Gunners turn Real into former Champions League champions

Gunners turn Real into former Champions League champions

The "White Vultures" lost 0-3 in the first leg, but in this return match, the La Liga representative will play at home. Many fans hope to see the spirit of a team known as the "king of Europe" with 15 times winning the prestigious Silver Cup will once again speak up.

Real became the former Champions League champion after stopping at the quarter-finals. Photo: Reuters.

And it is true that Real coach Ancelotti also put out the best cards he currently has in his hands. Rodrygo, Vinicius, Mbappe, Bellingham, Valverde and Bellingham were all in the starting lineup. On the other side of the front line, anticipating the difficulties of having to play away in Spain, coach Arteta arranged Merino to play as a center forward, supported by Saka and Martinelli. The Gunners' midfield trio includes Odegaard, Partey and Rice.

With home advantage, Real poured forward to attack right after the opening whistle. The White Vultures made the visitors' net shake in the second minute but Mbappe's goal was disallowed because the referee determined that the French player was offside. Less than 10 minutes later, it was Real fans' turn to panic when Arsenal were awarded a penalty, but luckily for the home team, Bukayo Saka could not beat Thibaut Courtois on the 11m mark.

In the following minutes, Real completely controlled the game but Mbappe and his teammates had difficulty against the visitors' tight defense. There were no goals scored in the first half.

After the break, the same scenario was repeated, under pressure from Real, Arsenal continued to maintain a tight game, waiting for the opportunity. And the opportunity came to the London representative in the 65th minute. From the right wing, Odegaard coordinated with Rice, before Merino was the one who received the ball and then made a smart pass for Saka to run down and delicately chip the ball past Courtois to put the away team ahead.

At this point, the aggregate score of the two matches was 4-0 for the away team, Real was cornered. Vinicius rekindled hope for the home team by scoring in the 67th minute after taking advantage of a mistake by Arsenal's defense.

The following minutes saw Real's efforts to turn the situation around, but the White Vultures only managed to score one more goal thanks to Martinelli in injury time to seal a 2-1 first-leg win for the La Liga side. Despite winning the second leg, Real were eliminated from the Champions League due to a 2-5 aggregate loss after two matches. Meanwhile, Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the 2008/2009 season. The Gunners will face PSG in the semi-finals.

*Also in the early morning of April 17, Inter Milan hosted Bayern Munich in the second leg of the 2024/25 Champions League quarter-finals. After a 2-1 win in the first leg, Inter entered the second leg with an advantage. The two teams played fiercely from the start, with consecutive opportunities. Harry Kane opened the scoring for Bayern in the 52nd minute, but Lautaro Martinez equalized just 6 minutes later. Benjamin Pavard made it 2-1 for Inter after a set piece. Bayern responded with an equalizer from Eric Dier in the 76th minute, but could not score another goal. Inter won 4-3 on aggregate after two matches and advanced to the semi-finals against Barca.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/phao-thu-bien-real-thanh-cuu-vuong-champions-league-i765386/