PSG holds off Valencia to reach quarterfinals

Paris, France – It certainly wasn't a vintage performance by PSG, but Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Valencia at the Parc Des Princes in the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League encounter was enough.

The result puts PSG into the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time since 1995 after the 3-2 aggregate victory, but it didn't come easily.

PSG was playing without suspended striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and it showed as the home side failed to produce much in the offensive third.

Instead, PSG focused on defending and preventing Valencia from scoring the two goals necessary to have a chance at advancing.

The plan worked for PSG in the first half, but a turnover in the defensive third in the 55th minute handed the Spanish side the lead as Jonas collected the loose ball and got to the edge of the penalty area before lashing a shot inside the left post that eluded the reach of goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.

A 2-0 win for Valencia would have been enough to knock PSG out, but Ezequiel Lavezzi calmed the nerves in Paris by netting the equalizing goal in the 66th minute.

Substitute Kevin Gameiro got the move started when he intercepted the ball in midfield and worked his way past two defenders before laying it off to Lavezzi, who scored on the rebound after his initial effort was stopped.

Sirigu's net was never seriously threatened over the final 25 minutes as PSG got men behind the ball and easily neutralized any opportunities Valencia tried to create.

Juventus 2, Celtic 0

Turin, Italy - Juventus put Celtic out of its misery as expected on Wednesday in Italy as Juve coasted to a 2-0 win, giving the Italian outfit a 5-0 aggregate triumph in the round of 16 meeting.

Juventus all but landed the knockout blow in Scotland three weeks ago with a 3-0 first-leg victory, making Wednesday merely a formality.

Alessandro Matri scored midway through the first half for Juve when he finished off a rebound from Fabio Quagliarella's shot, while Quagliarella found the net himself in the 65th minute.

Arturo Vidal broke into the area and received a pass from Andrea Pirlo before quickly squaring the ball across the face of goal to Quagliarella for a simple tap-in.