Milan, Italy - Ludovic Giuly scored off a pass from Ronaldinho on Tuesday to give FC Barcelona a 1-0 win over AC Milan in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.
The France forward beat an offside trap to send a left-foot shot past Milan goalkeeper Dida in the 57th minute after a chipped pass from the 2005 European and Fifa World Player of the Year at the San Siro.
Barcelona will enter next week's return leg at the Camp Nou on a nine-match unbeaten run at home in Europe. Juventus was the last team to beat Barcelona - in the 2004 Champions League quarterfinals.
"I can't say if it was a deserved win, but it was the lead we hoped to achieve at Milan's home field," Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o said. "Now it will be important to see what we will be able to do at home."
It was Giuly's first goal in this season's Champions League. He had shot straight at Dida in his team's best chance in the first half, with the hosts and six-time champions dominating before the break.
Milan striker Alberto Gilardino's shot from inside the box hit the near post in the 14th. A minute later, Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes blocked a header from striker Andriy Shevchenko.
It took 23 minutes before the Catalans' first shot on goal - a long-range attempt by Samuel Eto'o that Dida easily gathered. Six minutes later, Ronaldinho's free kick bounced off the Milan wall.
"It was a very balanced match," Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti said. "Milan played well and produced some good scoring chances that unfortunately we did not turn into goals. The result still let's us hope to reverse the situation in the second leg.
"They won at San Siro, we can win at Barcelona."
After halftime, Ronaldinho hit the post in the 64th on a counterattack, while Dida stopped a shot from midfielder Andres Iniesta two minutes later to please the 76 883-capacity crowd.
In the 51st, Shevchenko and Kaka set up Gilardino - but the Italy forward's attempt went just wide.
Milan's best chances after falling behind were a long shot by Kaka that went wide in the 75th, and another missed by substitute Massimo Ambrosini minutes later.
Captain and substitute Paolo Maldini had a header from a corner well saved by Valdes in the 87th.
Barcelona is trying to reach the final for the first time since 1994, when it lost to Milan 4-0 in the most lopsided final since the Champions League was created a year earlier.
Barcelona's sole win in the competition was in 1992 when it beat Sampdoria 1-0 at Wembley. - Sapa-AP