Kylian Mbappe struck twice as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat 10-man Barcelona 4-1 and reach the semi finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The France international kept his cool with a second-half penalty and then tucked in a last-gasp rebound as Luis Enrique’s Ligue 1 champions overturned a 3-2 home reversal to progress 6-4 on aggregate.
Barcelona had made the perfect start as Raphinha followed up his two-goal blast in Paris last week with a close-range opener on 12 minutes after bewitching play from Lamine Yamal down the right.
The hosts were good value for their two-goal cushion in the tie overall, but their evening took a turn for the worse on the half hour when Ronald Araujo was shown a straight red for bringing down Bradley Barcola.
PSG took advantage of the lifeline as Ousmane Dembele once again netted against his former club to level matters on the night five minutes prior to the interval.
It was one-way traffic following the break and after Vitinha’s excellent 25-yard drive moved PSG ahead on the night, Mbappe put them in charge of the tie with a clinical spot kick just past the hour.
The 25-year-old then took his tally to 41 for the season to polish off a late counter attack and set up a last-four clash with Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 11 years after a thrilling 4-2 second-leg victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Dortmund trailed 2-1 on aggregate coming into the match and led the tie for the first time when Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen gave Edin Tezric’s side a two-goal lead in the first half.
A triple change from Diego Simeone at half-time turned the game on its head, as a Mats Hummels own goal and a thumping Angel Correa strike put Atletico back in front in the tie.
But less than five minutes later the pendulum swung again and back into Dortmund’s favour. Niclas Fullkrug guided a wonderful header beyond Jan Oblak to put Dortmund in front in the game before Marcel Sabitzer drilled the Germans into the lead on aggregate.
The hosts managed to hold on as they sealed their spot in the semi-finals, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain for a spot in the final at Wembley Stadium after they beat Barcelona.
Chelsea produced perhaps their most convincing performance of the season as they thrashed Everton 6-0 in the Premier League on Monday night.
Star man Cole Palmer continued his stunning breakout campaign with four goals at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist also got themselves on the scoresheet during a miserable evening for the Toffees.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1) Djordje Petrovic – 6.5
Hardly had anything to do in Chelsea’s goal as Everton were weak in the extreme. Could simply sit back, chill and enjoy the Cole Palmer show.
Malo Gusto – 7
One of those who contributed to a shaky start, but then Palmer’s early strike settled the team’s nerves as Chelsea took complete control of this ‘contest’.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7
Glad to see the assistant’s flag correctly disallow Beto’s header for offside when Chelsea were leading 3-0 and overall showed a dominant streak in defence.
Thiago Silva – 7.5
Still going strong at 39, getting his head to crosses from Everton and dealing with the physical challenge of Beto. ‘Oh Thiago Silva,’ sang the supporters, rightly.
Marc Cucurella – 7
Got down the left-hand side tirelessly as his cross found Jackson for Chelsea to make it 4-0 before the break and was hardly troubled defensively.
Moises Caicedo – 8
One of those games where every player for Chelsea performed to the standard expected of him. Interesting to see how he benefitted from having Gallagher alongside him.
Conor Gallagher – 8
Partnered Caicedo in midfield in the absence of Enzo Fernandez and Everton could not live with Chelsea’s overall set-up, with yet another tireless performance from the captain.
Noni Madueke – 7.5
Good trickery down the right against Mykolenko. Slightly naughty of him getting involved in a few shoves with Palmer and Jackson when he wanted to take the penalty.
Cole Palmer – 9.5
Left foot. Right foot. Header. The perfect hat-trick, all scored within 28 minutes. Added his fourth to make it 5-0 by pulling rank when Chelsea were awarded their penalty.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 7
Used his speed in the build-up to Chelsea’s second goal to get the ball into the box and he is clearly growing in confidence with each start.
Nicolas Jackson – 8.5
Deserved a goal for himself and got it with a lovely take, turn and finish to secure it. But involved in some negative scenes when it came to who takes the penalty.
SUBS Carney Chukwuemeka (for Madueke, 72) – 6
Ben Chilwell (for Mudryk, 80) – N/A
Casare Casadei (for Palmer, 80) – N/A
Deivid Washington (for Jackson, 88) – N/A
Alfie Gilchrist (for Gusto, 88) – N/A
SUBS NOT USED Marcus Bettinelli
Benoit Badiashile
Tyrique George
Kiano Dyer
MANAGER Mauricio Pochettino – 8.5
A perfect performance from his team – one in which they avoided any temptations to indulge in self-sabotage – but needs to name his designated penalty taker.
Mauricio Pochettino was furious after watching some of his Chelsea players argue over who would take a penalty during the 6-0 demolition of Everton.
Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke were grappling over the ball after Chelsea, already leading 4-0, were awarded a penalty in the second half.
Blues captain Conor Gallagher eventually intervened, taking the ball off the Chelsea forwards and handing it to hat-trick hero Palmer.
Even then Palmer had to push Jackson away before composing himself and tucking a penalty past Jordan Pickford to extend Chelsea’s lead.
Asked about the incident, an angry Pochettino said: “It’s a shame, it’s a shame. It’s a shame because we cannot behave in this way.
“I told them it’s the last time I accept this type of behaviour. If we want to be a team and win things we need to think in the collective way.
“I made that clear to them. Cole Palmer is our taker, if he wants to give the penalty to someone else he can but not in this way. It is a sad situation and I don’t want it to happen again.
“It’s a process for a young team who need to learn a lot. But it’s the last time I want to see something like this. I want to apologise to the fans.”
Despite the unsavoury penalty scenes, Chelsea’s evening got even better when academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist scored his first goal for the club late on.
Chelsea led 4-0 at the interval thanks to Palmer’s brilliant, perfect hat-trick inside the first 30 minutes and Jackson’s goal on the stroke of half-time.
Cole Palmer admits the on-pitch argument was ‘over the top’ but insists his team-mates were ‘laughing and joking’ about it after the match.
While it was Chelsea’s best game of the season, there was a moment when tensions rose in the Chelsea ranks.
An argument between Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson arose after the penalty was awarded, which was not a good look.
“Other players wanted to take it, but I am the penalty taker and I wanted to take it,” Cole said.
“I think we are showing everyone is wanting to take responsibility it may be a bit over the top, but everyone wants to win – we are laughing and joking about it.”
Chelsea are just three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United after batting Everton while Sean Dyche’s side stay 16th, two points above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher described the penalty drama as ‘daft’ and said it partly overshadowed a fine Chelsea performance.
“What happened in the second half was just ridiculous. It’s daft,” he said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. “It’s your best result of the season and you start doing this…”
