Liverpool looked absolutely rampant tonight as they dispatched Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield, securing their passage to the quarter-finals with a 5-0 aggregate win. Gerrard was once again his side's engine and tonight saw the midfielder give as comprehensive a display as you'll see in a European match, with exceptional movement, awareness, incisive passing and a well-deserved brace in the form of a beautifully-taken (if erroneously-awarded) penalty and a crisp half-volley shortly after the break. His team's domestic form may vary pretty wildly but Rafa Benitez now has even greater credentials in continential competition.Before the match the Liverpool coach had suggested his side's surrendering of their early season pace-setting in the Premier League had threatened his overall reputation at the club. "We have the best record in Europe over the last five years, yet some messages coming my way are not the best," he said. "The facts are there to see. Anyone can see what I have done here." After tonight's result, his detractors should, for now at least, be rendered silent.
Meanwhile, Chelsea drew 2-2 (agg. 3-2) against Juventus in a thriller in Turin to move into the quarters and Bayern Munich consolidated their 5-0 away win in the first leg of their tie against Sporting Lisbon with a 7-1 home win. That's 12-1 on aggregate. Ouch.
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