There was plenty of drama in all three UEFA tournaments this midweek as found out the sides making the quarter final stages of each competition. Ahead of the Quarter Final draw this evening, lets see how the clubs fared in midweek
UEFA Champions League
On Tuesday night, Arsenal defeated FC Porto on penalties after Leandro Trossard scored the only goal in 120 minutes of play to force the spot kicks. Arsenal converted all four of theirs whilst Porto’s Wendell and Galeno both missed. Barcelona overcame a 1-1 first leg tie against Napoli to win 3-1 on the night thanks to goals from Lopez, Cancelo and Lewandowski as they look to bounce back from a relatively disappointing season domestically by their standards.
On Wednesday night, Dortmund progressed thanks a 2-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven after the first leg had ended 1-1 in the Netherlands. An early goal from Jaden Sancho, his second goal in two games since his move on loan from Manchester United, but them in the driving seat before veteran Marco Reus scored in the 95th minute to dash any hopes of a late comeback. Inter Milan took a 1-0 first leg lead to Atletico Madrid, and when they opened the scoring in Spain on 33 minutes, few would have thought Atletico would fight back. But after Griezmann equalized on the night two minutes later, they waited until the 87th minute to find the goal, via Memphis Depay, that would send the game to extra time. Extra time ended goalless, and it was Atletico Madrid who progressed, winning the shootout 3-2, in a result that meant there is no Italian side left in the tournament.
Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid made it to the quarters last week.
UEFA Europa League
Liverpool won 6-1 on the night and 11-2 on aggregate to earn their place in the quarters where Mo Salah made history by becoming the first Liverpool player to score 20+ goals in 7 consecutive seasons for the club. West Ham thrashed Freiburg 5-0 in London to secure their place after their 0-1 defeat last week in Germany, but Brighton’s 1-0 win on the night against Roma was not enough for them to make it, losing out 1-4 on aggregate. AC Milan secured a comfortable 7-3 aggregate win over ten man Slavia Prague, whilst Benfica won 1-0 in Glasgow to dump Rangers out of the tournament, 3-2 on aggregate. Marseille lost 1-3 at Villarreal, but still progressed to the next round 5-3 on aggregate, whilst Atalanta also made it through with a 3-2 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon. For the second consecutive time, Leverkusen had to come from 2 goals down against Qarabag, to ensure their record of being undefeated in all competitions this season didn’t come to an end, the record now at 37 games. They scored twice in stoppage time to win 3-2 on the night, and 5-4 on aggregate, and we wait for some great ties in the quarter finals.
UEFA Conference League
The tie of this round had to be battle between Greek side Olympiacos and Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. Olympiacos lost 1-4 at home in a dismal performance and few would have expected them to mount any kind of comeback. Yet, by half time on Thursday night, the Greek side were 3-0 up and the match was tied overall. Tel Aviv scored, then Olympiacos scored again, and by end of normal time, the score was 4-1 on the night again. Olympiacos managed to score twice in extra time to ensure penalties were not required, and they progressed 7-5 on aggregate. Elsewhere, Aston Villa defeated Ajax 4-0 to progress after a goalless first leg, Lille defeated Sturm Graz 4-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 home result on the night, and Fiorentina progressed 5-4 on aggregate by securing a 1-1 scoreline on Thursday. The other sides to make it were Vitoria Plzen (Czech Republic), who knocked out Swiss side Servette 1-0 on aggregate, Club Brugge KW, who overcame a 1-2 first leg defeat to progress 4-2 on aggregate against Molde, Fenerbahce of Turkey who despite losing 0-1 to Royale Union SG on the night went through 3-1 on aggregate, and PAOK, who knocked out Dinamo Zagreb by winning 5-1 on the night after losing their first leg 0-2 in Croatia.