A brilliant first half performance saw Barcelona race in to a four goal lead in the Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich, with Messi scoring twice, Eto'o getting one in between, and Henry getting the fourth. It was the ex Arsenal forward's fiftieth Champions League goal, and only Real Madrid's Raúl and Van Nistelrooy have scored more. Villarreal will have an uphill struggle to qualify for the semi-finals though after a 1-1 draw against Arsenal, Marcos Senna's strike at least taking them to London on even terms.

With an intense programme of matches coming up, Eto'o was rested at the weekend, and it was left to Iniesta to lead his side to a 2-0 win over Recreativo. Real Madrid stayed in touch with the leaders though with a 2-0 victory against Valladolid, Raúl and Robben on target in their fourteenth win in fifteen games.

David Villa was left with mixed feelings after converting a penalty against his old side Sporting Gijón, although it was Mata who finished them off after Barral had scored another penalty. The game ended 2-3, the same result as the match between Racing Santander and Betis. For once a goal by Zigic was not enough for the Cantabrians as Emaná got his name on the scoresheet twice. Valencia move up to fourth, and Atlético stay three points behind them after beating Deportivo 1-2, Kun Agüero starting things off in the first half and Simao netting his team's 4,000th league goal after the restart. (13.04.09)