A truly memorable night of Champions League action aroused the senses of football addicts all over the world last night as the 2^nd legs of the quarter-finals were filled with drama. We first head to Dortmund, where Borussia knocked out Malaga to book a place in the semi-finals with an improbable 3-2 victory. Malaga were 2-1 ahead with eight minutes to go but the German side scored two injury-time goals to break the hearts of Malaga, in controversial circumstances it must said as Felipe Santana’s winner should have been ruled out for offside. Over in Turkey, Galatasaray defeated Real Madrid 3-2 on the night but the two away goals from Cristiano Ronaldo’s boot were enough to help Madrid over the line with a 5-3 aggregate victory.

Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Malaga (Agg 3-2)

The match-up of the dark horses in the tournament didn’t disappoint as the 2^nd leg between Dortmund and Malaga oozed of drama. A 0-0 1^st leg result meant that Malaga had the upper hand and they further strengthened their grip on the tie when they scored 1^st through Joaquin in the 25^th minute, the winger cutting in from the right to hit the sweet spot with his left-foot. The Dortmund equalizer just before half-time was pure class as the front three of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski combined for a silky goal, finished off by the Polish striker from close range after he evaded keeper Willy Caballero with a cheeky dink.

The 2^nd night of Champions League quarter-final action lacked the intensity of Tuesday night’s encounters as Real Madrid waltzed past Galatasaray in a one-sided encounter while Borussia Dortmund’s profligate finishing cost them a victory at Malaga. Both ties took place in Spain, with the encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu comfortably going Madrid’s way 3-0 as Galatasaray crumbled on the big stage. Over in Malaga, Dortmund were much the better team but Jurgen Klopp’s young stars lacked the clinical touch to put away their chances and could only come away with a 0-0.

Real Madrid 3-0 Galatasaray

Turkish sides had been a thorn in Madrid’s flesh in the past but not last night as Jose Mourinho’s men steamrolled past Galatasaray to take a huge step into the semi-finals. The scoring on the night was opened by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo as he beautifully dinked the ball over Fernando Muslera on the left-channel after running onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Mesut Ozil on 9 minutes. After a few chances for Gala courtesy of Didier Drogba, Madrid decided to go for the kill and grabbed a 2^nd goal just before the half-hour mark through Karim Benzema.

Michael Essien played in a deep cross from the right which evaded all the Gala defenders and landed plump on the feet of Benzema, who took a touch before slotting the ball across goal. The visitors were poor in their approach play and on the rare occasions that they did break open Madrid’s defence, their shooting let them down as highlighted by Emmanuel Eboue’s strike straight at Diego Lopez from a great position on the stroke of half-time.

The adrenaline rush that is the Champions League knockout stage returned to provide a timely boost to football addicts across the globe as four of the biggest names in Europe strutted out in the Quarter-finals last night. At Paris, Barcelona were pegged back to a 2-2 draw in the 1^st leg by PSG, who twice came from behind to frustrate the Catalan giants. Over in Munich, Bayern were far too good for Italian Champions Juventus as they sealed a worthy 2-0 victory.

PSG 2-2 Barcelona

The millions splashed by Paris St.Germain was put to the ultimate test last night as they hosted the mighty Barcelona in the 1^st leg of their quarter-final tie. The home side showed great belief in the opening stages as they carved out plenty of chances, with Ezequiel Lavezzi striking the post, Javier Pastore trying his luck form distance and Zlatan Ibrahimovic forcing Victor Valdes into a low save.

The three English clubs still battling for the UEFA Europa League avoided each other in the quarter-final draw held at Nyon today. Current Champions League holders Chelsea were the face name out of the pot and the Roman Abramovich's English giants earned a date with the only Russian side left in the competition in Rubin Kazan. Chelsea will be at home for the first leg, and while the Europa League is not their first priority, one can expect them to give the Russian side a good game.

Tottenham Hotspur, who edged Italian giants Internazionale on away goals last night, face relatively easier opposition in Swiss Champions FC Basel. Turkish giants Fenerbahce will take on Italian side Lazio, while Portuguese giants Benfica square off against a success hungry and highly motivated Newcastle United side.

Is there such a things as too many El Clasicos? Well, the two giants of Spanish football Barcelona and Real Madrid were kept away from each other in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in a nerve-wracking 6 minute draw ceremony held in Nyon today.

The blockbuster tie of the quarter-finals will see Arsenal conquerors and runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich play host to the reigning Italian champions Juventus, who crushed Celtic in the round of 16. Bayern, squeezed past Arsenal on away goals on Wednesday night, and will host Juventus in the first leg of the quarter-finals in the first week of April.

Spanish champions Real Madrid will also get the opportunity to play hosts in the first leg, as Jose Mourinho's team welcomes two of his former players in Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba, formerly of Internazionale and Chelsea respectively. The tie will also see a straight shootout between two of the favourites for the golden boot as Burak Yilmaz takes on the considerably more high profile Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona will be on their way to Paris for the first leg of their tie as they will face off against their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and perhaps the considerably less threatening Maxwell in the quarter-finals. PSG will have their work cut out for them, and England's lone survivor in the competition David Beckham will hope to keep the nation's flag flying as he attempts a dream return to Wembley for the 2013 Champions League final.

The last of the four quarter-finals sees Spanish upstarts Malaga host German champions Borussia Dortmund in what is no doubt the lowest profile tie of the round.

Quarter-final Draw

Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid vs Galatasaray

Paris St. Germain vs Barcelona

Bayern Munich vs Juventus

Matches take place on 2/3 April and 9/10 April.

The Champions League might be free of English challengers but the Europa League still has three contenders from the Isles in the quarter-final pot after Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle all came through their last-16 ties last night. Tottenham, carrying a 3-0 1^st leg lead, provided the most dramatic scenes on the night as they lost 4-1 to Inter Milan at the San Siro but sneaked through on away goals. Chelsea overturned their 1^st leg defeat to Steaua Bucharest by beating the Romanians 3-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, Newcastle sneaked past Anzhi 1-0 thanks to a dramatic late goal from Papiss Cisse. The other giants to make it through to the last-eight were Benfica, Fenerbahce, Lazio, Basel and Rubin Kazan.

Inter Milan 4-1 Tottenham (4-4 Agg, Spurs through on away goals)

Andre Villas-Boas promised that Spurs wouldn’t be complacent against Inter despite their sizeable 1^st leg lead but the visitors found themselves on the receiving end of a rampant Inter, who deservedly took the lead through Antonio Cassano’s close range header on 26 minutes. A multitude of chances later, Inter were 2-0 ahead seven minutes into the 2^nd half as Cassano setup Rodrigo Palacio for a fine curler past Bran Friedel. William Gallas was having an awful night in defence and he capped off a poor performance by netting an own goal from Cassano’s free-kick on 75 minutes, which took the game into extra-time.