Messi double helps Barcelona see off Villarreal in El Madrigal (Highlights)

Villarreal 1 - 4 Barcelona
(0-1) 18' Messi, (0-2) 33' Xavi, (0-3) 41' Bojan, (1-3) 68' Llorente, (1-4) 87' Messi

Xerez 2 - 1 Almeria
(1-0) 27' Armenteros, (1-1) 33' Soriano, (2-1) 93' Bermejo

Real Valladolid 0 - 0 Getafe

Malaga 1 - 1 Sporting Gijon
(0-1) 43' Apoño (o.g), (1-1) 79' Caicedo

Deportivo La Coruña 0 - 1 Real Zaragoza
(0-1) 49' Colunga

Espanyol 0 - 2 Valencia
(0-1) 61' Zigic, (0-2) 73' Zigic

Tenerife 2 - 1 Racing Santander
(1-0) 45' Roman, (2-0) 55' Ayoze (p), (2-1) 71' Xisco

Europa League: Forlan sends jubilant Atletico packing to Hamburg!

Liverpool 2 - 1 Atletico Madrid
(1-0) 43' Aquilani, (2-0) 94' Benayoun, (2-1) 102' Forlan

Heros. The lot of them. Atletico Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination  to plant themselves in next months Europa League final in Hamburg, where they will face Roy Hodgsons Fulham. After a season full of desparate lows and blissful highs, Atleti find themselves in two cup finals. Quite how they manage to mix dismal defeats at home with passionate performances on the continent is beyond the understanding of even the hardened footballing connoisseur. I guess you could say they do it their way. The Atleti way. Tonight, years of lost pride were recovered. They played with their hearts on their sleeves. Something the fans felt had been severely lacking in recent years. It came at the right time.

But boy did they suffer. Liverpool came out of the traps in predictably hungry mood, with David de Gea and his defence having to be on their toes as early as the first minute as Kuyt and Gerrard threatened. Strangely, as the first half unfolded and Liverpools initial bombardment subsided, the Atletico players broke into what was almost a swagger. Liverpool lacked the relentless intensity they would surely have offered had it been a Champions League tie. Atletico sensed that against a Liverpool side without Fernando Torres they were more than a match for their illustrious hosts. A daunting trip to Anfield? Or a walk in Stanley Park? It seemed to good to be true, so it felt inevitable when as halftime approached, Alberto Aquilani drew Liverpool level in the tie with an exquisite swivel and shot that creeped inside the post. Suddenly the Kop was in full voice and Atleti were back in a war of attrition. End to end football, with little end result, characterised the second half, as both teams looked to attack at every opportunity.

As the teams entered into extra time, you felt it was Liverpool more than Atleti that were happy to let the tie be decided from the spot. Out of nowhere, a sumptuous chipped pass set Yossi Benayoun free in the area, with the Israeli making no mistake with his drilled first time shot across De Gea. Now it was Liverpool who were minutes away from Hamburg. Yet even after this potentially fatal setback, Atletico refused to buckle. Instead, eight minutes later, Jose Antonio Reyes bolted in from the right, ghosted past Glen Johnson and lifted a pass towards Diego Forlan that was worthy of a trip to Hamburg in its own right. As you'd expect, Forlan made no mistake from 2 yards out. The former Man Utd striker hadn't had a sniff all night, but he timed his strike to perfection. It only remained for Atleti to survive a frantic finale which saw Liverpool throw bodies forward in a desparate search for that decisive third goal. It never came.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations from a jubilant Atletico who reach a European final, 26 years after their appearance in the European Cup final of 1974. If they win it would be their first European trophy since 1962 when they won the European Cups Winners Cup. Only Fulham stand between Atletico and history. Even if they lose, those players have retained pride that has been lost over years of mediocrity. Atletico are a European force once more.

Champions League: Barcelona crash out to Mourinhos heroic Inter Milan

Barcelona 1 - 0 Inter Milan
(1-0) Pique 84'

What an anticlimax. All that build up. All that bravado. All that expectation. All disappointment. The fans fulfilled their obligation, cloaking the Camp Nou in blue and red, bombarding the Inter players with a wall of noise as they entered into the arena. Shame tonights gladiators were dressed in white. It was such a flat performance from Barcelona, you would never have imagined that they were the same team that won six trophies in such emphatic fashion last season. Looking back at the tie, Inter earned their passage to Madrid last week in the San Siro.

As fluent and expansive as they were in scoring three crucial goals against Barca last week, tonight was all about closing spaces and throwing bodies in the line of fire. They defended like lions. Some call it anti-football. I found it inspiring. And to think they played for an hour with ten men. Even Samuel Eto'o played his part, filling in at left back once Thiago Motta had been sent off. Walter Samuel and Lucio were immense. Emilio Cambiasso rolled back the years marking Leo Messi out of the match, ably assisted by Christian Chivu. Sneijder and Milito were tireless in tracking back. Whatever Mourinho says to his players, it bloody well works.

It was proper yo-yo stuff. Barca mounted attack after attack. At times it was incessant. But not once did Inter flinch. I lost count of the amount of clearing headers, last ditch tackles and vital blocks. It was a credit to their lungbusting effort that Barca never really looked like scoring during a one-way first half. Messi produced one moment of magic that had Julio Cesar fingertipping the ball round the post. But his strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic was utterly anonymous. Infact he was worse. A display so desparate, you began to wonder why on earth Guardiola parted with so much money AND Samuel Eto'o to land this guy. Talented he is. A man for the big occasion he is not. La Ligas very own Dimitar Berbatov.  

Xavi clearly missed having Andres Iniesta by his side. Seydou Keita and Yaya Toure have their qualities, but when it comes to creating they leave Xavi horribly isolated. Lionel Messi simply never got into his stride. The main talking point from the first half was Mottas sending off. Did he really deserve to see red? Let's say he probably would have stayed on had Sergio Busquets remained on his feet, but you play with fire when you raise your hands in an opponents face. His histrionics after though were unforgivable.

Unfortunately for Barca the red card only served to galvanise Inter. It made them doubly determined to leave Spain as Champions League finalists. The second half followed the same pattern as the first. 90% possession for Barca, hundreds of sideways passes and still no way through that wall of white. Bojan came on and almost immediately had a chance to reignite the tie, but he headed wide from a glorious position. Had that gone in, we may well be talking about a different result. Gerard Pique, who was by far Barcas best performer on the night, gave the home fans hope with a superbly taken goal with six minutes remaining. Bojan had the ball in the net at the death, it was correctly ruled out for a handball from Toure. Then  and we were treated to a 'Mourinho moment' as he raced onto the turf, arms aloft. Reminiscent of that touchline burst at Old Trafford in 2004. There will be no dream Bernabeu final for Barcelona. Bayern Munich v Inter Milan it will be.

Barcelona v Inter Milan: Judgement day for Guardiola and his troops

With the greatest respect for Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan are the two best teams left in the competition. Tomorrows winner will go into the final as favourites and rightly so. Barcelona would enter the Bernabeu as reigning champions having overcome a two goal first-leg deficit against Italys best to reach the final. Inter Milan will have disposed of one of the greatest teams the planet has ever seen. The Barca squad have sought the help of their twelfth man, with Gerard Pique appealing for the fans to turn the Camp Nou into a fiery furnace of hell. ´When the Inter players walk out on the pitch I want them to hate the footballing profession' he said. Jose Mourinho has retorted with 'For Inter, reaching the final is a dream, for Barcelona it's an obsession'. Nothing untowardly there, but he has certainly touched upon the fever pitch currently swirling around Catalunya. It has been remarked that this is as frenzied a build-up to a match in Barcelona since Luis Figo returned to town as a Real Madrid player. Let's hope Eto'o is spared the pigs head.

There is no shortage of sub-plots surrounding the tie. Will Eto'o score against his old buddies? Will Messi escape the attentions of Javier Zanetti to reek havoc around Julio Cesars goal? Will Guardiola reverse his tactical defeat against Mourinho in the first leg? Will Barcelona get the ball on the deck and knock it around this time? Which Milito brother will be smiling come Thursday morning? All answers to be revealed tomorrow night. Are you ready?