The English Premier League will have two flag-carriers in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after Liverpool coasted to a 3-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in their knockout round second-leg match on Wednesday.
But another English Premier League side, Arsenal, will have to return to domestic matters after they failed to overcome a 3-1 away defeat to former winners Bayern Munich in Germany.
Bayern were joined in the last eight on Wednesday by PSV Eindhoven, who coasted past last year’s finalists Monaco 2-0.
The Juventus vs Real Madrid match went into extra time after the match finished 1-0 in favour of the Italians, who lost 1-0 to Real in Spain two weeks ago.
Liverpool will join Chelsea in the last eight after seeing off Bayer Leverkusen with ease in Germany.
Luis Garcia gave the Reds a two-goal half-time lead, scoring in the 28th and 32nd minutes virtually to assure qualification following their 3-1 first-leg victory at Anfield Road.
Czech striker Milan Baros scored a third for Rafael Benitez’s side in the 67th minute to leave Leverkusen’s fans gutted, despite Jacek Krzynowek scoring a late consolation goal two minutes from time.
France striker Thierry Henry scored in the 66th minute to reduce Arsenal’s deficit to the German league leaders. However, his strike, which gave them a 1-0 win at Highbury, was not enough and Arsene Wenger’s men went out on a 3-2 aggregate.
Chelsea had qualified on Tuesday after beating Barcelona 4-2, while Manchester United, the 1999 winners, were eliminated after a 1-0 away defeat to AC Milan.
Monaco, last year’s beaten finalists, were eliminated from the competition after a 2-0 defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven, who looked the superior side throughout the match as they coasted to a 3-0 aggregate.
The Dutch league leaders took a 1-0 first-leg lead into their second-leg match with Didier Deschamps’s men, and all but secured their quarterfinal ticket when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed home in the first half.
It left Monaco needing a minimum of three goals to rescue the match but a second-half goal by American striker Damarcus Beasley scuppered the hosts’ bid.
In the Juventus vs Real Madrid match, France striker David Trezeguet scored a late goal for the hosts in the second half to take the tie into extra time. — Sapa-AFP