Arsenal have reached the Champions League semi-finals for only the third time in the club’s history, sealing the feat with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and a dominant 5-1 aggregate scoreline.
After their 3-0 triumph in the first leg, the Gunners extended their lead in the 65th minute thanks to a delightful chipped finish from Bukayo Saka. But just two minutes later, Vinicius Junior capitalized on a lapse from William Saliba to pull one back for the hosts.
Gabriel Martinelli then made sure of the result with a stoppage-time goal to end any Madrid hopes of a late comeback.
Dramatic moments
The first half was full of drama: Saka had a Panenka penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, while VAR denied Real Madrid a penalty at the other end.
Declan Rice once again delivered a commanding display, mirroring his standout performance in the first leg and earning the Player of the Match award.
Declan Rice reacts
Speaking after the match, Rice told TNT Sports:
“It’s such a special night for this club, a historic night for this club. We have an objective in this competition, we want to play the best teams and win this competition.
“There was a lot of talk coming here about them coming back because they have done it so many times before. But we had so much belief and confidence from that first leg that we had enough to come here and win the game.
“We knew we were going to suffer, but we knew we were going to win. We had it in our mind and we did it. What a night for the club.”
New Daily Prime reported in the first leg that Declan Rice scored two excellent second-half free-kicks as Arsenal stunned Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals at Emirates Stadium, taking a three-goal advantage into the second leg.
Mikel Arteta had asked the Arsenal fans to arrive early to create an impressive atmosphere inside the stadium, and the team responded by starting the game quickly with a number of dangerous crosses into the Madrid penalty area.
Highlights
The Gunners were the better side all evening and took the lead in the 58th minute when Rice curled the first of two excellent free-kicks round the Real Madrid wall into the corner of the net past Thibaut Courtois.
Rice scored his second of the night with a free-kick of equal quality 12 minutes later, bending another long-range effort into the top right-hand corner to leave Madrid stunned.
Mikel Merino Seals the WinMikel Merino then made sure it was a memorable night for Arsenal when he curled a shot into the bottom corner from inside the area just five minutes later.
Things only got worse for Madrid when Eduardo Camavinga was sent off in stoppage time for picking up a second yellow card.
