Europe's heavyweights await Champions League quarter-final fate
Goalkeeper Jan Oblak's heroics in Atletico Madrid's shoot-out win over last season's runners-up Inter Milan on Wednesday - after the Spanish club came from behind in their last-16 tie - followed Arsenal's triumph on penalties against Porto a day earlier.
Tuesday also saw Barcelona deliver a rousing performance to see off Napoli and make it through to the quarter-finals for the first time since their 8-2 annihilation at the hands of Bayern Munich in 2020 in Lisbon, at the height of the Covid crisis.
With record 14-time champions Real Madrid already having secured their last-eight berth, it means three Spanish clubs will be represented in the draw. They are joined by two English sides in Arsenal and holders Manchester City, as well as the German duo of Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, and French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The surprise is that none of Italy's representatives reached the next stage, a year after Inter pushed City close in the final having eliminated neighbours AC Milan in the last four.
Only three of last season's quarter-finalists - City, Real and Bayern - have made it back to the last eight this time, suggesting there is still a real degree of variety and unpredictability to the competition. Yet the recent last-16 ties also more than hinted at the ever-growing polarisation at the very top of European football.
FC Copenhagen could never really compete with Pep Guardiola's City, while getting the better of PSG proved a step too far for Real Sociedad and Bayern ultimately brushed aside Lazio despite losing the first leg away.
Only the mega-rich can now aspire to winning the Champions League, with four of the quarter-finalists posting revenue last season of over 800 million euros ($874m) according to this year's
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