SOMETIMES you just have to take a step back, leave the cynicism aside for a minute and admit it to yourself: Yeah, this was pretty darn good.

We are talking about those without a specific rooting interest who witnessed the second legs of European competition last week. Four of the eight games went right down to the wire, a single goal right up until the final whistle could have represented a

180-degree turn in outcomes.

This was the case at the Bernabeu, were Real Madrid bounced back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit to win 3-0 against Wolfsburg; at the Vicente Calderon, where Atletico Madrid stunned Barcelona, 2-0 to go through 3-2 on aggregate; in Seville, where the home side had to go to penalty kicks to overcome Athletic Bilbao; and at Anfield, where Liverpool pulled off an Istanbul-sized comeback to edge Borussia Dortmund.

There was drama and there were sub-plots galore. From Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick (crowned by a free-kick) to Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren’s injury-time winner after his team had twice gone down by two goals. From Benfica – without both their best player, Nico Gaitan, and their top scorer, Jonas – tying Bayern up in knots and taking the lead, to Atletico Madrid’s growling defensive heroics which put the MSN offline.

From Manuel Pellegrini’s exploits in his final games as Manchester City manager (and Laurent Blanc trying to be too clever by half) to Seville battling their way to keep their hopes for an unprecedented third straight Europa League title alive.

The dust has settled and we now have the semi-final pairings. Real Madrid will take on their former manager, Pellegrini. Their European pedigree and City’s defensive inconsistencies (not that Real are impregnable at the back either) make them slight favourites. But, from City’s perspective, there’s obviously a wonderful irony here. Pellegrini, the man shown the door to make way for Pep Guardiola next year, has taken them further than anyone in history. What’s more, City’s expensively assembled squad – chock-full of stars and would-be stars who supposedly will be part of Pep’s summer clear-out and rebuild – will have a delicious opportunity to stake a claim to stay.

Guardiola’s own Bayern side will face their polar opposite in Diego Simeone’s Atletico. There is the obvious contrast in styles, sure, but there’s also the fact that no manager has captured the hearts and minds of his players and his fan base the way Simeone has. Every step and move on Wednesday night appeared willed on by 50,000 “colchoneros” in the Calderon (and countless more watching worldwide). Anybody doubting that metaphysical intangibles like belief, unity and motivation don’t have a multiplier effect on production ought to study that performance against Barca.

As for Guardiola, his legacy should not depend on whether he delivers the biggest prize of all, but, realistically, it will. They are the best side left in the competition, they have no excuses.

The Europa League has the added spice of a Champions League slot for the victors and that has simply increased the excitement on Merseyside exponentially. As if the tall German bundle of nervous energy on the sideline or the absurd comeback against Borussia Dortmund (and his heir apparent) hadn’t been enough. Jurgen Klopp’s crew take on Villarreal, on paper a manageable opponent, but also one that has taken a number of major scalps this year: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid domestically, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen in Europe.

The other semi-final has its own narrative. Sevilla have disappointed in La Liga – they are seventh – but Unai Emery delivering a third consecutive European trophy would be history-making. As for their opponents, Shakhtar Donetsk, this is a team whose stadium was bombed and who play 500 miles away as a result. That’s romance too.

SPEAKING of Barcelona, their abrupt derailment in the Champions League means today’s clash with Valencia takes on a whole new meaning. Atletico Madrid are three points back and Luis Enrique’s men have lost three of their last five in all competitions. A week ago, a second consecutive Treble did not seem far fetched. Today, they are out of Europe and even remaining La Liga champions is by no means certain. They have a Copa del Rey final to look forward to, of course, but that’s against a Seville side who have already put seven past them in three games this season.

An inquest is inevitable and it starts up front. The fabled MSN – Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar – have been mostly AWOL (by their standards) for the past few weeks. Those three, along with Sergio Busquets, have played the most minutes this season (and they have had those intercontinental internationals to deal with as well), suggesting that maybe Luis Enrique’s no rotation policy wasn’t the wisest.

Equally, the old defensive bugbears – less of an issue when the front guys keep the ball up the pitch and terrorise opposing back fours – have reared their heads again. Assuming he stays – and with Barca, you never know – Luis Enrique will want to rethink a few things over the summer.