Late goals from Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt helped Liverpool see off 10-man Internazionale at Anfield, while Chelsea drew with Olympiakos in Greece.

Rafa Benitez's position has come under intense scrutiny following Saturday's humbling FA Cup exit at the hands of Barnsley, with the UEFA Champions League clash against the Serie A leaders seen as key to the Spaniard's future.

Marco Materazzi was very harshly dismissed in the 30th minute for two questionable bookings after challenges on Fernando Torres, but the home side struggled to break down a resolute Inter team until their late double despite dominating proceedings due to their numerical advantage.

Chelsea will be happy enough with a 0-0 scoreline from the first leg of their last-16 meeting with Olympiakos in Piraeus.

Avram Grant made 11 changes from the side which defeated Huddersfield at the weekend, leaving John Terry and Frank Lampard on the bench with one eye on Sunday's Carling Cup final against Tottenham at Wembley.

Roma came from behind to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico and Schalke take a slender advantage to Portugal after Kevin Kuranyi scored the only goal of the game against Porto.

With Benitez under pressure, he needed his Liverpool players to deliver against Inter, but they left it very late to secure a vital victory.

Roberto Mancini's men were dealt a cruel blow with just 30 minutes on the clock when former Everton defender Materazzi was dismissed for two incredibly harsh bookings.

The first yellow came in the 12th minute when Torres cut across the centre-back as he chased a ball out onto the right flank and the striker went to ground after his heels were accidentally clipped.

And referee Frank De Bleeckere then issued a red card to the Italy international when he laid a hand on Torres' shoulder with the Spaniard hitting the deck theatrically under minimal contact.

Liverpool's star striker was then denied by a stunning save from Julio Cesar, with the Inter keeper diving to his left to keep out Torres' low shot after he broke clear following a fortunate ricochet in midfield.

Sami Hyypia then headed Kuyt's chipped cross over after a clever corner routine, before the Reds were denied a penalty when Gerrard's attempted cross was blocked by Patrick Vieira's raised hands.

Just as it looked as though Inter would hold out, Kuyt fired home Pennant's cross five minutes from time with the aid of a huge deflection off Maicon, before Gerrard gave Liverpool a two-goal cushion with a low long-range effort which crept beyond Julio Cesar and into the bottom corner in front of the Kop.

Chelsea head back to Stamford Bridge level with Olympiakos after a dour meeting in Greece failed to produce any goals.

A much-changed Blues team, which had Didier Drogba back in the starting line-up and Nicolas Anelka on the bench, held out in the hostile atmosphere but were unable to find an important away goal.

Roma came from behind against Real Madrid to take a narrow advantage to Spain with goals from David Pizarro and Mancini.

Real seized an early advantage thanks to arch goal-poacher Raul's 60th in European competition.

Arjen Robben cut the ball back from the left wing and although Guti's shot from outside the area lacked power, Raul got a crucial touch to divert it beyond Alexandre Doni with Roma appealing in vain for offside.

Despite dominating, Real could not build on their lead and were pegged back when Pizarro smashed the loose ball home via Gabriel Heinze after Mancini's pull-back evaded Francesco Totti.

And Roma took the lead when Heinze attempted to get to the ball ahead of Totti, but missed it completely, allowing the striker to play in Mancini who rounded Iker Casillas before deftly finishing.

Ruud van Nistelrooy hit the post in the closing stages but Bernd Schuster's men could not fashion an equaliser.

Kevin Kuranyi's early goal was enough for Schalke to overcome Porto, but the German side may live to regret not taking greater advantage of their first-half dominance.

Schalke took the lead with just four minutes on the clock when a neat passing move found Rafinha on the left corner of the Porto box.

The full-back's low shot could only be pushed out into the six-yard box by Porto keeper Helton and Kuranyi was on hand to pounce on the rebound.

Porto improved after the break and should have equalised only for Lisandro Lopez to miss a glorious chance to level when he fired wide with 10 minutes remaining.