Well, this was a night of unexpected Europa League highlights!
Although I caveated it was all to play for following last week’s first leg, it appeared Barcelona, Lyon and Atalanta held slight advantages.
Well, what do we know!
On a night of high drama, home advantage was wiped out as Eintracht Frankfurt, West Ham and RB Leipzig stormed the hosts’ barricades.
Nowhere was this more surprising than in the Nou Camp where Barcelona, tournament favourites with the SBOTOP Europa League betting odds, came into the encounter as the most in-form team in Europe’s top-five leagues (on a run of 11 wins and four draws from their last 15 La Liga outings), not to mention their Euro exploits.
Clearly Frankfurt had not read the script and they had something to cling onto inside three minutes when Jesper Lindstrom was fouled in the penalty area and Filip Kostic coolly converted the spot-kick.
Expected surges of Barca pressure soon followed but a combination of dogged defending and the calm handling of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp kept them at bay.
Then, seven minutes before the break, and moments after loanee Ansgar Knauff tested Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Kostic squeezed a pass to Rafael Borre who powered a shot into the top corner from 20 yards.
We all waited for the second half onslaught but Frankfurt refused to buckle, not least when Trapp was out in a flash and got a foot to deny Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a certain goal.
The prolific frontman’s night was over when he was substituted soon afterwards and it was also curtains for Barcelona midway through the second half when Kostic produced another superb finish, this time finding the bottom corner, and Frankfurt were in dreamland.
When Sergio Busquets got the Catalans on the scoresheet in the final minute –six minutes having had a goal disallowed – it was no more than the briefest of ripostes.
Even when Evan Ndicka was shown a second yellow card for conceding a penalty, which Memphis Depay, converted in the 11th minute of stoppage time, it mattered not a jot.
They were not the only German club to be involved in exploits after RB Leipzig travelled to Bergamo to meet the Italians of Atalanta who were marginal favourites.
Yet the Red Bulls and Christopher Nkunku were in town.
After 18 minutes, Konrad Laimer scythed through the Atalanta defence and found the feet of Nkunku who made no mistake.
With the tie in the balance, Nkunku had the final intervention three minutes from time when he was brought down and sealed the deal with a late penalty.
Leipzig are through to the semi-finals of a European competition for the second time since gaining promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016. They also made it through to the Champions League last four in 2020.
If German sides had reason to celebrate, so did a club which has embraced the Europa League with a passion.
David Moyes’ West Ham were magnificent in Lyon with three goals in effectively 10 minutes sealing a memorable victory.
Two goals in six minutes before the break set the Hammers on their way, beginning when centre back Craig Dawson met a Pablo Fornals’ delivery and nodded in from close range before Declan Rice rifled the ball home with the aid of a defection.
Three minutes after the restart and it was all over as Lyon over-committed and Fornals released Jarrod Bowen who, in acres of space, raced forward and slotted in the third.
They had swept Lyon aside to reach their first major European semi-final since 1976 and Frankfurt await.
After all that excitement, it seemed the most straightforward Europa League tie of the night would come in Glasgow.
Braga had edged the first leg in Portugal with Abel Ruiz’s effort the difference in front of a thunderous crowd.
This time it was Ibrox that was rocking from the moment captain James Tavernier squeezed in a second-minute opener to level the tie.
After Kemar Roofe had a header ruled out by VAR and then struck the crossbar from close range, he was fouled in the box by Vitor Tormena who was promptly sent-off.
Tavernier duly fired in from the penalty spot, Rangers were ahead on aggregate and they were never looking back.
Or at least they shouldn’t have until Braga won a corner out of nothing seven minutes from time and David Carmo planted a stunning header into the far corner.
It should not have been that difficult but Rangers required extra-time before Roofe tapped in the simplest of finishes.
When visiting substitute Iuri Medeiros collected two quick yellow cards for a late challenge on Leon Balogun followed by dissent, even Rangers were not going to concede again against nine men (although they should have scored more!). They can ill afford to be so naïve and lax against Leipzig in the last four.
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