When the dust kicked up by an utterly scintillating two-legged struggle had settled, Bayern Munich could bathe in the glow of a win for the ages and linger dreamily on the prospect of a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
It is the tie most neutrals wanted but the bar for entertainment has been raised sky high now. Real Madrid should curse themselves, and one of their number in particular, for letting things career out of their control at the death; the sadness for those with no skin in the game came from being deprived an additional half-hour of the near ceaseless thrills both teams were serving up here.
