Arsenal stays calm to reach Champions League semis after beating Real Madrid
Baku, April 17, AZERTAC
Arsenal qualified for the semifinals of the Champions League on Wednesday, after a 2-1 win against Real Madrid that saw the defending champion crash out of the competition 5-1 on aggregate, Xinhua reported.
Arsenal could have secured a more significant victory if Bukayo Saka had converted an early penalty, but the England international elected to dink the ball softly, allowing Thibaut Courtois to make an easy save.
Despite the penalty miss Arsenal gave an assured performance, controlling the ball against a Real Madrid side that lacked coordination in midfield and defense, while Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard controlled midfield.
Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger was lucky to escape punishment after appearing to step on the stomach of Myles Lewis-Skelly, before Saka gave Arsenal a well-deserved lead after 65 minutes with a smart finish over Courtois.
That looked to have killed off the tie, but a bad error from William Saliba gifted Vinicius Jr. an equalizer just two minutes later.
Arsenal showed a lot of maturity in the closing minutes to ensure that Real Madrid, pushed on by a crowd used to heroic comebacks, was not able to get back into the game, and Gabriel Martinelli scored a second for Arsenal in injury time after a pass from Mikel Merino.
Madrid's night was made even worse with Kylian Mbappe leaving the pitch with an apparent injury which means he is doubtful for the Copa del Rey final on April 26.
In another match, Inter Milan advanced to the Champions League semifinals after a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at San Siro, securing a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Having earned a 2-1 win in the first leg at the Allianz Arena last week, Inter fielded its strongest available lineup, including the return of Federico Dimarco. Bayern remained plagued by injuries, with Jamal Musiala among the absentees, though Kingsley Coman made his return.
Neither side created clear-cut chances in a cagey first half. The match opened up after the break, with Harry Kane putting Bayern ahead in the 52nd minute, eluding Dimarco to slot in a low strike and level the aggregate score.
Inter responded six minutes later. A corner kick fell to Lautaro Martinez, whose initial header deflected off Joshua Kimmich. Martinez reacted quickly to fire home from close range.
The Nerazzurri capitalized on their momentum just three minutes later when Hakan Calhanoglu delivered another corner that found former Bayern defender Benjamin Pavard, who rose for a powerful header to put Inter back in front on aggregate.
Bayern leveled the match in the 76th minute through a bizarre goal. Serge Gnabry lofted in a cross that Eric Dier headed from the byline, the ball looping high into the air and dropping into the net.
Bayern nearly snatched a dramatic late winner, but Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer denied Thomas Müller's close-range header in the dying moments.
With the draw, Inter reached the Champions League semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Italian side will face Barcelona, which eliminated Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
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