And they had no problem completing the job as a first-half double by former Chelsea midfielder Tiago and goals by ex-Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord and Fred in the second period gave them a convincing aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals.

PSV, who knocked the four-time Ligue 1 champions out in the last eight last season, were lifeless even before the 42nd-minute sending-off of Phillip Cocu and the loss of their experienced stalwart made an already difficult task nigh on impossible.

It was all Lyon in the opening 15 minutes, with their central midfield trio of Juninho, Tiago and Mahamadou Diarra bossing possession and John Carew looking lively up front.

Florent Malouda set up Tiago for the opening goal in the 25th minute.

Having progressed down the left wing, he cut inside by deftly lifting the ball over a sprawling challenge by Theo Lucius before sliding the ball across the six-yard box for Portuguese midfielder Tiago to slam home.

The visitors gave themselves an even bigger mountain to climb three minutes before the break.

Cocu, who had already been booked, dived in studs-first on Lyon full-back Francois Clerc and was promptly shown his second yellow card by English referee Mike Riley.

The tie was all-but-secured for Lyon in first-half stoppage time when Juninho‘s free-kick was not fully cleared by the PSV defence and the loose ball was thrashed home low by the left foot of Tiago from 12 yards.

Wiltord scuffed a shot from 10 yards out with the goal at his mercy in the 55th minute before finding the back of the net with 20 minutes left, stabbing home a close-range rebound after Gomes had saved well from substitute Fred.

Fred added gloss to the scoreline with a superbly crafted fourth, jinking past his marker before rifling a left-foot shot into the corner from the edge of the area.

Meanwhile, Milan joined fellow Italians Juventus in the last eight by completing a comfortable aggregate victory over Bayern Munich at the San Siro.

Filippo Inzaghi was on target either side of the break while Andriy Shevchenko, who missed a penalty, and Kaka also got their names on the scoresheet.

Bayern had given themselves a glimmer of hope when Valerien Ismael made the score 2-1 in the 35th minute, but they could not stem the Milan tide as the hosts breezed into the quarter-finals.

Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn vowed his side would play “the game of our lives” to ensure their name went into the draw for the last eight but Milan were the more determined side early on and they deservedly went ahead after eight minutes.

Martin Demichelis squandered possession in midfield and the loose ball was picked up by Serginho on the left wing.

The Brazilian’s cross found Inzaghi in acres of space and he headed in from close range as Ismael and Bixente Lizarazu stood watching.

Ismael was Bayern’s villain in the first leg for handling the ball inside the area, allowing Shevchenko to grab an important away goal from the penalty spot in the 1-1 draw.

And the Frenchman made another crass error on Wednesday, holding Inzaghi in the area to give away another spot-kick.

This time Shevchenko sidefooted the penalty wide – but he more than made amends 60 seconds later.

Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam crossed from the right and the Ukraine international stepped in to guide a header past Kahn from close range to double Milan’s advantage.

Felix Magath’s side got the lifeline they were looking for 10 minutes before the interval when Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free-kick was fumbled by Dida to the feet of Ismael, who made up for his earlier errors by slotting home.

Bayern pushed for a second goal which would have put them ahead on away goals, but Dida made an excellent reflex save to deny Ballack before half-time.

Milan regained control of the game two minutes into the second half as Inzaghi struck again.

Another string of defensive gaffes, again involving Ismael and Lizarazu, allowed Inzaghi the easiest of goals, although he needed two attempts before finally heading past Kahn.

The tie was over in the 59th minute when the outstanding Kaka blasted into the roof of the net from 10 yards following Shevchenko’s through-ball.