Arsenal Are Through To UCL Semifinal After Real Madrid Defeat

 

Gabriel Martinelli celebrating scoring the winning goal for Arsenal against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg tie

Arsenal are through to the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Real Madrid on an aggregate of 5-1 following their 2- 1 victory in the quarterfinal second-leg at Santiago Bernabeu. 

Real had trailed the Premier League side from the first-leg tie, which they lost 3-0, giving their opponents a fair head start. The game was tense between both sides until Bukayo Saka broke the deadlock, and Vinicius Jr. followed soon after. 

Saka found a space inside the box and latched onto a through ball from Merino. He tipped the ball over on rushing Courtois, and Arsenal took the lead. Vinicius won a loose ball from Saliba in front of the box and struck it into the empty goal for Real's equalizer. 

Gabriel Martinelli completed the victory, blasting off with the ball from Merino's pass before rifling home a left-footed shot inside the box. Courtois was beaten to the bottom left of the goal. 

Arsenal secured their first UEFA Champions League semifinal qualification in 2008/09. They reached the milestone for the first time in 2005/06 and progressed to the final, where they lost to Barcelona. 

Overview 

Madrid had an uphill task on their hands from the get-go, and Ascensio was almost making that ever more difficult by drawing a needless penalty following a corner. Salah missed the moment that should have put the game to bed, but forced a Courtois save.  

The first half was split between the two sides in terms of possession, with Arsenal forcing a couple of saves from Courtois. Gabriel Martinelli came the closest to pulling off a goal in the half, and Declan Rice nearly drew a penalty that could have set Madrid ahead.