Eight must become four, but it won’t be maths or logic that decides who can still dine at Europe’s most exclusive table

There are no easy games anymore, as the Champions League quarter-final draw proves

Who will make the difference to see their side through to the last four? (Getty)

And then there were eight.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain all had their Champions League member’s card revoked in the Round of 16, proving themselves not fit enough to make the eight-team golden circle of Europe’s elite this season, despite boasting some of the deepest pockets.

Knockout specialists Sevilla stunned United, Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona, his protégé Paulo Dybala did the same for Juventus and Real Madrid showed they were still the team to beat. And that they might be, which Juventus will no doubt attest to.

There may be eight now, but in Cardiff 10 months ago, there were just two: the Italian champions looking to dethrone the kings of Europe. Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli were tasked with resisting Cristiano Ronaldo’s insatiable appetite for Champions League goals while Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain set about finding gaps in a leaky Madrid defence. Ronaldo proved irresistible and Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane had corked all the holes.

They now get another chance to show what they’ve learned against a Madrid side which is actually misfiring, with a defence which is actually leaky and a midfield whose best days do look behind them. Ronaldo, is still as hungry as ever though.

From five to two, the Premier League participation was whittled down in the last 16, and will be halved again come semi-final time, as Liverpool and Manchester City come to a head. Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut are the favourites for this year’s crown given their dominance but, much like how PSG wanted to avoid Real, City will have wanted to avoid Liverpool, the team whose strengths marry up to their weaknesses perfectly.

Guardiola branded the triumvirate of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino “almost unstoppable” but will hope the “almost” part of that assertion is more true than the “unstoppable” bit given that the weakest part of City’s game – if it can be called that – is their defence. Both sides seem to have their Premier League positions sewn up so expect a European classic, but don’t call a Liverpool victory a shock – this one really could go either way.

For Barcelona this season there has just been one in a team of 11. Messi’s aura has grown so large it has engulfed the so-called Neymar-shaped hole to make it almost unnoticeable. He saved Barca against Chelsea in the first leg and took the second leg by its scruff to give yet another reminder – if anyone had dared forget – why he is the best footballer on the planet.

He will be required to prove it again against Roma, with the Italian side some way off the pace of Serie A leaders Juve and in danger of not dining at the Champions League table next season – so their priorities are somewhat compromised. A convincing first-leg win for the Spanish champions-elect should kill off the tie, although they only need to look at how their Round of 16 victims, Chelsea, were given the gladiatorial treatment in the group stages.

While the mathematics of putting those six teams together and making three is a problem too tough to be done on paper, the final equation of the quarter-finals seems a little more straightforward. There are no easy ties when you get to the last eight, but facing Sevilla is probably the closest thing to it for Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians will, barring an upset, be crowned German champions again on the weekend with victory over Augsburg, such is their dominance of the Bundesliga, and they are expected to carry that into the Champions League. Bayern are without a European title since Jupp Heynkes was last in charge but they are perhaps the most well positioned now to go the whole way.

That’s not to say Sevilla are pushovers. They deserved to beat Manchester United, even if the Old Trafford club were torn by civil war between star player and manager. They also love knockouts having only lost one two-legged European tie since 2011 – against Leicester City – and have more European trophies in the last 12 years than any other team. Maybe this one is not as straightforward as it looked on paper after all.

So now there are still eight, but the most exclusive of clubs is trimming its membership again. Questions will be asked, dreams will be dashed, moments will be made and maths, logic and reason will be thrown out of the window – and eight will become four.