Bukayo Saka scored a goal and missed a penalty as Arsenal held off Real Madrid to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in an incident-packed match at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
The Gunners won 2-1 on the night to advance to their first Champions League semi-final since 2009 5-1 on aggregate, while Inter Milan drew 2-2 at home to Bayern Munich but the Italians progressed 4-3 on aggregate.
Arsenal had a 3-0 aggregate lead to defend after their superb victory in the first leg last week – and they were given the chance to silence the noisy home support when they were awarded a 13th-minute penalty.
Saka stepped up but his weak, chipped effort was saved by the excellent Thibaut Courtois.
However, the England forward made amends for his miss when he effectively killed off the tie with a fantastic chipped second-half finish over Courtois after Mikel Merino’s clever pass.
Real hit back just two minutes later when a terrible mistake from William Saliba gifted Vinicius Junior with an open goal to score.
But Real were not able to capitalise on that glimmer of hope and Gabriel Martinelli capped off a glorious night by making it 2-1 in stoppage time with a breakaway goal, again set up by Merino.
It is just the third time Arsenal have reached the semi-final stage of the Champions League and they will face Paris St-Germain in the last four.
The home crowd, who had built an excellent atmosphere and were hoping to spark a comeback that would be remembered for years to come, thought their side had a way back into the tie shortly after Saka’s spot-kick miss when they were awarded a penalty of their own.
But a lengthy check with the video assistant referee overturned the referee’s decision after Kylian Mbappe had thrown himself to the floor following minimal contact from Declan Rice.
In the other fixture of Wednesday night, Inter Milan booked their place in the semi-finals with a thrilling draw against Bayern Munich at San Siro Stadium.
The Italian champions led 2-1 from the first leg but their advantage was wiped out by Harry Kane’s crisp, low strike early in the second half.
That goal sparked Inter into life and just nine minutes later they were in front on the night and in complete control of the tie.
First, Lautaro Martinez lashed home from six yards as the ball dropped kindly for him from a corner.
Three minutes later, another corner and this time defender Benjamin Pavard powered in a header from Hakan Calhanoglu’s delivery.
Bayern did not give up though, and with 14 minutes remaining they drew level thanks to Eric Dier’s looping back-post header from a tight angle.
Vincent Kompany’s side pushed for a third goal to force extra time, and in the fifth of six added minutes the chance came but Thomas Muller could not direct his header past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Despite the late scare, it is Inter who progress to face Barcelona in a tantalising last-four tie.
BBC Sport
