Barcelona, Liverpool, waltz into Champions League quarters

FC Barcelona hammered Newcastle United 7-2 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, while Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid also advanced.

Barcelona stormed into the Champions League quarter-finals with a thumping 7-2 victory over Newcastle United at Camp Nou on Wednesday, sealing an emphatic 8-3 aggregate triumph in a compelling round-of-16 tie.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Fermin Lopez led a swift counter attack, but Anthony Elanga levelled nine minutes later from Lewis Hall's cross. Marc Bernal restored Barca's lead from a Raphinha free kick before Elanga struck again in the 28th minute after Lamine Yamal failed to clear.

Yamal made amends by converting a spot kick deep into first-half added time after VAR spotted Kieran Trippier's foul on Raphinha inside the box and Barca came storming back from the break to score four goals in the second half.

Fermin added a fourth in the 52nd minute and Robert Lewandowski scored twice in quick succession, first with a header from a corner and then from Yamal's through ball.

Raphinha sealed the rout in the 73rd minute after a Jacob Ramsey mistake, with the Catalan side now set to meet either Atletico Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.

"We are delighted, it was a great performance," Raphinha told Movistar Plus.

"Newcastle are a very physical side; if they’re on form, they make life difficult for you. We were calm throughout the match and knew we had to control the game. We lost possession a lot in the first half but the third and fourth goals came quickly and helped us settle down."

DEVASTATING IN ATTACK, VULNERABLE AT THE BACK

It was a night that showcased both the irresistible and the unreliable sides of Hansi Flick's team — devastating in attack, yet persistently vulnerable at the back.

Barcelona have now scored 30 goals in this season's competition, an average of three per game, but they are still without a clean sheet, having conceded 17 in 10 matches.

Raphinha set the tone after six minutes, finishing off a slick counter attack after Fermin collected a long pass on the right, cut inside and squared for the Brazilian to slot a low strike inside the far post.

Newcastle responded nine minutes later. Hall burst beyond Eric Garcia — deployed at right back due to Jules Kounde's injury — and crossed low for Elanga, who controlled and finished neatly under Joan Garcia.

The goals kept flowing. In the 18th minute, Raphinha swung in a free kick from the right, Gerard Martin headed back across goal and Bernal slipped between two defenders to fire home from close range.

Newcastle struck again in the 28th minute after Yamal's attempted back-heeled clearance fell kindly to Anthony Gordon, who rolled the ball across for the unmarked Elanga to score his second with a first-time finish.

Yamal squandered a close-range chance in added time after Aaron Ramsdale had produced a one-handed save from Raphinha, blazing over with the goal at his mercy.

But Barcelona were handed a lifeline deep into first-half stoppage time when VAR intervened after Trippier held Raphinha's arm inside the box. Yamal stepped up and blasted the penalty to Ramsdale's right to make it 3-2.

The second half turned into a procession. In the 52nd minute, Raphinha threaded a first-time pass through the middle for Fermin, who beat the offside trap and finished low to the keeper's left. Barely a minute later, Lewandowski rose at the far post to head in Raphinha's corner.

Lewandowski added his second in the 61st minute after Yamal surged through midfield and slipped a precise through ball into his path, the Polish striker finishing confidently past Ramsdale.

The seventh arrived in the 73rd minute after Ramsey slipped while attempting to clear, gifting possession to Raphinha, who steadied himself and struck past Ramsdale to complete the rout.

Liverpool turn on the style to dismantle Galatasaray

Liverpool put their indifferent form behind them and marched into the Champions League quarter-finals as they dismantled Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield on Wednesday, for a 4-1 aggregate win.

Galatasaray had beaten the Premier League champions twice at home this season, including last week's 1-0 first-leg win, but were no match for a Liverpool side which played with a determination and energy rarely seen this season.

"I think we did a great job tonight. We could win 10-0, we missed a few chances, but we did still a good job," Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike told TNT Sports.

"We can be proud of ourselves tonight and we can look forward to the quarter-final."

Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool in front in the 25th minute and they could have been ahead on aggregate before the break but Mohamed Salah had a penalty saved. The hosts ran riot after the break, with goals from Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Salah.

Liverpool will play holders Paris St Germain, who easily saw off Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate, in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool looked comfortable from the off and went in front from a well-worked set-piece.

Szoboszlai raced into the area unmarked to guide home a side-footed shot from Alexis Mac Allister's corner and Liverpool's energy levels rose even further after the goal.

Salah should probably have doubled the lead minutes later when through one-on-one with the keeper, but his attempted lob was saved by Ugurcan Cakir.

Florian Wirtz had a shot deflected over as Liverpool continued to pile forward and Cakir parried away a powerful Szoboszlai effort.

The visitors were hanging on under extreme pressure to keep the tie level on aggregate going into the break when Ismail Jakobs fouled Szoboszlai in the area.

Salah stepped up, but his tame penalty down the middle gave Cakir time to make the stop with his trailing leg and the keeper was called on again just before the halftime whistle, making a double save from Salah and Wirtz in quick succession.

SECOND-HALF STORM

Liverpool came roaring out of the blocks after the interval, Salah rolling a pass across the box for Ekitike to score in the 51st minute and two minutes later Cakir denied Salah again only for Gravenberch to net the rebound.

"When I sat in the locker room at halftime, I was thinking we need to kill this game," Ekitike said.

"I had my chance. I could have scored more tonight, to be honest, but I had my chance. And then I think we felt more free and yeah, Ryan scored straight away."

Galatasaray defender Wilfried Singo put the ball into his own net but the goal was ruled out for Jeremie Frimpong's offside, yet Liverpool killed the tie off in the 62nd minute.

Salah made up for his penalty miss with a sumptuous curled shot from outside the area to score his 50th Champions League goal and the Egyptian forward later hit the crossbar as Liverpool continued to show no mercy.

There was an altogether different atmosphere at Anfield compared to Sunday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur when the final whistle was greeted with boos from the Liverpool fans who had not already left.

Salah was applauded and cheered off the pitch when replaced before a long stoppage took the sting out of the game as Galatasaray's Noa Lang injured his hand when colliding with the advertising hoardings behind the goal.

PSG knocked Liverpool out on penalties at the last-16 stage last season, when Arne Slot's side were comfortably on course to win the Premier League.

This time around, Liverpool are battling to secure a place in next season's Champions League, sitting fifth in the Premier League standings, 21 points off leaders Arsenal, but this performance against Galatasaray will restore some much-needed confidence.

Atletico survive scare at Tottenham to reach quarter-finals

Atletico Madrid withstood a rousing Tottenham Hotspur fightback to reach the Champions League quarter-finals 7-5 on aggregate despite a 3-2 loss in north London on Wednesday.

Diego Simeone's side, who scored four times in the opening 22 minutes in last week's 5-2 first leg home romp, wobbled under a home onslaught but goals by Julian Alvarez and David Hancko ultimately gave them breathing space.

Although they bowed out, Tottenham did so with their pride restored as interim manager Igor Tudor enjoyed his first win in six games since taking charge thanks to a Xavi Simons double.

They will now try and take what Tudor described as "beautiful energy" from their first win in nine games in all competitions into their crunch Premier League relegation battle against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

For Atletico, they can look forward to a meeting with La Liga rivals Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

Tottenham extended their unbeaten home run in Europe to 25 games with a vibrant display that was at odds with what they have produced on their own turf this season domestically.

They exited Europe with a 100% record at home but in the Premier League they have managed just two wins all season.

There was some relief on the faces of the Atletico players and their 3,000 celebrating travelling fans at the final whistle after an uncomfortable night.

"Spurs scored first, and it would have been easy to collapse, but we had the mentality to stay calm, stay in the game and get opportunities," Atletico's London-born winger Ademola Lookman said.

Tudor, who was lambasted eight days ago after taking off goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after 17 minutes after two horrendous errors, was full of praise for his battling side.

"There was a really nice energy between the squad and the fans, so we want this sensation to continue," the Croat said.

At times as Tottenham steamed forward throughout a riveting contest, it looked as though it could be a night of glory against the club they beat in the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup final to become the first English club to win a major European trophy.

Randal Kolo Muani's textbook header from Mathys Tel's pinpoint cross on the half hour gave Tottenham a halftime lead and hope as the volume in the stadium was cranked up.

Fuelled with belief, Tottenham should have made it 2-0 as Tel was played in after a slick passing move but instead of squaring to an unmarked teammate he fired goalwards and Juan Musso made a vital save, one of many on the night.

When Atletico launched a lethal counter-attack shortly after halftime and Lookman squared for Alvarez to rifle a shot past Guglielmo Vicario, it should have settled them down.

But Tottenham refused to accept their fate and minutes later Archie Gray stole the ball in midfield and fed the impressive Simons who curled a superb right-footed effort past Musso.

Pedro Porro then brought a stunning save from Musso, who was in for first-choice keeper Jan Oblak.

Had that gone in, who knows what would have happened? But when Hancko made it 2-2 with a glancing header to make it 7-4 on aggregate in the 75th minute, Tottenham's energy levels finally began to fade.

There was still a sting in the tail though as Simons netted a penalty after being fouled in the area by Jose Maria Gimenez.

Tottenham piled forward in five minutes of stoppage time but they had left it too late and the damage had been done eight days before after a chaotic first-leg display.

Kane reaches 50 Champions League goals as Bayern seal last eight spot 

Forward Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich crushed Atalanta 4-1 on Wednesday, for an aggregate 10-2 demolition, to reach the Champions League last eight.

Kane became the first English player to reach 50 goals in the Champions League and he needed 66 matches, making him the third-fastest to reach the milestone.

The Bavarians, chasing a treble of titles, will next face Real Madrid in a mouth-watering quarter-final between two continental heavyweights who have been European champions a combined 21 times.

With Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig having recovered from last week's concussion just in time, Bayern were on the attack from the start despite carrying a 6-1 advantage from the first leg.

Kane opened his account with a 25th-minute penalty, which he had to retake after keeper Marco Sportiello had saved his first effort but had moved off the line too early.

The England captain, who is also the leading Bundesliga scorer, then added his 10th Champions League goal of the season nine minutes after the restart when he spectacularly shook off two players, turned and fired in for 2-0.

Teenager Lennart Karl bagged the third goal just two minutes later from a Luis Diaz assist, and Karl returned the favour with a pin-point cross for the Colombian to get on to the scoresheet as well in the 70th. Lazar Samardzic grabbed a late consolation goal for the Italians.