MILAN - AC MILAN and Real Madrid took a small step towards qualification for the Champions League knock-out rounds following a 1-1 draw at the San Siro on Tuesday.

Ronaldinho's conversion of a dubiously-awarded penalty cancelled out Karim Benzema's opener for the visitors as the stalemate left both teams a point clear of Marseille, who thrashed FC Zurich 6-1, at the top of Group C.

There was no revenge for Madrid for their 3-2 defeat to the Italians at the Bernabeu two weeks ago but they were the better side, particularly before the break.

It was all Real at the start of the first half as the visitors dominated, much like they did in the early stages of the home match, leaving coach Manuel Pellegrini believing they should have won.

'I don't talk about the referee's decisions, we played well in the first half and showed the right attitude,' he said, declining to talk about the penalty.

'We had 16 shots (in the first half) and only one Milan player, (Alexandre) Pato, made life difficult for us. We were in control.' -- AFP