Arsenal beat European champions Real Madrid in the legs of both quarterfinals in the Champions League semi-finals. After securing a compelling 3-0 victory with the Emirates, they completed the Los Blancos with a double by winning 1-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Bukayo Saka had been given a first half penalty saved by Real Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, so he redeemed himself with a well-touched finish to break the deadlock in the 65th minute. It was too late for Real at that point, but Carlo Ancelotti’s faint hope for the team might have reappeared when Vinicius Jr. equalised just two minutes later.
However, the match was ultimately settled in Arsenal’s favor by Gabriel Martinelli, three minutes after a second half stoppage time.
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Arsenal’s season has been severely hampered by injuries, and manager Mikel Arteta was forced to lead his team to the Spanish capital without pushing defenders Gabriel Magalges, Tahekiro Tomiyas, Riccardo Calfioli, midfielder Giorguinho and Kai Herbertz and Gabriel Jesus forward.
With David Raya in the goal, Jakub Kiwial replaced Gabriel next to William Saliba, in the centre of the defense, with Miles Lewis Skelly and Julien Timber pinned down. Declan Rice was paired with Thomas Party in the middle of the park, and Martin Odegard captted the sides from a more advanced and creative role. Martnelli attacked from the left, Saka from the right, with Midfielder-by-Trade’s Mikel Merino again serving as auxiliary striker.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti also had many absenteeism to avoid. Goalkeeper Andriy Luinn and defenders Edder Militau, Ferland Mendi and Dani Karvajal were all injured, and midfielder Eduardo Kamavivavia came in the match to provide a yellow card suspension.
The court stood between the posts as center backs Antonio L Digger and Raul Asensio were Lucas Vasquez on the right and David Alaba on the left. Previously serving as a forced solution on the right back, Federico Valverde returned to the midfield section and partnered with Aurelien Chowmeni. Jude Bellingham played just behind striker Killian Mbappe, with Vinicius and Rodrigo on the wing.
Match Summary
In Madrid, there was a sense that “Lemon Tada” was in the air following the intense defeat in North London last week. The buzzwords flew around the capital. Even Ancelotti leaned against the comeback story before kickoff.
However, Arsenal was not embarrassed by the noise. Vinicius and Kylian had early moments that could have ended with Mbappe’s offside goal, but it was the visitors who carved out the clearest early opportunity. Arsenal was awarded a penalty after discovering Asensio pulling Merino into the corner in the VAR review. However, Saka’s attempted Panenka from the scene fell flat, and was easily saved by Courtois.
Rather than inspire the onslaught of Madrid, the mistake did little to inspire the hosts. They had their own overturned penalty after a monitor check, and Raya was not tested in the first half despite the Arsenal backline launching a barrage of crucifixes that are firmly held by.
In the second half, Arsenal continued to settle for Madrid while his complaints grew. Bellingham hit Timber’s Timber from the ball, and Valverde’s rage was clear when Rice cut a threatening pass. Ancelotti’s triple alternative highlighted their despair, but the gunners remained in control.
Saka found the red after an hour with a clever finish with Arsenal’s total leading 4-0. However, Saliba gave Madrid a lifeline moment, and gave him a costly error that Vinicius could tap on the score to level it out.
Still, Arsenal didn’t flinch. They denied momentum in Madrid and watched the game with maturity and calmness. Afterwards, deeper into the downtime, the visitors put their tie into the bed in style. Martinelli finished a quick counter and gave Arteta’s flank the deserved victory and the collective victory of the commander at night.
Penalty calls and VAR interventions highlight unstable referee performance
The quarterfinals of the Champions League, especially those involved with very large clubs, are never easy for referees to handle. It requires a special kind of authority, as much knowledge about the actions of individual players as the laws of the game, and a lot of preparation to get it right. Unfortunately, Francois Letexier showed virtually none of them.
There were some minor but obviously wrong decisions – no corners given, throw-in given the wrong way, suspicious foul call between boxes. Letexier also failed to check players’ anger several times, but the moment that stood out is, of course, a penalty decision.
First, the judge missed Merino’s Asensio pull and had to intervene before ultimately awarding a spot kick to Arsenal. And he gave a real penalty for obviously inadequate contacts, and guaranteed a yellow card for the simulation, not a penalty. Luckily for the gunner, Val was again there to fix the mistake in Retekier.
The overall impression of the game was that a 35-year-old UEFA official had fallen out of his depth at the Bernabeu.
Arsenal’s defense is almost perfect
It was most expected to decorate the Bernabeu with the deepest, most trained low blocks, but Arteta tried in advance that his side simply didn’t sit from the first whi.
And Arsenal was delivered on that intent. They fell on a solid 4-4-2 mid-block from time to time, but their approach was far more ambitious. Their out-of-owner games were beautifully balanced, often reducing Madrid’s offensive patterns to infertility possession spells.
Apart from Saliba’s distinctive error, Arsenal was perfectly defensive. Their compact shape pushed Madrid up a lot, forcing the cross after the cross. The wood was excellent in one-on-one situations and made Vinicius stifle, so despite his mistake, there were multiple outstanding moments, and the front player’s work rate was unforgiving. Rice dominated the midfield next to the part, closing the central lane and denying Madrid’s space. As for Kiwiol, he hasn’t made a mistake since breaking into the side.
Perhaps the most important aspect of performance was Arsenal’s response to adversity. After admitting, they paniced and did not allow Madrid to summon his usual magic in this race. They remained calm and watched the game with perfect maturity. It was another big step for Arteta’s part – a sign of how far they’ve come.
Gunners need it all in the semi-finals when they are destructively facing the Paris Saint-Germain side of informing.