Arsenal sealed their return to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semi-finals for the first time since 2009, as a brilliant 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu saw Mikel Arteta’s men progress 5-1 on aggregate.
In Milan, Inter pushed aside a late rally Bayern Munich to book a semi-final appointment with Spanish giant, Barcelona. The draw meant that only one team apiece represent the top teams in Europe with only German league missing out.
Armed with a commanding three-goal advantage after Declan Rice’s first-leg heroics in North London, Arsenal knew a solid start was needed at the home of the 15-time tournament winners. The visitors began with a staunch mindset, and having withstood some early pressure from Real, Arteta’s side were given a glorious opportunity to extend their aggregate lead further. VAR penalised Raúl Asencio for a foul on Mikel Merino in the box, only for Bukayo Saka’s dinked penalty to be clawed away by Thibaut Courtois.
Grateful for that reprieve, the hosts thought they’d been awarded a spot-kick themselves shortly afterwards, but Rice’s soft challenge on Kylian Mbappé was overturned after a lengthy review. Real continued to probe for a breakthrough as the first half progressed, but for all their possession, David Raya was a bystander in the visitors’ goal as the Arsenal rearguard held firm to maintain their three-goal aggregate cushion at the break.
With 45 minutes to save their UCL campaign, Los Blancos upped the ante at the start of the second half, as Mbappé headed over from eight yards and Vinícius Júnior saw a curled effort comfortably saved by Raya. Despite the hosts’ improvement, it was Arsenal who delivered a sucker-punch in the 65th minute when a superb team move culminated in Merino releasing Saka through on goal, and the Englishman atoned for his earlier penalty failure, lifting a delicate finish over Courtois to all but end the tie.
Never known to lie down without a fight, Real restored parity on the night just two minutes later, as Vinícius pounced on poor defending from William Saliba to power the ball into an empty net. However, that ultimately proved to be little more than a consolation, with the Gunners easing through the closing stages before netting a richly deserved winner deep into stoppage time through Gabriel Martinelli’s breakaway run and finish.
The result sees Arsenal progress for the 19th time in 21 UEFA ties after winning a home first leg. As for Real, they’ll be desperate for a positive response against Athletic Club on Sunday, as they look to reduce Barcelona’s four-point lead at the LaLiga summit.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
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