Barcelona hits seven as Champions League quarterfinal line-up takes shape

Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals, with Barcelona scoring seven, Liverpool overturning a deficit and Bayern cruising, setting up high-profile clashes including Bayern versus Real Madrid

London: Barcelona scored seven and Liverpool revived its season with four goals to turn tight Champions League games on Wednesday into big wins, sending them to the quarterfinals.

Atletico Madrid survived a pulsating Tottenham fightback to make it Spain 3, England 0 in round-of-16 clashes this week.

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Bayern Munich had it easiest of all, pushing aside Atalanta 4-1 on Wednesday and 10-2 on aggregate to set up a blockbuster quarterfinal against Real Madrid.

Another Champions League goals rush was sparked by Barcelona tearing apart Newcastle in the second half of a thrilling 7-2 win after the teams went toe-to-toe before the break.

Tied 1-1 after the first leg in Newcastle, Barcelona surged to victory after Lamine Yamal’s momentum-shifting penalty kick in first-half stoppage time made the score 3-2.

Robert Lewandowski then scored twice, Fermin Lopez finished a slick move and Raphinha got his second goal as Newcastle’s defence collapsed.

Liverpool ultimately eased to a 4-0 win over Galatasaray at Anfield, overturning a one-goal loss in Istanbul, despite Mohamed Salah missing a penalty in first-half stoppage time when the score was 1-0.

Still, Salah was key to Liverpool’s strong second half with two assists, for Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch, and then a trademark goal in a performance that could restart an erratic season for the English champions.

“From start to finish, we played the game I was hoping for, the players were hoping for and the fans were hoping for,” said Liverpool coach Arne Slot, who has been under growing pressure.

Tottenham showed real character after an embarrassing 5-2 loss in Madrid last week but were resisted by Atletico, despite twice levelling the score in Wednesday’s second leg. Xavi Simons’ late penalty at least gave Tottenham a 3-2 win on the night.

Tottenham and Newcastle joined Manchester City, ousted by Real Madrid on Tuesday 5-1 on aggregate, as Premier League teams eliminated by La Liga’s best.

England had a record six teams in the competition and all reached the round of 16, but only Arsenal and Liverpool advanced. Chelsea was eliminated on Tuesday by defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.

In Munich, fit-again Bayern talisman Harry Kane scored twice, the second an impressive rising shot after deft footwork, against Atalanta to end Italy’s challenge in this Champions League edition.

Goals galore for Barcelona

Barcelona is scoring for fun at Camp Nou this year. It is now eight games at home in the Champions League, La Liga or Copa del Rey and Barcelona has won all eight, getting at least three goals each time.

Seven against Newcastle was the best yet for coach Hansi Flick’s team, started by Raphinha’s sixth-minute shot, finishing a move where two Newcastle defenders slipped to the turf, then 18-year-old Marc Bernal found space alone in the goalmouth in the 18th minute.

Newcastle soon levelled each time with rare goals from Anthony Elanga. The Sweden winger was goalless in 35 previous games this season in the Premier League or Champions League, yet struck twice in a 13-minute spell.

Barcelona got a fast start to the second half when Lopez ran clear on to slick passes from Gerard Martin to Raphinha to score with a well-placed shot and Newcastle’s chance was gone.

“I saw new, improved confidence in that second-half performance,” Flick said.

Quarterfinals pairings

Real Madrid will play Bayern Munich, in a clash of 15-time and six-time European champions. They still have never met in the final across 71 years of the European Cup and Champions League.

“Every club would live for these games,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. “As a neutral, I would watch it.”

Liverpool face defending champion PSG with the first leg at Parc des Princes. It is a rematch of their thrilling round-of-16 games last season that Slot reminded on Wednesday: “We were the only team that brought them to extra time and penalties.”

The second leg at Anfield should be on Tuesday, April 14. Liverpool has not played on April 15 since the Hillsborough Stadium disaster on that date in 1989.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid meet again twice just weeks after they played a two-leg domestic cup semifinal. Then, Atletico won 4-0 at home and lost 3-0 at Camp Nou to reach the Copa del Rey final.

Days before the Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium on April 7 or 8, they are due to play there yet again in La Liga.

Tuesday’s games confirmed Arsenal, the last unbeaten team in the competition, will face Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese champion, which rallied to eliminate Bodo/Glimt with a 5-0 win on Tuesday, last played at this stage in 1983.

Europa League

In a good week for home-team comebacks in Portugal, Braga beat Ferencvaros 4-0 on Wednesday to overturn a 2-0 loss from the first leg in Hungary of their round-of-16 clash.

Braga will face either Panathinaikos or Real Betis in the quarterfinals. All other round-of-16 pairings meet on Thursday.