Real Madrid 1-2 Arsenal (Vinícius Júnior). Not this time. Here is the immediate reaction. Next for you: Player ratings, interviews and a Champions League podcast.
This game was purely business for Real Madrid – and with all the talk in the build-up they almost had no choice but to win 4-0 and progress to the semi-finals in typical style. Lucas Vázquez and David Alaba were the full-backs Carlo Ancelotti depended on for another huge comeback, with the remaining side as expected other than Dani Ceballos being selected only for the bench. Lucas Vázquez was the skipper tonight.
Real Madrid actually started well, and had a goal disallowed for offside after two minutes when Kylian Mbappé shouldered the ball in from a stupid position. Arsenal then had a penalty and a huge chance to end the tie early. Martin Odegaard stepped up, but rather than activating the Castilla curse, Mikel Arteta’s men chose to swap out for Bukayo Saka who predictably missed. Madrid then seemingly had a penalty as the arms of Declan Rice engulfed Mbappé, but after a VAR check the referee decided that there was not enough in it. Whilst Real Madrid pushed ahead for the remainder of the first-half, they didn’t really create anything concrete. 0-0 at the break, agonisingly.
The second half brought more of the same, with Real Madrid on top and looking to attack – but struggling to create anything of substance. Arsenal then dealt the final blow as Martin Ødegaard orchestrated the type of attack that Madrid had been searching for all game. His clever play found Mikel Merino who slotted the ball through to Bukayo Saka to score. Vinícius Júnior scored a minute later after a huge mistake, but this was not going to be enough. To make things worse, Arsenal won the game in added time when Gabriel Martinelli beat the keeper and add a cherry to the top of their cake. Real Madrid just cannot beat Arsenal. Full-time, 1-2 – and Real Madrid are out. But what does this mean for their season now?
