There were some big casualties in the last-16 stage of the Champions League, with Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Manchester United among those to be eliminated from the competition.
Bayern Munich were the standout team in the second legs, recording a 7-1 win over Red Bull Salzburg at Allianz Arena on March 8 to record an 8-2 aggregate success.
On the same night, Inter recorded a 1-0 win at Liverpool, but the Premier League giants progressed to the final eight courtesy of a 2-1 success, with their victory at San Siro in the first leg proving key.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, came from two goals behind in the tie against PSG to record a 3-2 aggregate success, with Karim Benzema sending the capital giants into the quarter-finals with a brilliant hat-trick.
Manchester City also progressed courtesy of a goalless draw at home to Sporting Lisbon, with the Citizens running out 5-0 winners in the tie due to their stunning performance in the first leg in Portugal.
On Tuesday, Benfica beat Ajax 1-0 in the second leg of their last-16 tie to secure a 3-2 aggregate success, while Atletico won 1-0 at Man United to record a 2-1 aggregate victory, with the 20-time English champions going crashing out of the competition.
Chelsea's 2-1 victory at Lille on Wednesday saw them run out 4-1 winners in the tie, but arguably the standout result of the round came in Italy, where Villarreal beat Juventus 3-0 in the second leg of their last-16 clash to record a 4-1 aggregate victory, so there are three Spanish sides in the quarter-finals.
Here, Sports Mole selects its Champions League Team of the Round, with the second legs of the last-16 ties in Europe's premier competition now complete.
DEFENCE
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The goalkeeping spot in the XI is awarded to Atletico's Jan Oblak, who was outstanding in his team's 1-0 win at Man United on Tuesday night. The 29-year-old has not been at his best this term, but he made an outstanding save to deny Anthony Elanga in the first half, and his overall performance was excellent, as he continued to claim high balls under pressure; it was a dominant display from the Slovenia international.
There are three centre-backs in this side, and Pau Torres has been moved out to right-back for the purposes of the XI, as he simply had to be included, with the Spain international putting in an outstanding performance against Juventus. Torres was on the scoresheet in Turin, while he made four tackles during a fine display.
Jose Gimenez is also selected due to his excellent performance for Atletico at Old Trafford; the centre-back was aerially dominant, with Cristiano Ronaldo finding it tough against the Uruguay international, and the 27-year-old played a leading role in his side booking their spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Sebastian Coates, meanwhile, was brilliant in Sporting's 0-0 draw with Man City, making five tackles and boasting a 95% pass success rate from the middle of the defence.
At left-back, there had to be a spot for Benfica's Alex Grimaldo, who was the star man in his side's 1-0 win at Ajax. The 26-year-old boasted a pass success rate of 88%, while he won three aerial duels and made three tackles during a brilliant all-round display, with Ajax finding it difficult to get the better of him.
MIDFIELD
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There simply had to be a spot in this particular XI for Luka Modric, who turned back the clock with a sensational performance against PSG at Bernabeu. Despite being 36 years old, he was the player driving Los Blancos forward throughout the 90 minutes and provided the assist for Benzema's second of the night. It was an outstanding display from the Croatian, who will go down as one of the all-time midfield greats.
Dani Parejo also deserves a spot in the side due to his fine display in Villarreal's 3-0 win at Juventus; the Spaniard had a pass success rate of 87% in Turin, while he made two key tackles during the clash with the Old Lady. Villarreal's use of the ball was particularly impressive in Italy, and Parejo was a key contributor to the Spanish outfit recording a famous Champions League win.
There are also two Bayern players in midfield, with Leroy Sane and Thomas Muller running riot in their side's 7-1 win over Salzburg in the second leg of their last-16 tie. Sane managed two assists and a goal, while Muller netted a brace during an outstanding performance. Robert Lewandowski was the star player for Bayern, but both Sane and Muller were not far behind due to their wonderful midfield displays in Munich.
ATTACK
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In a 4-4-2 formation, there were only ever two candidates to start as the strikers in this particular side, with Benzema and Lewandowski putting in sensational performances for their respective sides.
Lewandowski scored three times in the opening 23 minutes against Salzburg to take the tie away from the Austrian club, before turning provider for Sane to register in the 85th minute. The Poland international had eight shots in total, while he completed 18 of his 22 passes during a faultless performance at the tip of the attack.
Benzema, meanwhile, was arguably the standout player in the round due to his excellent treble against PSG. Real Madrid looked down and out when Kylian Mbappe sent the French outfit two goals ahead in the tie, but Benzema had other ideas, scoring three excellent goals during a famous performance, and the 34-year-old might well be the best centre-forward in world football at this moment in time.
SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE ROUND
Sports Mole's Champions League team of the round (4-4-2): Oblak; Torres, Gimenez, Coates, Grimaldo; Sane, Parejo, Modric, Muller; Lewandowski, Benzema
Matt Law
