5️⃣ things we learned from Wednesday's Champions League action | OneFootball

After the drama of Tuesday night, tonight's remaining Champions League quarter-final second legs had a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, they did, and then some.

Here is what we made of events in Madrid and Milan.

Boyz II Men

The build-up to Arsenal's clash with Real Madrid largely focused on Los Blancos' stranglehold over the competition, another historic remontada, and how the Gunners would fold inside a cauldron-like Bernabéu.

The vast majority of that chat did come from the Real camp and their local media in an effort to put the pressure on Mikel Arteta's side despite their 3-0 advantage.

It did not work at any stage, with Arsenal instead making near-light work of what was their biggest test as a young team. They were defensively solid despite Gabriel's absence, and would have kept a clean sheet but for William Saliba gifting Real an underserved goal.

In midfield, like last week, Declan Rice outshone several big names, dominating with and without the ball, and collecting another Man of the Match award.

Up front, Bukayo Saka made up for his penalty error with a fine opener, and Gabriel Martinelli scooted clear late on to seal a famous win. Mikel Merino provided both on another fine night for the midfielder-turned-striker.

Next up for Arteta is a fascinating semi-final clash with Luis Enrique's PSG, which sees the meeting of arguably the two biggest clubs to never lift the famous trophy.

Galácticos neutered

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While Arsenal enjoyed a statement win, a 5-1 aggregate loss will send shockwaves through Madrid and heads could soon roll.

Across the two legs, Real looked like the team they have been for much of this season - top heavy, defensively soft and unbalanced.

Their famous four again struggled to get on the same wavelength, often getting in each other's way, and sometimes appearing not willing to pass to one another.

The absence of Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal was felt once more, with Raúl Asencio having a night to forget, and Antonio Rüdiger resorting to scare tactics rather than any meaningful contributions.

The German defender's antics are well-known, but it seemed to be a team-wide approach, with Real cosplaying as a very poor Atlético, and attempting to foul their way to success. It had no success, and went against everything this supposed dream team promised.

Could Carlo Ancelotti pay the price for the Galácticos 2.0's failure?

A tale of two teams and one player

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With Real unceremoniously dumped out and missing out on a tie with a new-look PSG, much of the attention will rightly, or wrongly, turn to Kylian Mbappé.

The French captain swapped Paris for Madrid with the intention of winning Champions League titles, but instead, his move appears to have had the reverse effect.

Real look similar to the star-studded but sterile PSG side he played in, while his former club look reborn with a team-first approach, young players and low egos.

Of course, it is all not down to him but narratives will now form, and the notoriously prickly Madrid press are unlikely to show much sympathy, or spare any criticism.

Versatile Inter march on

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While Serie A is far from the glamour league it was in its heyday, Inter continue to look a sleeper bet to win this season's Champions League.

Simone Inzaghi's side are hugely versatile, able to transition from Italian-style Catenaccio defending to exhilarating attacking in the blink of an eye, as they did to overcome Bayern Munich.

The first-half saw them them protect their 2-1 first leg lead, with the best defence in the competition containing the Bundesliga giants with relative ease.

Harry Kane's opener changed the complexion of the tie, and Inter's approach. The Nerazzurri went on the attack, and scored twice in the space of three minutes.

Bayern's second goal, and efforts to force extra-time, led to another bout of rearguard action as they successfully squeezed the life out of the tie.

Next up is a semi-final date with Barcelona, and a repeat of their infamous meeting at the same stage in 2010, the last year Inter, or any Italian side, lifted the trophy.

Are the stars aligning?

Bayern bounce out

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Bayern will count themselves hugely unlucky not to progress given their efforts in both legs, but more so tonight.

Injuries to the likes of Manuel Neuer, Dayot Upamecano, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala meant the excuse was there to lose tonight, but that is not in the club's DNA.

Instead, led by former Spurs pair Kane and Eric Dier, they fought tooth and nail with the dogged Italians to the final whistle, and on another night, things might have turned out differently.

That it was former player Benjamin Pavard's goal that ultimately knocked them out will only add to their pain.

The Bundesliga title is likely to be reclaimed, and while there is positives to take from tonight, the six-time champions are unlikely to settle for domestic success and narrow quarter-final exits.

Could it be a big summer window in Bavaria?

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