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, April 17. Rodrygo gave the visitors an 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 defense 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 deputized 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. Madrid were blown away by an early City blitz in a 4-0 defeat at the Etihad 11 months ago as Pep Guardiola's men went on to win the competition for the first time.
City also edged a semi-final first-leg thriller 4-3 on home soil two years ago only to be stunned by a late Madrid fightback in the return leg. This time Carlo Ancelotti's men flipped the script with an assured start that was rewarded in the opening goal.
Jude Bellingham plucked the ball out of the sky with an immaculate touch to set Real roaming down the right. Vinicius Junior picked out the unmarked Rodrygo and he tapped in the rebound after his first effort was parried by Brazilian international teammate Ederson.
If City were slow to warm to their task they quickly had Madrid penned against the ropes but failed to land a telling blow for 76 minutes. Erling Haaland failed to score for a fourth consecutive clash between the sides but has rarely come up closer than when his looping header came back off the crossbar and left Bernardo Silva no time to adjust to turn in the rebound. Lunin was forced to turn behind De Bruyne's shot from outside the box and the tenacious Antonio Rudiger deflected Jack Grealish's effort into the side-netting. The Madrid goalkeeper saved two more from Grealish at the start of the second half before Guardiola sacrificed the England international for the extra pace of Jeremy Doku.
That proved an inspired change as Rudiger failed to deal with a Doku cross and presented the ball perfectly for De Bruyne to smash into the roof of the net 14 minutes from time. De Bruyne should have turned the tie around single-handedly as he then blazed a glorious chance over.
However, City's dominance of the ball and territory did serve to sap Madrid's energy as their lethal counter-attack was largely subdued after the first half. Guardiola made another big call as Julian Alvarez replaced Haaland for extra-time.
But the Argentine was no more effective at picking holes in the mass ranks of Madrid's defense as it was Real who had the best chance of the extra 30 minutes. Rudiger sliced over with a clear sight of goal after staying forward from a rare Madrid corner. But the German defender was still to have the decisive say as he slotted in the final penalty of the shootout.
Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal paid the price for making one big mistake as Bayern Munich's 1-0 victory sent his side crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Joshua Kimmich's second-half header punished slack marking by Arsenal and ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2009. The Gunners were beaten 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final after a 2-2 draw in the first leg in north London last week.
It was a painful experience for Arsenal boss Arteta, who bemoaned the defensive slip that proved decisive in the second leg. "At the moment it is a gutted dressing room. I cannot find the right words to lift them. I wish I had them," Arteta said. "We tried against a team with a lot of experience. Through the tie the margins have been very small. "In moments we have been better but we gave them two goals. That's a big advantage to give away. "Today you could see the margin of error was zero. We made a mistake defending the box, a big one, and we conceded a goal." "Then it was difficult. We tried in many different ways but it's difficult."
Arsenal's defeat capped a brutal four days for Arteta, whose side lost pole position in the Premier League after a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday. But the Spaniard insisted his players deserved credit for their Champions League adventure, claiming it would take time to develop the qualities required to conquer Europe. "This is a moment to stay next to the players, to give them support. They are the ones who have taken us on this journey," he said. "The club has been without Champions League for seven years. You want to play in the first year and be in the semi-finals or the final. "We all wanted that so badly but you can see with many other clubs that sometimes it takes six or seven years to get to that stage."