UCL

The milestone was officially passed on Tuesday thanks to Real's thrilling fightback against Chelsea. The former midfielder also got the chance to show he has not lost his touch with a nifty bit of ball control on the sidelines during the game.

That was game, set and match for Villarreal and Emery had pulled off another tactical victory against a highly-rated coach. Emery, who lasted less than two seasons as Arsenal coach, has proven himself to be a coach of European pedigree by winning four Europa Leagues - three with Sevilla and one with Villarreal. Can he add a Champions League to his record this season? The odds are against him, but time and again, Villarreal have shown us that it's a risky business betting against them, no matter how illustrious their opponents happen to be.

This is the first major test for Oliver Kahn since he was elevated to the position of CEO. Bayern are so associated with strength and continuity off the pitch that it has been easy for the rest of Europe not to notice the profound changes in the club’s boardroom. Kahn will be expected to act decisively to move on from the disappointment – although Nagelsmann, a long-term project for the club, is likely to be safe. As Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Philipp Selldorf pointed out on Wednesday, the former powerbrokers Uli Hoeness, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge “will be listening carefully” to Kahn’s forthcoming public statement.

They will not get the credit they deserve for this performance, that is a pity. It will go down as a defeat when on the night Chelsea won; it will go down as a victory by a margin of one, when on 90 minutes Chelsea led by two, which would have been a first for an English team in the Bernabeu.

Samuel Chukwueze snatched a dramatic 88th-minute equaliser to send Villarreal through to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

But it was the performance of a man who did not even come off the bench in the first leg against Madrid - ultimately snubbed in favour of Lukaku and his subsequent poor showing - who demonstrated the Blues' potentially greatest asset in the Spanish capital.

Ancelotti is independent. He has charm, humour and a certain nonchalance. He manages to keep his distance. He would often sit in a restaurant with his family for an hour and a half after the final whistle and eat tortellini. Growing up as the son of farmers in Reggiolo in northern Italy, Ancelotti was used to helping out on the farm as a youngster. He embodies what is possible in football. You can come from the bottom to the top and shine on a big stage. Yet he never takes himself too seriously.

This might one day be looked back on as another missed opportunity, a one-off that's never coming back. Like they floored the giant but didn't finish him off, and you know that big guy's getting up again. But whatever happens, they will always have this, the kind of implausible moment that football is made of, the whole point of the whole thing, the reason Pau Torres stayed for another season, to live this in his town, with his team. "Yes, we can!" the fans chanted at the end of a night where they were closer to a Champions League semifinal than at any time since he had sat where they were now, experiencing something none of them ever imagined.

And yet in Chelsea's biggest game of the current campaign, their quarter-final first leg against Madrid, Kante was substituted at half-time. For the first time in his Chelsea career, the 31-year-old was taken off before the start of the second period for a reason other than injury.

As Real's 30-something midfielder trio Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro all began to tire, Chelsea's perseverance created several promising positions - Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, baited throughout on his return to Stamford Bridge, made one excellent save from Azpilicueta - but otherwise, there was a lack of quality in front of goal which Tuchel will recognize all too well. Something has to change or their Champions League aspirations will be the next casualty.

Clubs the size of Real Madrid do not tend to have bogey teams because they beat almost everybody almost all of the time – but they had never beaten Chelsea, in five previous meetings. That changed on Wednesday night. One imagines a lot may change in the coming years, with Chelsea on the rebound from calamities personal and public.

Patience: this is what Atlético test. Guardiola has to ensure his cracking of cool in the opener is a one-off because Simeone’s men may target his and his side’s calm again from the first whistle on Wednesday.

For nearly 70 minutes, Atletico Madrid put on a Diego Simeone master class at the Etihad Stadium. And then Phil Foden came on.

Phil Foden set up Kevin De Bruyne for a crucial goal as Manchester City beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium.

A late goal from Luis Diaz put Liverpool in a commanding position to reach the last four of the Champions League after a 3-1 win over Benfica in their quarterfinal first leg at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz on Tuesday.

The biggest obstacle to Pep Guardiola winning another Champions League, it is widely accepted, is Pep Guardiola. There cannot be a Manchester City knockout tie in the Champions League without talk of his tendency to overthink.

For the squad itself, the players will have to work hard and redouble their efforts to rekindle the bond with fans. The best they can do this season and that is trying to be the Ligue 1 title - PSG are 15 points clear of second-place Marseille with 10 games remaining - given that they were also knocked out of the Coupe de France in the last-16 by Nice at the end of January. (Interestingly, one who doesn't get much of their frustration is manager Mauricio Pochettino: the fans never felt he really settled in Paris or that he really wanted to be there, especially with the constant links to Manchester United this season. But they also acknowledge that this is a hard dressing room/club to manage.)

Villarreal beat Juventus 3-0 in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday to reach the quartetrfinals with a 4-1 victory on aggregate.

Christian Pulisic scored as Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory away to Lille on Wednesday to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Atletico were there for the taking, with Simeone's team some way short of the sides that reached the Champions League final in 2014 and 2016; but once they went ahead, their victory was never in doubt because United, once again, stuck to their miserable script.