Chelsea made sure of an English presence in the Champions League last eight after roaring back to defeat Napoli on Wednesday, while Real Madrid swept aside CSKA Moscow 4-1 to take their place in the quarter-finals.
Trailing 3-1 from the first leg in Naples, Chelsea levelled the tie with a 75th-minute Frank Lampard penalty and then secured victory through defender Branislav Ivanovic in extra time to complete a nail-biting 5-4 aggregate success.
The 4-1 victory on the night made it three wins from three for caretaker coach Roberto Di Matteo, who replaced the sacked Andre Villas-Boas between the two legs of the last-16 tie.
It also meant that England avoided the ignominy of failing to provide a quarter-finalist in Europe's top club competition for the first time since 1996.
"It was a fantastic game with two great teams," said Di Matteo.
"We made history because we were in such a difficult position before the game. We knew what we had to do to get through. It was an outstanding performance."
Meanwhile, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's dream of becoming the first coach to lift the trophy with three different sides remains on track after Madrid overwhelmed Leonid Slutsky's CSKA in the Spanish capital.
Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, a first-half goal from Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead in the tie and the nine-time champions then took full control with further goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Zoran Tosic replied for the visitors but Ronaldo tapped in his second goal deep into injury time to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory.
"We suffered more than we should have until the second goal and the game was demanding until the end, but all Champions League games are," said Mourinho, who won the title with Porto in 2004 before repeating the feat with Inter Milan in 2010.
"We gave a mature and balanced performance and now we'll take on whoever the draw pairs us with on Friday."
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to save from Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi in the early stages at Stamford Bridge but Didier Drogba's 28th-minute header gave the hosts the lead.
A John Terry header from a Lampard corner put the Londoners ahead in the tie and although Gokhan Inler's sumptuous half-volley restored Napoli's aggregate lead, Lampard's 75th-minute penalty took the game to extra time.
Substitute Fernando Torres spurned a glaring chance when he shot wide after the ball had bounced over Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, but his blushes were spared in the 105th minute when Drogba teed up Ivanovic to steer home the winner.
"We showed what Chelsea are all about," said Terry, amid jubilant celebrations at Stamford Bridge.
"We were solid and resilient and fought until the very end. We've proved we're a team. Players came in and we stuck together when it really mattered."
There was an early scare for Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, with CSKA forward Seydou Doumbia flashing a shot narrowly over from Alan Dzagoev's first-time pass.
The visitors spent most of the first half on the back foot though and in the 26th minute Higuain put the hosts ahead, nipping in front of Ronaldo to touch home Kaka's low centre from the left.
Ronaldo doubled Madrid's lead in the 55th minute with a dipping long-ranger that CSKA goalkeeper Sergei Chepchugov should have kept out, before Benzema prodded home a rebound from his own shot with his first touch after coming on.
Tosic pulled a goal back with a fine strike from the edge of the area in the 77th minute, but Ronaldo restored his side's three-goal cushion by tucking away Benzema's pass in the fourth minute of injury time.
The only disappointment for Madrid was a yellow card shown to Xabi Alonso early in the second half that rules him out of the first leg of their quarter-final.
Source: AFP
