Arsenal secured their first Champions League semi-final in 16 years after a historic 2-1 win against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.
Bukayo Saka, who missed a first-half penalty, fired Arsenal into a 4-0 aggregate lead after 64 minutes, only for the holders to respond immediately when Vinicius Junior nicked the ball off William Saliba before he fired home.
Vinicius’ goal provided Real Madrid with some hope, but Arsenal held on to their three-goal advantage – following Declan Rice’s superb set-piece double at the Emirates eight days ago – before Gabriel Martinelli scored in stoppage time to make it 5-1 on aggregate and complete a memorable night in Spain for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal, who became the first English team to win twice at the Bernabeu following their victory here 19 years ago, will play Paris St Germain for a place in the final as they bid to be crowned European champions for the first time.
The buzz word ahead of Wednesday’s second leg was remontada – Spanish for comeback – with Jude Bellingham insisting Real Madrid were confident they could overturn Arsenal’s 3-0 lead.
But the focus of an electric period was on two contentious penalties – one that was awarded to Arsenal, and the other which the hosts were denied.
Prior to the two flashpoints a clearly offside Kylian Mbappe had the ball in the Arsenal net within two minutes and the disallowed goal only encouraged the home fans.
Yet it was Arsenal who had the best opportunities to open the scoring and both chances fell to Saka. On eight minutes, the England winger left David Alba tumbling to the turf before he unleashed a wicked shot on Thibaut Courtois’ goal which required a diving save.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty four minutes later when Raul Asencio was adjudged to have fouled Mikel Merino from Rice’s corner.
Referee Francois Letexier had not reacted but after he was urged to visit his pitchside monitor, he pointed to the spot.
Captain Martin Odegaard took the ball before handing it to Saka. But Arsenal’s star man fluffed an attempted Panenka with Courtois palming the poor penalty away with his left arm.
And 10 minutes later, Real thought they had a penalty of their own.
Rice grappled with Mbappe in the box and the France forward dropped to the deck. Letexier immediately blew his whistle and the Bernabeu erupted.
But Rice protested his innocence and a lengthy VAR check followed. In all, four minutes had passed from the initial foul before Letexier was asked to review his on-field decision. Another minute went by as the French official weighed up whether to overrule his own decision. He did and Arsenal survived.
Arsenal were happy to slow the game down – goalkeeper David Raya was booked for timewasting after 36 minutes – and a frustrated Real failed to muster a single shot on goal in the first half. Indeed, it was Courtois who was called into action again at the other end as he denied Martinelli low to his left in stoppage time.
The Spanish giants had now failed to score in three-and-a-half matches against Arsenal across the last 19 years. They needed at least three in the following 45 minutes to force extra-time.
But it was Arsenal who drew first blood as Saka atoned for his earlier miss. Saka and Odegaard were both involved in a brilliant build-up before Merino played the killer pass and Saka delivered the killer chip. In contrast to his dink from the spot, this time it worked, and the onrushing Courtois could do nothing to prevent Saka’s sublime finish from dropping into the net.
Real now required four goals to salvage anything from the tie, and they pulled one back immediately when Saliba was caught napping and Vinicius robbed the defender to haul Real level on the night.
At that stage, there were still 23 minutes to play, but, in truth, the 15-time European Cup winners never looked like scoring again.
When Mbappe hobbled off with 14 minutes remaining, Arsenal were all but over the line and the crowning moment came in stoppage time when Martinelli sealed a famous win.
[(Gil Vicente FC) Strength]: 1. Gil Vicente FC finished 13th in the league last season. They aim to avoid relegation and fight for a Conference League spot in the new season. Facing FC Porto, the team are motivated to take points in this home game.2. Gil Vicente FC won the recent two games in a row across all competitions. They won 2-0 over CD Nacional in the last league game, smoothly starting wi...
[(Dynamo Dresden) Neutral]: 1. Both sides have never met before, so there were no records to refer to.[(Dynamo Dresden) Weakness]: 1. As the newly promoted team in the 2. Bundesliga, Dynamo Dresden suffered a losing streak in the first two rounds, being demoralized a lot. Facing 1.FSV Mainz 05 in the first game of the DFB-Pokal at home, the team find it hard to secure a win, indicating doubtful mo...
[(Jaro) Strength]: 1. Jaro are 8th in the table and still need points to secure a Championship play-offs spot, indicating full motivation in this match.2. Forward Kerfala Cissoko scored the winner in the last game, helping his side win.3. Jaro won 2-1 over FC Haka in the last game, securing a 2-game winning streak and showing outstanding recent form.4. Jaro were unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw in t...
[(SC Preussen Munster) Strength]: 1. In the new season, SC Preussen Munster's 3 goals in two league games were scored by 3 players, showing multiple scorers on offense.2. SC Preussen Munster won 4 of the last 5 home games in AH, boasting a decent home trend.[(SC Preussen Munster) Neutral]: 1. SC Preussen Munster drew 1-1 with SC Paderborn 07 in the last 2. Bundesliga game, showing average performa...
[(Rot-Weiss Essen) Strength]: 1. Rot-Weiss Essen are playing in the 3. Liga this season. Despite their inferior strength to their rivals, the team will still go all out to secure a qualification spot in this home game.2. Tobias Kraulich scored a goal in the last game, showing his outstanding form.3. Rot-Weiss Essen scored 2 goals and conceded 2 in the last 2 competitive games, boasting decent offe...
[(IFK Varnamo) Strength]: 1. IFK Varnamo are at the bottom of the table this season. If they want to avoid relegation, they have to go all out for points in every game, indicating strong motivation in this match.2. Kai Meriluoto scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, helping the team tie with IF Elfsborg.3. IFK Varnamo won the last 2 games in AH, demonstrating recent performances in li...
[(Le Mans) Strength]: 1. Le Mans drew with En Avant Guingamp in the last league game, failing to start with a win. In this home match, they are motivated to secure their first win of the new season.2. William Harhouz scored an equalizer before the end of the last game, helping the team tie with En Avant Guingamp.3. Le Mans secured a 3-game winning streak in recent warm-up games at home, showing de...
[(Mirassol FC) Strength]: 1. Mirassol FC midfielder Gabriel Santana scored a goal in the last league game, performing actively.2. Mirassol FC scored 10 goals in the last 5 league games, averaging 2 goals per game, showing full offense.3. Mirassol FC conceded 5 goals in the last 5 league games, with an average of only 1 goal per game.4. Mirassol FC boast reliable home strength, remaining unbeaten w...
[(Leeds United) Strength]: 1. After relegation, Leeds United returned to the Premier League this season as the EFL Championship winners. The team significantly strengthened their squad during the summer transfer window, with the goal of staying in the Premier League this season. For their opening home game against Everton, they are determined to secure a winning start to the league, showing strong...
[(Elche) Strength]: 1. As the newly promoted team this season, Elche are motivated to start with a home win in their debut.2. In the summer window, Elche signed midfielder Federico Redondo, Real Madrid loan forward Alvaro Rodriguez, and Valencia CF striker German Valera.3. Elche finished 22 wins, 11 draws, and 9 losses in the Segunda Division last season, smoothly being promoted as the 2nd-placed ...
- 1 Brentford Agree Deal to Sign Dango Ouattara From Bournemouth
- 2 TIPS - Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas VS Liga Deportiva Universitaria
- 3 TIPS - Villarreal VS Real Oviedo
- 4 ngland cricket legend’s granddaughter stuns in bikini
- 5 Lamela explains retirement decision: It started 11 years ago...
- 6 Estevao Willian set for 'key' Chelsea role after debut vs Palace
- 7 TIPS - Club Necaxa VS Club Leon
- 8 Emotional Arne Slot admits he had wanted to bring late Diogo Jota on as a substitute in Liverpool's dramatic victory over Bournemouth
- 9 Benjamin Sesko vs Viktor Gyokeres: Man Utd-Arsenal showdown sets early stage for big-money No.9s to show the Premier League what they can offer
- 10 TIPS - Cambuur Leeuwarden VS FC Oss