Europa League round of 16 second legs: West Ham, Benfica, Leverkusen come through

Liverpool and AC Milan showed their class once again but it was West Ham, Benfica and Leverkusen who had to dig deep to book their places in Friday's quarter-final and semi-final draws.

UEFA.com rounds up the round of 16 second-leg action.

Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Praha (agg: 11-2)

A stunning opening by Liverpool saw them power into the quarter-finals with a huge aggregate win. Already carrying a 5-1 lead from the first leg, Jürgen Klopp's side scored four goals in eight minutes to all but end the tie. Darwin Núñez, Bobby Clark with his first for the club, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo all struck to stun Sparta Praha. Veljko Birmančević bundled in a reply before half-time but Dominik Szoboszlai fired Liverpool's fifth and Gakpo flicked in his second before missing three chances for a hat-trick.

Key stat: Only one tie in Europa League history has had more goals – the 14 when Rangers beat Antwerp 9-5 on aggregate in 2020/21.

Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)

Brighton could not come close to overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit. Danny Welbeck's 37th-minute curler sparked hopes of the extraordinary, but of the Seagulls' nearly 20 efforts too few were on target and none could match the quality of the first-half goal. Brighton's first European campaign thus ends with a third consecutive home victory-clean sheet combination, but without progress into the quarter-finals. That is for veterans Roma instead, who did the majority of the job back in the Italian capital and defended well here to see it through.

Key stat: Roma have won their last ten UEFA competition two-legged ties.

Rangers 0-1 Benfica (agg: 2-3)

The 2022 finalists Rangers were eliminated after Rafa Silva's second-half effort gave Benfica a narrow aggregate victory. Tom Lawrence and John Souttar both passed up opportunities for the hosts before the only goal at Ibrox – scored on the break – gave Benfica their first win in Scotland since 1960.

Key stat: The result marks the first time Rangers have been beaten at home by Portuguese opposition in a UEFA competition fixture.

Slavia Praha 1-3 AC Milan (agg: 3-7)

Milan cruised into the last eight against a Slavia side reduced to ten men in the first half for the second time in this tie, Tomáš Holeš the man sent off this time. The Rossoneri quickly took advantage of that 20th-minute dismissal with Christian Pulišić and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on target before Rafael Leão added a stunning third on the stroke of half-time. Matěj Jurásek did pull one back; however, it was never in doubt that Milan would secure their first quarter-final in this competition since 2001/02.

Key stat: In 65 two-legged UEFA ties in which they were at home in the first leg, Milan have won on 47 occasions and have progressed in all but six of those contests.

West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (agg: 5-1)

Mohammed Kudus's memorable double, including a fine solo effort, capped an impressive second-leg comeback by West Ham. Lucas Paquetá's close-range finish levelled the tie early on before a crisp Jarrod Bowen strike, following a surging run from the forward, put the Londoners ahead. Aaron Cresswell netted a third shortly after half-time, then the Kudus late show – his first after a mazy run from deep in Hammers territory – added the gloss on the performance.

Key stat: The five-goal success ensured West Ham recorded their biggest UEFA competition win.

Leverkusen 3-2 Qarabağ (agg: 5-4)

Substitute Patrik Schick's added-time double sent Leverkusen into the quarter-finals in dramatic fashion. The hosts looked set to crash out as goals from Abdellah Zoubir and Juninho, either side of Elvin Jafarguliyev's sending-off, put ten-man Qarabağ in command. However, Jeremie Frimpong pulled one back, before Schick's late goals completed a remarkable turnaround.

Key stat: Qarabağ are without a win in their ten matches against German opposition, also losing on all five visits to Germany.

Villarreal 3-1 Marseille (agg: 3-5)

Marseille advanced to the Europa League quarter-finals despite a spirited fightback by Villarreal. With the hosts trailing 4-0 from the first leg, Étienne Capoue's header launched the resurgence, and Alexander Sørloth and Yerson Mosquera reduced the arrears to a single goal. However, Jonathan Clauss's stoppage-time strike put the tie beyond the 2021 champions.

Key stat: Marseille are through to the Europa League quarter-finals for the first time since 2017/18, the year they were runners-up to Atlético de Madrid.

Atalanta 2-1 Sporting CP (agg: 3-2)

Goals from Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scamacca helped Atalanta seal a second-half revival against Sporting CP. The Primeira Liga leaders edged in front shortly after the half-hour when Pedro Gonçalves threaded his finish underneath goalkeeper Juan Musso. However, Atalanta hit back barely 40 seconds after half-time, with the lively Lookman prodding in from close range then Scamacca capping a neat move by dispatching Aleksei Miranchuk's pass. Substitute Paulinho twice went close to forcing extra time for the visitors, but the hosts' defence held firm.

Key stat: Qualifiers included, Atalanta have lost just one of their last 21 Europa League matches (W12 D8).