Champions League: Madrid crumbles against Arsenal as Inter shocks Bayern in Munich
Real Madrid are staring down the barrel of a Champions League exit after falling to a 3-0 defeat against Arsenal in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at the Emirates Stadium.
It was an action-packed first half in North London as both sides sought the breakthrough. However, it did not come in the opening 45 minutes despite Mikel Merino and Kylian Mbappe both going very close, but they were each denied by David Raya and Thibaut Courtois, respectively.
Courtois produced a monstrous performance as he made five important saves, but he was powerless to stop Arsenal from taking the lead just before the hour mark. From 25 yards out, Declan Rice curled an unstoppable free-kick from the right into the top corner, leaving the Real Madrid goalkeeper with no chance.
10 minutes later, the Arsenal midfielder repeated the trick from the other side. On this occasion, he picked out the same corner as his first goal to make it 2-0 as the home crowd exploded with delight. And it would get even better for the Premier League side as they added a third soon after, as Mikel Merino curled the ball into the bottom corner after being set up by Myles Lewis-Skelly.
And it would get even worse for Real Madrid in the closing stages. Eduardo Camavinga had already picked up the booking that would mean that he missed next week’s second leg due to an accumulation of yellow cards, but in stoppage time, he was shown a second after kicking the ball away in frustration.
Real Madrid are very much up against it now in this tie, and they will need one of their performances of recent years if they are to overturn the advantage at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday. But doing so won’t be easy given that Arsenal are a very good defensive side.
Elsewhere, Inter Milan struck late to put themselves in a strong position to advance into the Champions League semi-finals after winning the first leg of their last-eight tie at Bayern Munich.
The German hosts dominated the opening half hour with England captain Harry Kane curling an effort against the right-hand post, but they fell behind to Inter's first shot on target.
The Serie A leaders scored a fine goal at the end of an excellent team move in the 38th minute.
Marcus Thuram showed great skill to jump and flick the ball into Lautaro Martinez's path, with the Argentine striker firing his effort with the outside of the boot into the roof of the net.
However, substitute Thomas Muller levelled in the 85th minute with a goal that looked to have saved Bayern from defeat.
The 35-year-old announced last week he would be leaving in the summer, ending a 25-year association with the club, and he finished from close range after Konrad Laimer's low cross.
But there was to be another twist with just two minutes left.
Inter quickly broke up field, and Carlos Augusto's cross was converted by substitute Davide Frattesi to ensure the Italians would leave Germany with a crucial advantage.
Defeat also ended Bayern's 22-match unbeaten home run in the Champions League, dating back to 2021.
The second leg at the San Siro takes place on Wednesday, 16 April, with the overall winners going on to play either Barcelona or Borussia Dortmund in the two-legged semi-final.
Bayern's Allianz Arena will stage the final on 31 May.
