanetti over the Belgian defence. Branca tried an overhead kick which was parried, but not held by De Vlieger and Ganz smacked the loose ball just inside the far post.
In Gelsenkirchen, Schalke defender Thomas Linke was the hero up front as well as at the back when the German side beat Valencia 2-0 in their quarter-final first leg. Schalke are desperate to reach their first European semi-final since 1970.
Linke gave them the lead just before half-time with an unstoppable header from a free-kick from captain Olaf Thon.
Linke had also hooked away Valencia's most dangerous attack in the first two minutes, when striker Machado Leandro, frustrated by the crossbar moments earlier, pounded a shot on target.
Belgian striker Marc Wilmots, who had been doubtful with back problems, wrapped up the game for Schalke in the 82nd minute with a tap-in goal.
Danish side Brondby took home a valuable 1-0 win from their first leg at Tenerife after converting one of only two clear chances and surviving relentless pressure from the home side. Tenerife's best chance came with a second half penalty but Slavisa Jokanovic missed and the Spanish side suffered their first home defeat in a European competition.
Brondby took the lead after 29 minutes when Soren Colding capitalised on a defensive mistake and found Ebbe Sand completely unmarked with goalkeeper Marcelo Ojeda stranded.
Apart from penalty miss, the best of Tenerife's many chances fell to Juanele Castano, who hit the post early in the first-half.
