Real Madrid confirmed their places in the last four of the Champions League with minimal fuss on Wednesday, beating a defiant APOEL Nicosia 5-2 at the Bernabeu to make it 8-2 on aggregate and set up a huge semifinal clash against German giants Bayern Munich. APOEL on the other hand finally went out of the competition, but left with their heads held high and their reputations majorly enhanced. Cristiano Ronaldo was again in the thick of the action, bagging two goals, while Kaka, Jose Callejon and Angel di Maria also got on the scoresheet to stretch Real's unbeaten run to 17 games. For the visitors, Gustavo Manduca scored an impressive goal with Estaban Solari adding their second from the penalty spot late in the game.

Jose Mourinho was expected to make wholesale changes to the side that beat APOEL 3-0 in Cyprus, but while there were five changes to the Portuguese manager's starting eleven from that day, the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo still made starts for the hosts. The trio of Mesut Ozil, Xabi Alonso, and Karim Benzema were all given a rest as Estaban Granero and Hamit Altintop got rare starts in midfield, while Brazil international Kaka and Nuri Sahin also made the lineup. Raphael Varane came into the side to partner Pepe at centre-half, thereby allowing Sergio Ramos to shift into his preferred fullback role on the right side of defence, with Marcelo coming into the side on the other flank.

Chelsea made it through to their 6th Champions League semi-final in nine seasons after beating their quarter-final opponents Benfica 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. The Blues carried a slender one goal lead from the 1st leg in Lisbon and they soon doubled that advantage as Frank Lampard scored from the penalty spot on 20 minutes. Benfica were then reduced to 10-men in the closing stages of the 1st half after Maxi Pereira picked up his 2nd yellow card of the night. The Portuguese giants were the better side though, even after going a man down, as they passed the ball better and had greater attacking intent.

They setup a grandstand finish by scoring in the 85th minute as Javi Garcia headed-in a corner to level the score on the night. But Chelsea absorbed the late pressure before adding a 2nd in injury time through Raul Meireles to end Benfica's challenge and book a date with the mighty Barcelona in the semi-finals.

As they did in the first leg, Bayern Munich made light work of Marseille at the Allianz Arena to claim a 2-0 win on the night thanks to a first half brace from Ivica Olic, mirroring their scoreline from the reverse leg in France to earn a place in the last four of the Champions League. The victory, rather straightforward in its coming, extended the German outift's aggregate advantage to four goals, helping Jupp Heynckes' side ease into the semifinals and quite possibly earn a possible lip-smacking glamour tie against nine-time competition champions Real Madrid, who currently hold a sturdy 3-0 lead over APOEL Nicosia going into Wednesday's second leg at the Bernabeu.

With a 2-0 lead already in their hands, Bayern chose to leave out two of their in-form stars, as Mario Gomes made way for Ivica Olic upfront while Arjen Robben was also given a rest by manager Jupp Heynckes. In came Anatoliy Tymoschuk, with Luis Gustavo and Toni Kroos pulling the strings in midfield in place of the suspended Bastien Schweinsteiger. The backline however remained largely unchanged, as Jerome Boateng partnered Holger Badstuber at centre-half, with David Alaba and Philip Lahm flanking them.

Reigning European champions Barcelona made light work of Italian giants AC Milan as they secured a comfortable 3-1 win at home to book a place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. After a goalless first leg, the Catalans were banking on the home tie to see them through and Lionel Messi stepped up to the task at the Camp Nou as he scored a brace to send Milan crashing out of the competition. The entire Barcelona team played well, although the performances of the Messi and Cesc Fabregas were a particular highlight.

The first goal arrived in the 11^th minute as Messi was fouled inside the box by Luca Antonini and the Argentine converted the penalty with ease. Milan were being overrun by the Spaniards, but they somehow managed to equalise in the 32^nd minute with Antonio Nocerino scoring the goal and former Barca man Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging the assist. Barcelona though got themselves another penalty as Alessandro Nesta held Sergio Busquets’ shirt inside the box and Messi got his second of the night from the spot.

The first leg of the quarterfinals of the Europa league saw 8 teams go head to head, with each of them looking to secure an early advantage that would help them book a place in the final four. Giant killers Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon both secured wins by defeating Schalke and Metalist Kharkiv respectively. Valencia meanwhile succumbed to AZ Alkmaar and Atletico Madrid edged German outfit Hannover at home.

Schalke 2-4 Athletic Bilbao (Llorente 20’, Raul 22’, Raul 60’, Llorente 73’, Marcos 81’, Muniain 90’)

The match between German giants Schalke and Athletic Bilbao was widely expected to be an evenly fought encounter, although the Spanish visitors secured a heavy away win with the scoreline reading 2-4 courtesy of a startling late comeback. Fernando Llorente, who was instrumental in knocking Manchester United out of the competition, opened the scoring after 20 minutes as he converted from close range after Timo Hildebrand failed to hold on to Markel Susaeta’s shot.

The Champions League quarter-final 1st leg between AC Milan and Barcelona failed to produce goals as the two European giants played out a 0-0 draw at the San Siro. A cracking first half saw both sides play attractive football as numerous chances were created. Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed the best opportunities of the game as the striking pair failed to convert clear-cut chances. Lionel Messi was busy as ever, sprinting all across the front-line and he, along with Xavi, tested Christian Abbiati in the Milan goal. A moment of controversy saw the referee fail to award a penalty after Alexis Sanchez looked to have been brought down by Abbiati.

The 2nd period was a complete contrast as the dodgy pitch played its part in the game deteriorating. It was a 45 minutes bereft of goal-mouth until the closing minutes when Messi almost stole a winner, only to be denied by Abbiati. The draw keeps the tie on a knife-edge as Milan will go through to the semi-finals with a scored draw in the 2nd leg while Barcelona need a clear-cut victory