Atletico Madrid sent out a statement to their Europa League last-eight rivals by thrashing Lokomotiv Moscow 5-1 in Russia this evening to complete an 8-1 aggregate victory.
The Spaniards took a 3-0 first-leg lead over to the RZD Arena and extended their advantage through Angel Correa 16 minutes in, after a one-two with Koke on the edge of the box.
Maciej Rybus quickly equalised for Lokomotiv on the night with a long-range strike which caught goalkeeper Axel Werner off guard, but Saul Niguez began a second-half Atletico rally two minutes after the break.
Two goals in the space of four minutes from Fernando Torres made the scoreline even more emphatic before substitute Antoine Griezmann rounded off the scoring with a delicate chip six minutes from the end.
Relive how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
It is a big night for Arsenal in the Europa League tonight as they aim to finish the job against AC Milan at the Emirates, but before that the team to beat in this year's competition Atletico Madrid are in action as they take their 3-0 lead to Russia to face Lokomotiv Moscow. Team news coming up shortly...
LOKOMOTIV: Konchenkov; Rybus, Kverkvelia, Corluka, Lysov; Miranchuk, Kolomeystev, Denisov, Miranchuk, Fernandes; Farfan
Subs: Medvedev, Pejcinovic, Mikhalik, Tarasov, Eder, Rotenberg, Denisov
Subs: Medvedev, Pejcinovic, Mikhalik, Tarasov, Eder, Rotenberg, Denisov
ATLETICO: Werner; Juanfran, Godin, Gimenez, Luis; Saul, Thomas, Gabi, Koke; Torres, Correa
Subs: Roman, Griezmann, Vrsaljko, Hernandez, Vitolo, Moreno, Olabe
Subs: Roman, Griezmann, Vrsaljko, Hernandez, Vitolo, Moreno, Olabe
Atletico make a couple of changes to the team which swept aside Lokomotiv this time last week, with Fernando Torres leading the line after Diego Costa and Kevin Gameiro were left at home.
Antonie Griezmann is on the bench for the visitors, which is probably an indication that Simeone feels this tie is already won rather than a reaction to speculation linking him to Barcelona.
Young stopper Axel Werner is in goal again for Madrid after making his debut in the reverse fixture, despite Jan Oblak recovering from a hand injury to return to action in La Liga on Sunday.
Diego Godin is back in the heart of Atletico's defence after he sat out of the first leg, with Filipe Luis and Juanfran also in the back four after being given the weekend off. Sime Vrsaljko and Luis Hernandez drop to the bench, as does Vitolo as Angel Correa and Thomas Partey are recalled in midfield.
So Simeone has taken the chance to ring the changes again, having rotated heavily for another 3-0 victory, over Celta Vigo, which kept them within eight points of league leaders Barcelona.
Lokomotiv's extremely slim hopes of a comeback are given a boost with the return of top scorer Jefferson Farfan, the Peruvian who made his name as a winger at Schalke but leads the line for the Russians tonight.
Eder, the unlikely hero of Portugal's 2016 European Championship triumph, is axed to accommodate Farfan in one of four changes made by manager Yuri Semin from the first-leg disappointment.
There is a new face in goal as Miroslav Lobantsev starts at the expense of Guilherme, who had his fair share of shaky moments in Madrid, while Mikhail Lysov comes in for the injured Vladislav Ignatyev at full-back, and midfielder Aleksandr Kolomeytsev replaces defender Nemanja Pejcinovic.
Former Spurs and Man City defender Vedran Corluka is one of the more recognisable names in the Moscow XI, while Manuel Fernandes also had spells in England with Portsmouth and Everton.
Attack-minded midfielder Fernandes is one of the top scorer's in this year's Europa League with six goals, having scored hat-tricks against Zlin in the group stage and Nice in the last 32.
Because Atletico managed to shackle the Portuguese in the first leg, Lokomotiv showed little inspiration in attack but that might be different on home soil with Farfan back to help share the burden.
Having said that, the Russians have not been prolific at their own RZD Stadium this season, scoring only 13 goals in 11 home league matches, although that has still been enough to yield seven wins.
A 2-0 win away to Ural Yekaterinburg on Monday would have healed some of the wounds from last week's defeat in Spain, and it also kept Lokomotiv eight points clear at the top of the Russian Premier League, with Zenit St Petersburg and both of their City rivals chasing them down.
Moscow's unspectacular home scoring record makes a comeback, or even the notion of one, even more implausible this evening, as does the pride that Atletico take in the art of defending. Simeone's side have kept a remarkable eight clean sheets in their last 11 matches in all competitions.
The only sides to have scored against Madrid during that run are Sevilla, who conquered Manchester United in the Champions League last night, FC Copenhagen and Barcelona, whose single goal at the Camp Nou earlier this month has put them in firm control of the La Liga title race.
Their eight-point deficit to Lionel Messi and company means that the Europa League is Atletico's best chance of winning a trophy this season, and the bookmakers certainly make them the team to beat. Leaders in the market make Atletico 7/4 favourites, with Arsenal next best at 4/1.
A reminder that Arsenal kickoff against AC Milan at 8pm, holding a 2-0 lead from their trip to the San Siro. Sports Mole will also have live coverage of that game, and in the meantime you can read our detailed match preview, team news and prediction by clicking here.
Even winning the Europa League and finishing second this season might not be enough for Atletico to convince Griezmann to stay in the summer. It does feel as though the French superstar has achieved all that he can at the Wanda Metropolitano and needs to move on to enhance his career.
A report from Catalunya Radio even went as far as to say that Griezmann is looking for properties in Barcelona, but could Manchester United or even Real Madrid still have a say on his future?
Griezmann's strike against Celta Vigo at the weekend took his tally for the season to 21, which is just five short of his haul for the whole of the 2016-17 campaign. He has also struck up a fine partnership with Diego Costa in recent weeks, and the striker would be sad to see his new teammate go.
With Atletico's first-choice front two both rested this evening, there is a rare starting opportunity for Fernando Torres, whose 31 appearances this season have included 21 as a substitute.
Although Simeone seemingly views the three-goal cushion as comfortable enough to spare his top attacking stars, it is not in the Argentine's nature to throw any fixture away and he will be expecting the lineup he has made to go out and keep Atletico's winning momentum going.
The Spaniards have won 10 of their last 11 matches to keep city rivals Real Madrid at bay. They may now look back on their early-season draws and feel that they have cost them a genuine shot at the title.
There is less than 10 minutes to go now until kickoff in Moscow, where the weather is a very chilly -3 degrees. Atletico's players were given an opportunity to acclimatise when it snowed in the Spanish capital in February, and they toughed the conditions to grind out a 1-0 win over Valencia.
Of course, players from both teams will be back in Russia in the summer for this summer's World Cup. Griezmann, Koke and Godin are among those who will be hoping to go deep in the competition.
For a reminder of how the rest of the last-16 ties stand at the halfway stage, visit our fixtures and results section. Heavyweights such as Borussia Dortmund and Lyon have a lot of work to do!
PREDICTION: I wouldn't expect this game to be full of fireworks. Atletico will want to keep things tight in the opening half an hour, as they always do, and might nick a goal or two in the second half. I'll go 2-0 to the visitors.
KICKOFF: Atletico get the game underway. Plenty of gloves in sight, and the hosts may have been expecting snow as we have a red ball and red line markings on the pitch.
Lokomotiv have already shown more of a willingness to come forward than they did in the entirety of the first leg, but so far their attacks have come to a halt on the edge of Atletico's box.
Saul knocks a low cross into the box which Solomon Kvirkvelia puts behind with Torres lurking. Stand-in goalkeeper Kochenkov comes for the subsequent corner and flaps wildly.
SHOT! Atletico work the ball nicely through midfield with Saul eventually shifting the ball inside to Torres. He immediately lines up a shot but it is straight at Kochenkov who punches clear.
A fluent Atletico passing move ends with Corluka getting in front of Correa in the left channel. Incidentally, Correa is the only Atletico player who faces suspension with a booking tonight.
Farfan breaks down the left flank and finds a decent pass through the visiting defence to Anton Miranchuk, but one of the Moscow twins badly snatches his shot which is blocked by Godin.
The surface at the RZD Arena is by no means a mud bath but there are areas of bare ground and it does appear to be a little slippy underfoot with a couple of players uncomfortable on the turn.
Kvirkvelia drills a flat long ball up to Farfan which Gimenez deals with by leaning on the Peruvian. That is not the sort of service that Farfan is going to want up against Gimenez and Godin.
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 0-1 ATLETICO (ANGEL CORREA)
Koke and Correa cut open Lokomotiv with a simple one-two and a slip from Lysov allows the latter to get one-on-one with the goalkeeper, from where he finishes confidently into the bottom corner for his eighth of the season.
For those Russian fans who are counting, that's a minimum of five goals now that Lokomotiv need to get through to the quarter-finals. Of course the tie is over but Madrid will not let them know it.
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 1-1 ATLETICO (MACIEJ RYBUS)
Moscow respond brilliantly with an equalising goal through Polish international Rybus. Werner had kept out long-range shots from Farfan and Denisov in quick succession but was blinded by a crowded penalty area as Rybus rifles through the bodies from 30 yards. One down, four to go!
It is perhaps harsh to blame Werner for that goal, especially as he had made a couple of decent saves moments previously, but you'd have expected Jan Oblak to do better if he was playing.
Lokomotiv's supporters finally have something to shout about in this tie, and they haven't been shy in doing so. This is the first time in the club's history that they have come this far in the Europa League and any sort of positive result tonight would be a good achievement against such opposition.
Ghana international Partey has the time and space to turn in midfield and knock a ball over the top which is just out of reach of Correa, with Kochenkov coming off his line to collect.
CLOSE! The hosts certainly aren't shot shy this evening, with Aleksei Miranchuk teeing up Fernandez for a left-footed drive from a tight angle. It lands on the roof of the net, seemingly taking a deflection off the toe of Juanfran, but the referee points for a goal kick.
Correa is taking up some nice positions in the pockets and he spreads the ball out to Filipe Luis, who gets to the byline but sees his cross turned away at the near post by the Georgian Kvirkvelia.
A tidy Atletico move started by a lovely switch of the play from Partey with the outside of his boot again releases Luis to the byline and the former Chelsea man wins his side a corner. The left flank is starting to be a good outlet for the visitors, with Luis offering them the natural width they don't always have.
Correa gets in front of Kvirkvelia to win a flick on but Torres's first touch lets him down. A better one and the ex-Liverpool striker might have had an opportunity for a sixth goal of the season.
SAVE! Juanfran drives forward with the ball and unleashes a 25-yard rocket which Kochenkov turns onto the crossbar. He did not get far off the ground the goalkeeper so would have been disappointed to let that through, but he did really well from the position that he got himself in.
SAVE! Kochenkov is called into action again as the ball breaks 25 yards out for Partey, who strikes it very sweetly on the half volley and forces the goalkeeper into a two-handed push away.
Corluka releases Farfan with an early long ball and the Lokomotiv forward has a headstart on Gimenez, but the defender makes up some decent ground to get to the ball first and clear the danger.
The goalscorer Correa has been a real bright spark for Atletico, taking up some dangerous positions and showing excellent footwork. His latest mazy run down the left has no end product though as he crosses into the side-netting.
Torres is caught just offside from a Luis chip over the top and shoots against the legs of Kochenkov anyway. The Spaniard may have already seen the flag judging by that casual finish.
HALF TIME: LOKOMOTIV 1-1 ATLETICO (1-4 on aggregate)
Atletico remain in complete control of this tie but aren't having it all of their own way in Moscow this evening. Angel Correa gave them a 16th-minute lead but it was soon cancelled out by a thumper from Poland international Maciej Rybus.
With Farfan up top, Lokomotiv look a different animal than they did in the first leg. Although the Peruvian hasn't posed a big goalscoring threat himself, he has pushed the Atletico defence back and created more room for his teammates.
As you would expect with a Diego Simeone side, there has been no sign of complacency from the visitors and Filipe Luis and Angel Correa in particular have been impressive in that first half.
STATS: Although it is a much more even game than the first leg, Atletico have still enjoyed 58% of possession. The shots on target have been split pretty equally with four for the Spaniards and three for Lokomotiv, who will try to finish their European campaign on a high after the break.
Not a nice match to be on the bench, with both the managers and the players wrapped up in scarves, gloves, hats, snood, blankets, hot water bottles you name it. They will hope to get on and get warm in the second half.
SUBSTITUTIONS: In fact, two of them are going to get that opportunity now as Sime Vrsaljko comes on for Atletico Madrid in place of Juanfran, and Eder replaces Jefferson Farfan, who was a fitness doubt for this match, up top for Lokomotiv.
KICKOFF: Moscow resume the action as the rain starts to fall in the Russian capital...
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 1-2 ATLETICO (SAUL NIGUEZ)
Atletico catch their hosts cold at the start of the second half as Saul adds to his goal from the first leg with a well-taken second. Luis again gets forward down the left and his cross is steered expertly into the bottom corner by the midfielder, who opens up his right foot and gets the direction spot on.
Fernandes delivers a good free kick from the right which Corluka nearly gets his head to.
Lokomotiv have another set piece opportunity, this time right on the left byline, from which Eder is penalised for handball as he tries to turn and shoot from the second ball.
Rybus skips through a couple of challenges in the process of bursting down the right, before Godin ushers the ball behind safely for a goal kick. There was a bit of a petulant kick out from the Moscow goalscorer on the Atletico captain, which the referees either ignored or missed.
SAVE! Partey is not known for his goalscoring - he has played 30 games this season without finding the net - but he's come up with a couple of brilliant long-distance shots tonight, the second of which is this powerful effort which Kochenkov pushes behind for a corner.
There is a half-chance for Atletico to counter through but a Torres pass intended for the run of Correa is cut out by Mikhail Lysov on the cover. Griezmann is getting ready to come on...
CLOSE! Luis makes an outstanding goal-saving tackle, putting his foot in to poke the ball away from a coiled Eder, who instead swings into the ankle of the Brazilian who is clearly in some pain as the Atletico players signal for the medical staff. That looked like a really, really sore on.
SUBSTITUTION: With Luis down receiving treatment, Simeone takes the opportunity to bring on Griezmann who would have been disappointed not to get some minutes after travelling all this way. Saul, probably the star performer over the two legs, makes way.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Luis is going to have to come off too, on a stretcher and grasping his face in agony. Lucas Hernandez is on in his place, while Dmitri Tarasov is on for Kolomeytsev in Moscow's midfield.
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 1-3 ATLETICO (FERNANDO TORRES, pen)
Griezmann has an immediate impact as he runs away from Corluka with a stepover, forcing Kochenkov to rush off his line and make a rash challenge on the substitute. It is a definite penalty and Torres steps up to slot it down the middle.
Atletico have really put their foot on the Lokomotiv throats in the second half. Leading 4-1 on aggregate, they could have cruised but that is simply not the Simeone way, and this scoreline is absolutely emphatic now.
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 1-4 ATLETICO (FERNANDO TORRES)
The visitors have another one as Correa dances through a couple of challenges and slips a pass through to Torres, who opens up his body and curls a simple finish beyond the helpless Kochenkov.
This result and performance is a clear message from Atletico to the rest of the competition that they are in it to to win it. They don't see this as a consolation prize as other Champions League dropouts might.
Torres should return the favour to Correa but he gets his feet in a bit of a mess and his eventual pace to the Argentine is weak and intercepted by Corluka, who seems to have picked up an injury.
SUBSTITUTION: I think Corluka was struggling before that passage of play, and he has now been replaced by Nemanja Pejcinovic, which means that all six substitutions have been made.
Vrsaljko has made a couple of important interventions since coming on. I say important, a goal conceded would not hurt Atletico now of course but he has been in the right place at the right time.
With an early ball, Griezmann releases Torres who is clearly desperate for a hat-trick but is forced wide by Lysov, and the subsequent shift-and-shoot is a couple of yards off target.
Griezmann has been full of tricks since he came on but an attempted dummy here does not come off, to the frustration of Hernandez who had coming bombing forward down the left.
GOAL! LOKOMOTIV 1-5 ATLETICO (ANTOINE GRIEZMANN)
Griezmann rounds off the scoring, possibly, with the pick of Atletico's eight goals over the two legs. Correa gets things started with a delightful flick over the head of Rybus, bringing the ball back under control and teeing up Griezmann for a delicate chip over Kochenkov and into the top corner.
WOODWORK! Lokomotiv nearly grab a consolation as Anton Miranchuk's shot takes a deflection off Godin and strikes the crossbar, and Atletico frantically clear the corner before it can fall to Eder.
This result might put to bed the myth that Atletico are a defensive team, which they are not. They are a well-balanced team who takes pride in defending, but is also full of quality up front.
There will be a minimum of TWO minutes of stoppage time...
FULL TIME: LOKOMOTIV 1-5 ATLETICO (1-8 on aggregate)
Atletico cruise into the quarter-finals of the Europa League with a thoroughly professional job over Lokomotiv Moscow, really finding their groove in the second half to run out 5-1 winners in Russia, and 8-1 on aggregate. Diego Simeone's side are definitely the team to beat in this competition, without a doubt.
That's it from the RZD Arena, but be sure to stay with Sports Mole for full coverage of Arsenal's crunch match with AC Milan from 7pm. Thanks for joining me this evening. Goodbye!
