Real Madrid exit Champions League as Arsenal stand firm to book semi-final spot | OneFootball

Real Madrid will not win their 16th Champions League title this season after being dumped out of the competition by Arsenal. The second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu finished 2-1 to the visitors, which meant that they secured a 5-1 victory on aggregate in the quarter-final tie.

As expected, Real Madrid made a flying start to the match, but it was Arsenal that had the best opportunity to score in the first half. Raul Asencio was adjudged to have fouled Mikel Merino inside the penalty, which allowed Bukayo Saka the chance to establish a four-goal aggregate lead. But it was a chance that he wasted as his poor penalty was saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Real Madrid were also awarded a penalty in the opening 45 minutes after Kylian Mbappe went down under a challenge from Declan Rice, but after a VAR check, the decision was overturned -much to Arsenal’s belief.

Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring for Arsenal against Real Madrid (Image via Diario AS)

The deadlock was broken in the second half, and it was done so by Arsenal. The goal that established a four-goal lead on aggregate was scored by Saka, who made up for his earlier penalty miss with a lovely chipped finish over Courtois. But no sooner than Mikel Arteta’s side scored, they conceded. A terrible error from William Saliba allowed Vinicius Junior to nip in, and he made no mistake with the goal at his mercy.

Real Madrid pushed hard to continue the comeback, but it was a dreadful end to the match. Not only did they lose Mbappe, who suffered an ankle injury, but Arsenal scored late on to win the second leg – that goal came from Gabriel Martinelli, who raced in behind before slotting past Courtois.

Real Madrid now only have La Liga and the Copa del Rey to fight for, and this result will no doubt increase the pressure on head coach Carlo Ancelotti.