Virtuoso performances from David Villa and Sergio Agüero ensured the Spanish contigent of Atletico Madrid and Valencia passed through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. On a night full of goals, Sergio Agüero provided two of his own, as his one-man show in the first half was enough to push Atlético over the line. The diminutive striker, one of the best around on his day, was unplayable during the first 45 minutes. He set his first strike in motion as his burst set Simao away in the third minute, and when Antonio Lopez finally played the ball into the box, Agüero was there at the front post to knock the ball in and give Atletico a priceless early away goal. Although Atletico fell asleep to allow Leidson to draw Sporting level on the night, Agüero put his side firmly in the driving seat with a clever cutback and finish after a delightful through ball from Jose Antonio Reyes. Atletico dozed off again when Polga was given far too much time and space in the area to nod past De Gea, and the tie was very much in the balance from then on. But David de Gea was not going to let another one past, and Atleti held on to reach the quarters of a European competition for the first time in 11 years.
As for Valencias tie, where do you start. Eight goals, countless chances and incredible tension as Valencia and Werder Bremen played out one of the games of the season so far in the Weserstadion. David Villa helped himself to a hattrick as he proved that when it comes to sticking the leather in the net, there are few better in the world. David Silva played a vital role in all of Valencias first three goals as he pulled Werder all over the pitch with his clever movement and cunning passes. But credit must go to Tomas Schaafs team for never throwing in the towel, and every time Valencia looked out of sight, the Germans found another gear and pulled themselves back. Goals from Almeida, Torsten Frings, Marko Marin (one to look out for in the future) and Claudio Pizarro made Valencia sweat for their ticket to the quarters, but thanks to some vital stops from in-form Cesar they made it through to the last eight.