Stadiums throughout Europe were packed again this week as the UEFA Champions League first knockout round reached a climax with the second-leg encounters.

Enduring appeal
Most of the venues were either full to capacity or close to full – proving once more the enduring appeal of European club football's premier competition, which features the continent's best teams and many of the world's top players.

Packed Highbury
The stands were filled at Highbury, London for the game between Arsenal FC and FC Bayern München (35,463), and the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany was sold out for Bayer 04 Leverkusen's match against Liverpool FC (22,500).

Big crowds
Other games were watched by near-capacity crowds. The Chelsea FC-FC Barcelona (41,515) and Olympique Lyonnais-Werder Bremen (38,922) ties were played in stadiums packed to 98 per cent capacity, while the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin was 97 per cent full (65,000) for the match between Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF. Also in Italy, 79,103 spectators (95 per cent of capacity) followed the AC Milan-Manchester United FC showdown at the Giuseppe Meazza.