Arsenal beat Real Madrid to reach UCL semi-finals

Photo : AFP

Arsenal easily beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Santiago Bernabeu, finishing with a 5-1 win over both legs. Real Madrid, the defending champions, were never able to come back from a 3-0 loss in the first leg, and when Bukayo Saka scored in the 65th minute, it was clear they had no chance to win.

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A few minutes after Saka’s goal, Vinicius Junior took advantage of a small mistake by Arsenal’s defense and scored for Real Madrid, giving their fans a small hope. However, it was too late for the home team. In the final minutes of the game, Gabriel Martinelli scored again for Arsenal, sealing the win.

Arsenal will now play Paris Saint-Germain in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009. Declan Rice, who played a big role in Arsenal’s success with two great free kicks in the first leg, spoke about the win: "It’s a special night for this club, a historic night. There was a lot of talk about Real coming back after their past famous comebacks, but we believed in our first leg result and knew we had enough to win here."

The match started with loud cheers from the Real Madrid fans, hoping to see another amazing comeback from their team. However, Real Madrid couldn’t show their usual strength in tough situations, especially in a competition they had won so many times in the past.

Early in the game, Kylian Mbappé thought he had scored, but he was clearly offside when he received a cross from Vinicius. Arsenal didn’t just sit back to protect their lead, though. Saka forced a great save from Courtois, Real Madrid’s goalkeeper.

Arsenal then had the chance to finish off the game when Raul Asencio fouled Mikel Merino in the penalty area. After a VAR review, the referee gave Arsenal a penalty. Saka stepped up but missed, as Courtois saved the ball. Things then got tense for Arsenal when the referee gave Real Madrid a penalty after Mbappé fell under a challenge from Rice. However, after checking VAR, the referee changed his decision, and no penalty was given.

Despite these nervous moments, Arsenal played well and controlled the game. Real Madrid couldn’t get any good chances, and Arsenal’s defense dealt with their attacks easily. Arsenal’s goalkeeper, David Raya, didn’t have to make a single save in the first half as Real Madrid kept trying and failing to break through.

Saka finally made up for his penalty miss when he was passed the ball by Merino and finished well to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead in the second half. Real Madrid got a small break when William Saliba was caught on the ball, and Vinicius scored. But Arsenal stayed calm and held on to their lead.

In the last few seconds of the game, Martinelli scored another goal for Arsenal with an assist from Merino, making it 2-1. This goal confirmed Arsenal’s place in the Champions League semi-finals and sent their fans into a happy celebration.