Bayern Munich highlighted their Champions League credentials with an impressive 2-0 win over Italian champions Juventus, as some late drama kept Paris Saint Germain in the quarterfinal tie against Barcelona.
Lionel Messi, who else, opened the scoring for Barca, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalized with a little under ten minutes remaining. Barca looked to have taken the lead via a Xavi Hernandez penalty, only for Blaise Matuidi to deflect one in late on to make it 2-2 after 90 minutes.
PSG, who surprisingly had David Beckham starting the game, were the first side to threaten the goal, with Sergio Busquets seeing his rather robust challenge on Ezequiel Lavezzi deflect off the post.
Barcelona, buoyed by the return of Tito Vilanova in the dugout, started to dictate the pace of the game expectedly, with Andres Iniesta curling one just wide after being afforded acres of space just outside the box.
PSG were giving just as much they were getting, however, with Ibrahimovic seeing his freekick well saved by Victor Valdes. Ibrahimovic was not having one of his greatest games, though, and the Swede should really have at least hit the target off a nice pickout from Lucas Moura down the right, soon after.
Barca took the lead in the 39th minute, and even though Messi scored it - his 57th of the season, and eighth in the Champions League, by the way - it was all about an absolutely sumptuous pass from Dani Alves, who picked out the little Argentine with an outrageous effort with the outside of his right foot. Messi, of course, made no mistake smashing home from an acute angle.
Messi thought he had got his second soon after, but his effort from 20 yards went just high. PSG were given a reprieve when Messi was taken off through injury at halftime, with Cesc Fabregas taking his place.
Barca looked in control of the second period, even if not really threatening without their talisman on the field. PSG, though, refused to go down without a fight and equalized in the 79th minute.
Thiago Silva rattled the crossbar with a header off a freekick, only for Ibrahimovic to latch onto the rebound and stroke one past Valdes - replays, however, showed the former Barcelona man was miles offside.
With a minute of normal time remaining, Barca regained their lead. Alexis Sanchez was brought down rashly by PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, with Xavi calmly slotting the resulting spotkick.
The drama was not over, though, as PSG, after first seeing an Ibrahimovic goal correctly ruled out for offside, equalized for the second time through a deflected effort from Matuidi, which wrong-footed Valdes in goal.
At the Allianz Arena, before you could even blink, the opening goal was scored, as David Alaba smashed home an absolute belter, which swerved right and then left from 25 yards, after Andrea Pirlo, of all people, had given the ball away in his own half.
Juve did well to respond, though, with Pirlo, looking to make amends, coming close with a freekick, before Arturo Vidal fired wide.
However, Bayern should have really been 2-0 up soon after, but a strike from Arjen Robben, on as an early substitute for the injured Toni Kroos, was well kept out by Gianluigi Buffon.
Bayern were now on the ascendancy with Bastian Schweinsteiger coming close, before Robben again failed to find the back of the net, smashing his shot into the side netting off a cross from Thomas Muller.
The second half almost saw Alaba score early on again, when the Bayern fullback forced Buffon to a save from a freekick, before the almost inevitable second goal came about just past the hour.
Buffon could only manage to palm away a 25-yard effort from Luis Gustavo towards the path of Mario Mandzukic, who took his time before finding Muller to find the empty net.
Juve just did not threaten enough in the second period, and Bayern now take a comfortable lead, and more importantly without conceding an away goal, into the second leg in Turin.