Already 3-0 after the defeat in the first stage, Real Madrid achieved a poor performance at home, undergoing a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in the first leg while the 15 winners made a release of the quarter-final scene of the Champions League.
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Arsenal smothered any chance of a famous return from Real Madrid to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu stadium finished a global 5-1 victory on Wednesday.
The holders and winners of 15 times did not look like a deficit of 3-0 compared to the quarter-finals last week and when Bukayo Saka scored for visitors in the 65th minute, their fate was actually sealed.
Vinicius Junior seized a rare defensive shift a few minutes later to wake up the local crowd, but it turned out to be too late because the side of Carlo Ancelotti came out of a weak way.
Arsenal’s superiority on both legs was underlined in the stop time while Gabriel Martinelli burst out to mark.
They will face Paris St Germain during their first semi-final of the Champions League since 2009.
“I think it’s such a special evening for this club, it’s a historic evening for this club,” said Declan Rice d’Arsenal, whose two sublime free kicks last week put its side in control.
“There have been a lot of discussions on them who came from the dead, they have done so many times before. But we had so much belief and confidence of this first step that we had enough to come here and win the game.”
A noise cacophony welcomed the kick -off with the fans of the house fed by the hope of attending what would have been one of the greatest feedback in the Champions League.
One night to remember. Who we are. pic.twitter.com/bbqsn3kfje
– Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 17, 2025
But Real’s talent to get out of difficult positions in a competition they have won six times in the previous 11 seasons deserted them when they were too outdated.
“Did we stay below what we wanted in pure football? Maybe,” said the real captain Lucas Vazquez. “They are really terribly organized defensively.”
Saka’s penalty is missing
Real needed a start to the assault and Mbappe had the ball in the arsenal net in the first minutes, but was clearly offside during a chasque in a Cross of Vinicius.
Arsenal was not in a mood to simply sit and protect their advance and Saka forced a great backup of courtes. They had the possibility of killing equality when Raul Asencio unnecessarily transported Mikel Merino to a corner and referee François Letexier finally granted a penalty after checking a Var monitor on the pitch.
Saka opted for a Panenka and Courtois style chipped penalty recovered the ball.
It looked like a potentially pivotal moment and when Letexier pointed out the point of penalty at the other end after Kylian Mbappe fell under minimal rice contact, the Arsenal night seemed to take a worse turn.
After five meticulous minutes, however, Letexier was again invited by Var to see the instructor and to a choir of the house fans, overthrew his initial decision.
This fear apart, Arsenal easily faced the famous front line line of Real Madrid which did not have little work with.
The Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya, was not required to make a safeguard before half-time, because the predilection of reality for the crossroads of hope in the area turned out to be easy for the defense on visit.
Real attacking programming disappoints
Real’s Mbappe had barely a chance, when Arsenal showed great control and Saka compensated for its failure in the first half with a clinical finish after being sent clear by Merino.
William Saliba offered Real a lifeline when he was taken in possession at the edge of his region, allowing Vinicius to score, but there has never been a feeling of panic in the ranks of visit.
Martinelli put the icing on the cake in additional time, again of a merino help, to send the fans of arsenal to the ravages.
