By Razeen Gutta
Arsenal and Manchester City were both eliminated from the Uefa Champions League as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid booked their places in the last four on Wednesday.
With both ties level after the first legs, an intriguing evening awaited fans in Munich and Manchester, with both battles once again evenly contested.
The visitors dictated the pace in the opening phases at Bayern, with Gabriel Martinelli coming closest for the Gunners.
The hosts really began to get out the blocks in the second half though, hitting the woodwork twice in quick succession.
Joshua Kimmich broke the deadlock to make it 3-2 on aggregate shortly after the hour mark; and Thomas Tuchel’s side held on to qualify for their 13th Champions League semi-final.
Only Real Madrid have made more appearances in the last four of the competition, and Los Blancos would prove their mettle yet again on a difficult away evening at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated proceedings throughout, keeping nearly 70 percent of the ball and registering five times as many attempts as their visitors.
Against the run of play, Rodrygo opened the scoring though, giving Madrid something to cling on to after just 12 minutes.
The equaliser would come with just a quarter of an hour of normal play remaining; and it was none other than Kevin de Bruyne that would ensure the game goes the distance.
Neither side could risk losing it enough to get a winner in extra time — and a shootout would loom.
From the penalty spot, City would crumble under pressure as Andriy Lunin kept out both Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic to fire Real Madrid to the next round.
Bayern will face Madrid while Borussia Dortmund take on PSG in the last four, with the first legs taking place on the 30th of April and 1st of May. The second legs are scheduled for the 7th and 8th of May.
Pictured above: Real Madrid
Image source: @optajoe
