Two English clubs through, two to go.

Sublime Liverpool trounce Real Madrid whilst Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea overturn Juventus in a far closer encounter in Turin.

Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, in fact the whole Liverpool team delivered a scintillating performance against 9 times Champions Real Madrid. Liverpool are safely through to the last 8 of the Champions League again and on this display none of the remaining 7 teams will want to draw them a week on Friday when the draw is made.

It was the Spaniard Fernando Torres, for so long the symbol of Real’s fierce rivals Atletico Madrid, who returned from an ankle injury sustained in the first leg in Madrid, that spearheaded a Liverpool display that once again re-inforced their credentials in Europe’s elite competition. Why Benitez and his team don’t or can’t perform in their domestic league like they did last night still, and do consistently in Europe, remains one of football’s imponderables.

Torres put Liverpool ahead after 16 minutes when he turned in Dirk Kuyt’s cross from close range, although Real complained bitterly that defender Pepe had been fouled in the build up. He hadn’t, it was just awful defending. However, even by that time, if it had not been for the brilliance of Casillas in the Real goal, the game would have already done done and dusted.

It only got worse for Real 12 minutes laster when Gerrard scored Liverpool’s second from the penalty spot. Real felt the penalty was harshly awarded after former Man Utd defender Gabriel Heinze had been penalised for handball. And they had a point. The ball clearly hit the Argentine on the shoulder. However, the brutal truth for Real was that they were outclassed, and a 2 - 0 lead at half-time was less than Liverpool’s dominance deserved.

Real would surely have wanted to come out in the second half and stem the tide against them but with Liverpool underlining their vast superiority it only took 2 minutes for Gerrard to slam home the third from Ryan Babel’s cross from the left. It was yet another sublime finish from the Liverpool captain in front of the Kop. The game was well and truly over now.

Real did manage to see more of the ball after Liverpool, not surprisingly, took their foot off the gas a little in the second half. However, despite an excellent freekick from Sneijder it has to be said they did very little with the ball and Liverpool’s defence looked comfortable without ever having to hit the panic button.

Basically, it says a lot to me that my Man of The Match was a goalkeeper who had conceded 4 goals! Without Casillas, who left the pitch at the final whistle in tears, the score could, would have been, even more humiliating for this once great European giant. He and all the Real players and supporters must have been able to hear the laughter all the way from Barcelona.

If this had been a team that Juande Ramos had built and not inherited a few months ago, you would have to conclude that he would no longer be Real Madrid manager this morning. Conversely this display by Liverpool will only have cemented Real’s desire to lure Benitez to back to the Beranbeu. Benitiz has never openly said that he does not want to return to Madrid just yet, but the longer his contract discussions drag on to the backdrop of uncertainty in the Anfield boardroom, the unsettling rumours will continue.

Meanwhile over in Turin Chelsea also booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League however in contrast to Liverpool this was a severe test from Juventus who had been reduced to ten men after Chiellini had been sent off on 71 minutes for two bookable offences.

It was Juventus who dominated the game from the off and were rewarded when David Trezeguet played in Vincenzo Iaquinta to score and send the home fans wild.

However this new Chelsea under Guus Hiddink have a new steel and fight in them they never seemed to have possessed under Scolari and they should have drawn level when idier Drogba’s free-kick had gone over the line before Buffon dragged it back. It was a clear goal but Chelsea didn’t let it upset them and a little later the returning Michael Essien bundled in from a yard. All square, game on!

After Juventus had Chiellini sent off, Alessandro del Piero scored from the spot after Juliano Belletti handled, but it was another Drogba strike late in that settled it Chelsea’s way.

If you were being hyper critical, you might say it was perhaps a little more than Chelsea deserved from what was a disappointing display, especially in the first half, but they improved sufficiently after the break and Guus Hiddink will be delighted that they battled hard and made it through. The Chelsea managed by Scolari would have left Turin having been dumped out of the competition.

It is just me or can anyone else see the beginnings of an amazing story here? Hiddink has that “air” about him. He’s come into Chelsea and within weeks turned the side Scolari had into something almost unrecognizable. They are playing as a team once again, fighting for each other with a unity never seen under the Brazilian. Players with big egos like Ballack, who you sense by the time Scolari left wouldn’t have given him the time of day, are now coming out publicly declaring their wish that Hiddink remain after the end of the season. I don’t know about you but I see Chelsea winning a fairytale FA Cup and Champions League Cup Double. Stranger things have happened in football!

Even at this early stage in Hiddink’s apparently brief stay at Stamford Bridge, you can bet they are some serious discussions and negotiations going on between Ambramovich and the Russian Football Federation to secure the Dutchman’s services full time in west London.

In the other two games last night, Bayern Munich totally destroyed Sporting Lisbon, again, and in beating them 7 - 1 on the night, posting the highest ever aggregate win of 12 - 1 over the two legs. Ouch!

Finally, Villarreal came from behind to beat Panathinaikos 1 - 2 on the night and 2 - 3 on aggregate.

I’m sure you’ll need no reminding that tonight see the second installment of Fergie v The Special One at Old Trafford. Ferguson is of course saying before the match that his poor record against Jose Mourinho is ample evidence Manchester United are not certain to reach the Champions League last eight. Fergie has just one win against Mourinho in 13 games, a remarkable statistic really. No other manager in the modern game has so dominated the Scot and with a 0 - 0 draw from the first leg, Utd will be wary of the Italians ability to score that crucial away goal. It’s going to be worth watching that’s for sure.

Finally, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says his side will not sit back on their 1-0 first-leg lead when they travel to Roma for tonight’s return second leg. Arsenal hold a slender advantage over the Italians thanks to Robin van Persie’s penalty at the Emirates Stadium two weeks ago.

So will there be four English teams in the Quarter Finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League tomorrow morning? There’s only one way to find out!

Cheers

Rik

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