APOEL Nicosia again ripped the Champions League record books to shreds and kicked off an island party by becoming the first Cypriot team to make the last eight of any European competition on Wednesday.
An under-strength Barcelona got their Champions League campaign off to a solid if unspectacular start when Gerard Pique's header secured a laboured 1-0 win at home to APOEL in their Group F opener on Wednesday.
Karim Benzema and Kaka scored late goals to give Real Madrid an emphatic 3-0 win at APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Barcelona and AC Milan qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League as expected with room to spare on Tuesday and surprise package APOEL Nicosia are poised to join them after continuing to punch above their weight.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
A summary of all the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
In the day's other fixtures, Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb took a big step towards the next stage with a 2-0 win at Georgians Saburtalo and Copenhagen won at Welsh side The New Saints by the same score.
Arsenal's young guns continued to shine as they dismantled Standard Liege 4-0 on a hectic night of Europa League action that produced a full house of Spanish victories on Thursday. A summary of the matches.
Praise comes in from all quarters as Argentine breaks Raul's Champions League record.
Celtic, who won Europe's premier club competition in 1967, set up a clash with Romanians Cluj in the next stage after a 2-0 win at Nomme Kalju completed a 7-0 aggregate rout of the Estonian champions.
Holders Real Madrid will start their attempt to win a record third straight Champions League title in a group with Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Apoel Nicosia after Thursday's draw.
Azeri champions Qarabag took a big step towards the playoff round with a 2-1 win at Cypriot side APOEL but Dinamo Zagreb left their progress hanging in the balance after the Croats played out a 1-1 home draw against Hungary's Ferencvaros.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has failed to recover from a calf strain and will miss Tuesday's Champions League Group F match at APOEL Nicosia.
Bayern Munich carved out a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday thanks to Thomas Mueller's first-half penalty in the strangely muted atmosphere of a cold, damp and deserted Khimki Arena.
Manchester United, winners of the competition in 2017, will have a lot of travelling to do to Eastern Europe after being drawn alongside Kazakhstan side Astana, Serbia's Partizan Belgrade and Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
Lionel Messi set a new Champions League scoring record with a hat-trick and Luis Suarez netted his first in Barcelona colours as the Spaniards comprehensively beat APOEL Nicosia 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The reigning Ballon d'or winner gave a perfect start to his side's new campaign by scoring twice in Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Cypriot visitors APOEL in the opening match.
Cristiano Ronaldo is eager to return to action as he prepares for his first start of the season when Real Madrid begin their Champions League defence on Wednesday against APOEL Nicosia, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Tuesday.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
Manchester City's all-conquering season reached new peaks as Sergio Aguero became the club's all-time top scorer with a decisive goal in a thrilling 4-2 victory at Napoli that put them into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
Malaga gave themselves an excellent chance of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time by beating Panathinaikos 2-0 at home in the first leg of their playoff on Wednesday.
A touch of romance has returned to the Champions League quarter-finals with seven countries, including Cyprus, represented in this week's first legs with AC Milan-Barcelona topping the bill.
Titleholders Barcelona were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
Klopp has led Liverpool to back-to-back Champions League finals but is adamant that their impressive recent track record does not make them the title favourites.
Chelsea nervously beat Benfica 2-1 in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory and set up a semi-final with holders Barcelona later this month. Real Madrid completed an 8-2 aggregate, thrashing of APOEL Nicosia, in the night's other match.
Real Madrid and Chelsea look set to join Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals when they complete their last eight ties at home to APOEL Nicosia and Benfica respetively on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi, at his breathtaking best, tore Bayer Leverkusen apart with a record five-goal Champions League haul on Wednesday as Barcelona swept into the quarter-finals 7-1 on the night and 10-2 on aggregate. The Argentine World Player of the Year became the first player to score five in a Champions League match.
images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Two goals by Alexis Sanchez -- his first in the Champions League -- led Barcelona to a 3-1 first-leg win at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to put the holders in the driving seat in their round of 16 tie.
One of the most disappointing aspects of Barcelona's failure to win major silverware last season was the lack of on-field chemistry between Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Arjen Robben set up the first goal and scored a superb second to give Bayern Munich a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Zurich in the first leg of their Champions League playoff on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored twice to equal Raul's Champions League scoring record as Barcelona secured their place in the knockout stages by beating 10-man Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 on Wednesday.
Another Lionel Messi hat-trick lit up the Champions League yet again as Barcelona and AC Milan qualified for the last 16 with time to spare on Tuesday although it is APOEL Nicosia who are fast becoming the talk of the group stages.
Liverpool scored three goals in 12 dramatic first-half minutes, two of them from Emre Can, on their way to a hugely entertaining 4-2 win over Hoffenheim which took them back to the Champions League group stage after a two-season absence on Wednesday.
Kazakhstan's Astana fought back to beat a youthful Manchester United side 2-1 at home, Arsenal's woes continued as Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada scored twice to secure a 2-1 win.
Four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam were knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round on Tuesday after a dramatic 3-2 defeat at home to unsung Rapid Vienna.
Didier Drogba scored twice on his return from a three-match European suspension as Chelsea drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid to seal their place in the knock-out round of the Champions League on Tuesday. They were joined in the last 16 by Manchester United, Porto and Girondins Bordeaux, although four-time European champions Bayern Munich are on the brink of elimination after losing at home to the French champions.
Arsenal eased into the group stages of the Champions League on Wednesday by outclassing Celtic 3-1 to enter Thursday's draw where they will be joined by Fiorentina, VfB Stuttgart, Olympiakos and APOEL Nicosia.
The fixtures for the group stages in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, which kicks-off on Wednesday.
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