Bayern Munich's Polish marksman Robert Lewandowski scored a 23-minute hat trick to help his side obliterate Red Bull Salzburg 7-1 and secure a place in the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday.
Lewandowski won and converted two penalties himself before bad defending allowed him to complete the quickest ever treble from kick-off in the Champions League.
Serge Gnabry before the break and Thomas Muller just after then poured the misery onto Salzburg, who was a shadow of the side it was in holding Bayern 1-1 in the first leg of their last-16 meeting.
Danish teenager Maurits Kjaergaard at least grabbed a late consolation before Muller's second and Leroy Sane completed the rout.
Liverpool joined Bayern in the last eight despite Lautaro Martínez's superb strike earning Inter Milan a 1-0 win at Anfield. The visiting side had the hopes of recovering its 2-0 home leg loss ended immediately after the goal by a harsh second yellow card for Alexis Sanchez.
On Wednesday, record winners Real Madrid will attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City host Sporting Lisbon having cruised 5-0 in Portugal.
The last 16 concludes with four further second-leg ties next week.
"Opponent on different level"
It could have been different had Nicolas Capaldo's shot not deflected just wide inside two minutes or had Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, back from knee surgery, not tipped Nicolas Seiwald's shot over when the deficit was just one.
But Bayern was stronger throughout and visiting keeper Philipp Kohn's save on Lewandowski in the opening minute was a rare defensive highlight from Salzburg.
Lewandowski turned Maximilian Wober and was fouled to open the scoring in 12 minutes and the unfortunate Wober repeated the move soon after. Video review spotted the foul was inside the box and Lewandowski also repeated from the spot, again sending Kohn the wrong way.
Salzburg fell apart as Kohn raced to Muller's pass only to smash his clearance into Lewandowski. It rebounded off the woodwork and left the Pole with a tap-in for his 12th Champions League goal of the season, three shy of his best tally of 15.
"That was a statement win," captain Neuer told Amazon Prime Video. "I think we started well and had the penalties and from there it just took off. We're very happy with the performance today."
Kingsley Coman set up Gnabry to drive the fourth through Köhn and Müller, who scored an own goal in the weekend draw with Bayer Leverkusen, drilled the fifth from the edge of the box in the 55th minute.
Salzburg regained its composure and was rewarded by 18-year-old substitute Kjaergaard's fine strike on the break but Muller clipped in Sane's pass before the winger scored himself for Bayern to end on a high.
"Today it was an opponent on a different level," Salzburg defender Rasmus Kristensen told Sky Austria. "They simply have been better in all aspects – that’s it."
Close call for Reds
At Anfield, Joel Matip headed off the bar late in a tight first half and Mohamed Salah hit the post in the second period as Liverpool tried to seal early progress.
Martinez's rocket into the top corner in the 62nd minute gave Inter hope but just 60 seconds later Sanchez was given a second caution for winning the ball and following through, studs up, into Roberto Firmino.
"We showed character, we showed that we wanted to progress," Lautaro Martinez told Sky Sport Italia. "Tonight, we scored and went in front in such a difficult stadium to play in ... it’s a pity to then go down to 10 men because these are the things that can make the difference."
There was no video review for a yellow rather than straight red card and Liverpool dominated the closing stages. Salah hit the post again and though a brilliant Arturo Vidal block ensured Inter victory on the night it wasn't enough.
"They were a tough team, even in the away game they were very good, though we managed to win that," Salah told BT Sport. "The most important thing is we qualified. Hopefully, we'll be better in the next game."