Real oust City, Bayern outgun Arsenal to reach semis
Real Madrid exacted revenge on Manchester City to reach the Champions League semi-finals 4-3 on penalties after withstanding a barrage at the Etihad on Wednesday, and will face Bayern Munich in the last four after the German giants beat Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate. Rodrygo gave Real early lead before Kevin De Bruyne hit back for the holders to leave the match level at 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate. However, City's defence of the competition came to an end after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic saw spot-kicks saved by Madrid's unlikely hero Andriy Lunin. The Ukrainian, who has deputised this season for the injured Thibaut Courtois, had been at fault for City's early opener in a thrilling first leg but more than made amends. City had not lost at home in the Champions League since 2018 but the holders were held at bay by a heroic defensive effort by the 14-time European champions despite having 34 attempts on goal. "It's so difficult. They are continuously probing with the ball and move you around. Most teams would fall apart when City get on top of you but we stood up really well," said Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham. "Today it came down to mentality." "In other sports for the stats we would win but football is like this and it's marvellous," said Guardiola. "Congratulations to Madrid because their capacity to resist and defend till the end, they did so fantastically. We didn't manage to score in the final pass or final shot." A 63rd-minute Joshua Kimmich header gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Arsenal in their quarter final second leg. The 3-2 aggregate quarter-final victory means Bayern return to the last-four for the first time since winning the title in 2020. (AFP)