Champions League: Madrid eliminates Manchester City as Kimmich’s header guns down Gunners

Manchester City and Real Madrid played out another memorable Champions League clash as goals from Rodrygo and Kevin De Bruyne forced a penalty shootout, where Matteo Kovacic had the dishonour of missing the crucial spot kick as Pep Guardiola's side were dumped out of the competition.

The opening strike of the night went in favor of Los Blancos as they stole the lead against the run of play through Rodrygo when Federico Valverde played Vinicius Jr. in behind. The Brazilian crossed to his compatriot, whose first effort was stopped superbly by Ederson before he fortuitously tapped into an empty goal after 12 minutes.

Real Madrid lived dangerously throughout the entire match as the home side created chance after chance after chance, creating incredible pressure in a boisterous atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium and the Spaniards had just one shot after the 24th minute until extra time.

 So, as physics will dictate, the more pressure applied to an object, the greater the inevitability it will break and that happened to Real Madrid when Antonio Rudiger slipped in the box dealing with a cross, leaving De Bruyne to fire home from just yards out to level the affairs in the 75th minute in a thrilling encounter.

It was there that the contest was brutally settled via the haunting method of penalties when both Bernando Silva and Kovacic delivered awful penalties that were saved by Andriy Lunin as Los Blancos headed to the Champions League semi-finals, despite being dominated throughout the game.

City had countless chances throughout, such as Erling Haaland's header from a De Bruyne cross which thundered off the woodwork and fell to Bernando Silva, who was caught unprepared and couldn't react to the second ball before De Bruyne and Jack Grealish also went close.

Real Madrid continued to play a high-risk game straight from the second-half whistle as Lunin was forced to push an in-swinging corner away from under his crossbar before a well-hit Grealish drive stung his gloves in the 46th minute.

Then Dani Carvajal was forced to clear off the goal-line as the leveller began to feel inevitable at a boisterous Etihad Stadium as countless chances and opportunities fell to Grealish, De Bruyne, Silva, and Jeremy Doku before De Bruyne's 76th-minute goal.

The Belgian midfield maestro then missed two excellent chances in the following 10 minutes, with a well-struck shot just going over the bar before he managed to sky a cut-back in the box from just behind the penalty area with the goal beckoning.

Extra time carried on in the same vein as the 90 preceding minutes, with City on top of all of the play whilst Real Madrid tried to hold on for dear life as the home side couldn't break down the away side twice despite racking up 33 shots as the game headed to penalties, where they met their fate.

Elsewhere in Munich, a strong second-half showing from Bayern proved the difference, with Joshua Kimmich's header enough to lead the German side past Arsenal 1-0 (3-2 on aggregate) and into the Champions League semi-finals.

The tie hung in the balance after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates last week. The return leg failed to create the same kind of fireworks though, with the English giants never really looking like scoring on what was a disappointing night for Mikel Arteta's men

Both teams looked sharp out of the gate. First, Harry Kane spun at the edge of the box before firing an effort just wide of the mark. Arsenal responded soon after though, with Gabriel Martinelli bending a shot that only just headed wide from distance.

From there the two teams enjoyed spells of possession, though neither could fashion much in terms of clear chances. Arsenal came closest when Martin Odegaard's drilled pass found Martinelli, though he sent his shot straight at a waiting Manuel Neuer.

The nervy feeling to the match only grew when Bayern tried to take a throw-in while the whole Arsenal team were getting instructions from Arteta during a stoppage in play, with neither side particularly happy with the other.

There was little else to report on in the rest of the half, with the tie still in the balance after 45 minutes as the two teams took few risks.

Bayern wasted no time in turning up the temperature after the restart. In what was their first venture forward, Leon Goretzka's header came back off the bar while Raphael Guerreiro's rebound was scrambled away by David Raya, with a little help from the post.

The German side came close again, this time on a counter. Jamal Musiala started things and picked out Guerreiro, and while his pass for Kane was a little too strong, Gabriel almost managed to poke it into his net.

With Bayern firmly in control, a goal seemed inevitable and it finally came in the 63rd minute. Guerreiro's cross met the head of a sprinting Kimmich, who deposited past a helpless Raya as the Arsenal defence stood still.

Despite being a goal down, Arsenal struggled to mount a response as the home side controlled proceedings. Gabriel Jesus managed to fire miles wide from close range after being played in by Declan Rice, though the offside flag eventually went up.

It was the only real moment of tension for Bayern in the second half, as the German side booked their spot in the Champions League semi-finals, joining Paris Saint-Germain and fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.