Liverpool beat Premier League rivals Manchester City, while Barcelona thumped AS Roma 4-1.
ADVERTISEMENTLiverpool ripped apart Manchester City, scoring three goals inside the opening 31 minutes, as they won their Champions League quarter-final, first leg tie 3-0 at Anfield on Wednesday.
Juergen Klopp's side grabbed the lead in the 12th minute when Mohamed Salah played the ball inside to Roberto Firmino whose shot was blocked by City keeper Ederson. Firmino pounced on the loose ball and slipped it to Salah who fired home.
Liverpool were rampant and harrying City off the ball in midfield when James Milner won back possession and moved it straight to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who unleashed an unstoppable drive from 25 metres to make it 2-0 in the 20th minute.
City were reeling and looked nothing like the team that has marched so convincingly to a 16-point lead in the Premier League and it was not long before the five times European champions made it 3-0.
Salah floated a teasing cross from the right towards Sadio Mane, who rose above the City defence to power a header past Ederson and send the Anfield crowd into delirium.
City regained their composure after the break, helped by Salah going off injured in the 52nd minute, but they now have a mammoth task to the turn the tie round in next Tuesday's second leg at the Etihad.
Barcelona capitalised on two disastrous own goals by AS Roma to thrash the Italian side 4-1 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and take a huge step towards reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in three years.
Roma's captain Daniele De Rossi hit an unstoppable shot into his own net to break the deadlock in the 38th minute of what had been a delicately poised first leg and a second own goal 10 minutes into the second half, this time by Greek defender Kostas Manolas, stretched the runaway La Liga leaders' advantage.
Barca defender Gerard Pique piled misery on the Italians four minutes later, mopping up the rebound after Luis Suarez was thwarted by goalkeeper Alisson before Roma's top scorer Edin Dzeko struck at the right end to give his side faint hope of a turnaround in the second leg.
Suarez effectively vanquished those hopes, however, by notching his side's fourth goal three minutes from time, scoring for the first time in the Champions League in over a year.