The First Knockout Stage of Europe's biggest club competition has come to a close, and now we are left with eight of the very biggest teams that the continent has to offer. With the teams coming from five different countries (each of the Big 5 of England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France), there will be no greater barometer than these remaining rounds to see which team deserves to hoist the trophy in Cardiff.


Those eight teams today found out who they would be facing in their respective two-legged aggregate ties, and some of the matchups in particular look very enticing. Undoubtedly, the draw of the round is that of defending champions Manchester United against Borussia Dortmund. United are on a high after just beating Paris St.-Germain in the last round but will have to do very, very well to displace the likes of Marco Reus's Borussia Dortmund who magnificently stunned FC Barcelona in the last round.

France's lone representative, Olympique de Marseille, have also been at the center of some shocking results. After somehow thrashing Chelsea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge, the Blues came back with a vengeful 3-1 win but couldn't do enough. L'OM will have to face a very similar test in this round against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City, still in search of their first ever UEFA Champions League victory.

On the other side of the coin, Real Madrid continue to hunt in vain for La Decima. Having already won the prestigious trophy nine times, the historic Spanish side have been fighting tooth and nail for the magical tenth title for over a decade now. Standing in their way are Italian upstarts AS Roma, led by club legend Francesco Totti. Looking to follow Inter's shock win in 2010, the Giallorossi will certainly have their work cut out against Los Galacticos.

In the final, perhaps least headline-grabbing tie of the round, North London side Tottenham Hotspur will play Real Madrid's noisy neighbors, Atletico de Madrid. Atletico had a relatively straightforward path to the quarterfinals, easily defeating FC Porto, but Spurs pulled off quite an upset when they just about knocked out German powerhouse Bayern Munich on away goals thanks to a 1-0 win in Bavaria.

The fixtures will begin next week, and soon we will be down to just four semifinalists in this most epochal of European tournaments. We're reaching crunch time in the UEFA Champions League, and things are about to get exciting.

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Yeah!

You framed me m8, meaningless comment for you.

gl.

Yeah!

Some interesting games to look forward too!

fzemdegs: Yeah!

Walter: Thanks?

fzemdegs: Yeah!...again.

joethequin: Indeed, hopefully they're all exciting (and we win, of course )

Good luck Neal, I hope you can go all the way and win it!

Good luck against Madrid Neal, you're gonna need it

I think you'll do well against Madrid. Will be a tough game but hopefully you can just notch the win. I'm sticking to my prediction and will say that you will win the Champions League.

Neal doesn't need luck...

Neal needs Neal.

Griffo: It will be tough but that's football, hopefully we can upset the odds and get that trophy at the end of it all!

pompeyblue: I might just need more than my fair share of it, Madrid have a brilliant team and we'll have to do extremely well to beat them, but as squirmy says...

AaronHJFT96: Thanks, hopefully I can prove you right and win the dang thing!

squirmy420: Me and my trusty tactics will win the day, have no fear

The UEFA Champions League is undoubtedly the greatest club competition available in Europe, if not the entirety of the world, and at last, the quarterfinal stage of the tournament is upon us. It is at this round that the weakest teams have been weeded out and only the giants remain, and in this particular tie, two heavyweights took to the stage in the UCL's all-time greatest club, Real Madrid, and Italian champions AS Roma.

The First Leg

The first leg of this monumental draw took place the infamous Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, giving Los Galacticos a roaring home advantage in the first match. It was a big match for Alvaro Morata and Nuri Sahin who had both played for Real Madrid earlier in their careers. Perhaps vitally for the Giallorossi, Madrid's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was ruled out of the match with a thigh strain.

The entirety of the first match passed without much incident. Francesco Totti's men were on the defensive for most of the game, but the likes of Clement Grenier did manage to create a few opportunities for the away team. 'Saint Iker' Casillas was in good form between the sticks, however, and managed to deny ex-teammate Alvaro Morata a couple of times throughout the game.

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Alvaro Morata was out to show his former employers what they were missing out on, but ultimately could not manage to put one past his old captain Iker Casillas.

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Perhaps surprisingly, Madrid's attack struggled to create any real chances against Roma's stalwart defense. Samuel Umtiti was a rock at the back, but even he paled in comparison

There was a bit of bad news, however, as Bosnian superstar Miralem Pjanic went down injured toward the end of the game, holding his groin. It was later confirmed that last year's Serie A Player of the Year will miss 3-4 weeks with a groin strain, a massive blow for the Italian Scudetto holders. After this incident, little more occurred, and the first match finished 0-0.

FIRST LEG FINAL SCORE: REAL MADRID 0-0 AS ROMA

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The Second Leg

After the tactically grueling first match, the sides flew out to Rome to play the second leg in the Stadio Olimpico to see which club would move on to the semifinals, touching distance of the trophy. Though AS Roma knew that their chances of advancing had multiplied after holding their opponents to 0-0 in the first leg, Real Madrid are always dangerous opposition and this next match would be no different.

Brazilian fullback Dodo nearly stunned the nine time Champions League winners just fifteen minutes into the match when his cross-turned-shot found its way over Iker Casillas. The ball nicked the underside of the bar, plummeted toward the ground...but bounced clear, much to the chagrin and anger of the cheering fans, screaming for the goal to be awarded to their beloved Giallorossi side.

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Young defender Dodo was extremely unlucky to see his fortuitous cross just nick the crossbar and bounce away, almost giving the Roma faithful the lead that they so dearly craved.

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Regular time could not separate the two sides, and into extra time they delved. Dani Carvajal nearly cost his side dearly as he was shown a straight red card for his vicious two-footed challenge on Andrea Bertloacci, putting Ancelotti's men in a very precarious position. Roma were unable to take advantage, however, and after a match with just 1 shot on target between both teams, they went into the dreaded penalty shootout.

Asmir Begovic turned out to be the hero, saving both Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos's spot kicks with outstanding diving reactions. Sebastian Giovinco, Andrea Bertolacci, Sebastien Corchia, and Clement Grenier all held their nerve, draining their penalties into the corners and, against all the odds, leading AS Roma past Real Madrid and into the UEFA Champions League semifinals.

SECOND LEG FINAL SCORE: AS ROMA 0-0 REAL MADRID

AGGREGATE FINAL SCORE: AS ROMA 0(4)-(2)0 REAL MADRID

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Nobody truly expected Roma to triumph over heavy favorites Real Madrid, one of the greatest clubs on planet Earth, but they did it. The semifinal draw will take place within a week, and the final four teams in this oh so coveted, prestigious tournament will be decided.

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WHAT A WIN!

Well done Neal!

Told you Neal didn't need luck...