Barcelona scored seven and Liverpool revived its season with four goals to flip tight Champions League games Wednesday into big wins sending them to the quarterfinals.
Atletico Madrid survived a pulsating Tottenham fightback to make it Spain 3, England 0 in round-of-16 clashes this week.
Bayern Munich had it easiest of all, pushing aside Atalanta 4-1 on Wednesday and 10-2 on aggregate, to get a blockbuster quarterfinal against Real Madrid.
Another Champions League goals rush was sparked by Barcelona tearing apart Newcastle in the second half of a thrilling 7-2 win after the teams went toe-to-toe before the break.
Tied 1-1 after the first leg in Newcastle, Barcelona surged to a victory after Lamine Yamal’s momentum-shifting penalty kick in first-half stoppage time made the score 3-2.
Robert Lewandowski then scored twice, Fermín López finished a slick move and Raphinha got his second goal as Newcastle’s defense collapsed.
Liverpool ultimately eased to a 4-0 win over Galatasaray at Anfield, overturning a one-goal loss in Istanbul, despite Mohamed Salah missing a penalty in first-half stoppage time when the score was 1-0.
Still, Salah was key to Liverpool’s strong second half with two assists then a goal in a performance that could restart an erratic season for the English champions and ease growing pressure on coach Arne Slot.
Tottenham showed real character after an embarrassing 5-2 loss in Madrid last week but was resisted by Atletico twice leveling the score in Wednesday’s second leg. Xavi Simon’s late penalty at least gave Tottenham a 3-2 win on the night.
Tottenham and Newcastle joined Manchester City, ousted by Real Madrid on Tuesday 5-1 on aggregate score, as Premier League teams eliminated by La Liga’s best.
England had a record six teams in the competition and all reached the round of 16, but only Arsenal and Liverpool advanced. Chelsea was eliminated Tuesday by defending champion Paris Saint-Germain, which now plays Liverpool.
In Munich, fit-again Bayern talisman Harry Kane scored twice against Atalanta to end Italy’s challenge in this Champions League edition.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press
