Europa League - 5 matches that you just cannot forget

A 1-1 draw in the first leg at Mestalla left everyone guessing what would enfold as this last-16 tie concluded in Germany. Valencia's David Villa was the star of the show, breaking the deadlock after three minutes and going on to claim a hat-trick. But Werder would not lie down. Any time the Spanish side thought they were in the clear, Bremen would reappear like a horror movie villain.

"It was the craziest game I've ever played in," said Villa after his side had hung on for an away-goals win following Claudio Pizarro's equaliser six minutes from the end. "There were so many chances to score, there should have been even more goals. It was like playing when I was a kid at school."

Fulham were supposed to be down and out after losing 3-1 in Turin in the opening installment of the round of 16 tie. Indeed, when David Trezeguet put the Bianconeri in front at Craven Cottage inside two minutes, Roy Hodgson's side looked doomed. Bobby Zamora struck back soon enough and Fabio Cannavaro was dismissed inside the half-hour, but Fulham still needed two more goals merely to force extra time.

Zoltán Gera got the first just before half-time and the second soon after but the outright winner required something special; Clint Dempsey duly provided it with a sumptuous chip. "I was wondering whether to shoot or try to dink it towards the far post," said Dempsey. "So I just went with it. Nine times out of ten I don't think I'd have hit it as well as I did."

Pushed all the way by PSV in the round of 32, Hamburg looked set for an easier ride in the last 16 as goals from Joris Mathijsen, Ruud van Nistelrooy and captain David Jarolím earned a healthy 3-1 first-leg lead. Indeed they looked to be cruising into the quarter-finals after Jerome Boateng's 42nd-minute opener in Brussels, only for Romelu Lukaku's header and a Matías Suárez penalty to put Anderlecht ahead before the break.

Marcell Jansen's early second-half strike dampened home hopes of a remarkable comeback, but efforts from Lucas Biglia and Mbark Boussoufa put Anderlecht just a goal away from qualification. With Hamburg on the rack, Mladen Petrić's cool finish put the tie to bed once and for all. "Incredible," midfielder Marcell Jansen told UEFA.com. "It was a crazy game."

It seemed that United would ease through the competition after transferring from the UEFA Champions League. Ajax were dispatched in the round of 32, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side had not bargained for such enterprising opponents in the last 16. Wayne Rooney hit two at Old Trafford but Athletic scored three times in between to record a first win on English soil.

Fernando Llorente – with a glorious volley – and Óscar De Marcos were on the mark in a similarly energetic performance in Bilbao, meaning Rooney's late drive was mere consolation. "We played two fantastic legs," concluded De Marcos. "We really enjoyed ourselves, each and every one of us played and combined well on the pitch – that was the key."

Sevilla lifted the trophy for the third time in 2014 but it is easy to forget how close they came to being knocked out. Four minutes into added time in the return it was Valencia who were set to line up against SL Benfica in Turin after an incredible comeback. Stéphane Mbia had other ideas, though, planting a firm header from a flick-on to send the visitors through. "There aren't words to explain tonight," said Ivan Rakitić, summing it up nicely.

That it came to this was no surprise – both teams had history for drama. Sevilla needed penalties to get past city-rivals Real Betis Balompié in the round of 16 while Valencia overturned a 3-0 first-leg defeat by Basel in the last eight. Sevilla's 2-0 win at home was therefore no guarantee and so it proved as the lead was wiped out inside 26 minutes. Jéremy Mathieu's second-half strike looked to have won it before Mbia struck.