Arsenal win but Monaco advance

For the fifth season in a row, Arsenal was stranded in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League last Tuesday. Having taken a deflating 1-3 defeat to AS Monaco at home two weeks ago, it was all fairly hopeless going into the return leg.

And indeed, with a 2-0 win in Monte Carlo, courtesy of Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey goals, they fell short of reversing their flagging fortunes as  the victory was not enough to keep them in the UEFA Champions League on away goals as the French Ligue 1 side advanced.

Giroud, who had missed several chances in the first leg, grabbed a lifeline for the visitors with a well-taken finish nine minutes before half-time. Monaco continued to ride their luck as Arsenal pressed, with Mesut Ozil's free-kick tipped over at the start of the second half.

There was, though, to be no miracle of Monte Carlo as Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic denied a late header from Sanchez to end Arsenal's European dreams at the last-16 stage once again - and leave Arsene Wenger's men counting the cost of conceding a stoppage-time third goal at the Emirates Stadium.

Atletico Madrid progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals for the second consecutive season after squeezing past Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on penalties after the scores were locked at 1-1 on aggregate.

The Spanish champions won 1-0 on the night at the Vicente Calderon thanks to Mario Suarez's deflected first-half strike in 120 minutes short on clear-cut chances.

And after a topsy turvy shootout, including five misses, Stefan Kiessling blazed Leverkusen's final effort over the bar to hand Atletico a place in the last eight.  — PA