Trio complete glittering lineup

The curtain came down on the second group stage and the hopes of two English clubs on Wednesday night as Internazionale FC, AFC Ajax and Valencia CF claimed the three remaining berths in the quarter-finals.

Spanish sides prevail
In the end the Primera División prevailed over the Premiership as FC Barcelona ended Newcastle United FC's hopes, while Arsenal FC's fire was doused by Valencia CF. Joining the Spanish champions in the last eight from Group B are their Dutch counterparts, Ajax, following a 1-1 draw at AS Roma.

Unbeaten record
Despite being in possession of the only unbeaten record in the competition, and an unassailable position at the top of Group A, Barça proved that they were not in England "for a holiday", as their coach Radomir Antic warned ahead of the game, by running out 2-0 winners. The Catalan club triumphed through Patrick Kluivert and Thiago Motta's second-half goals.

Teenager on target
While Barcelona were understrength through choice, Inter had to cope with the loss of a plethora of first-team players at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After illuminating the competition last season, when they reached the final, Leverkusen became the first side to lose all six matches in the second group stage as goals from the 18-year-old Nigerian Obafemi Martins and Emre Belözoglu settled proceedings at the BayArena.

All with a chance
Group B was the most fiercely competed of the four sections, with each of the quartet of challengers eyeing qualification going into tonight's games. Ajax and Arsenal held the aces, occupying as they did the qualifying positions, but Valencia leapfrogged both with a 2-1 victory against the Londoners at the Mestalla.

Two for Carew
Having eliminated Arsenal two seasons ago, Valencia repeated that feat with a performance which suggests they again possess the quality to go the distance in the Champions League. John Carew was the architect of their victory, scoring either side of Thierry Henry's 49th-minute leveller to ensure Spain will have three teams in the last eight; Real Madrid CF having qualified last night.

Ajax through
Ajax are another team playing with the panache of previous times as they worked tirelessly for the point required at the Stadio Olimpico to eliminate AS Roma. The Dutch side, four times the champions of Europe, got off to a superb start in the first minute when Andy van der Meyde opened the scoring. Antonio Cassano drew Roma level but Fabio Capello's side could not find the winning goal. 

Friday draw