Arsenal produced a superlative performance at the Emirate Stadium to defeat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal approached the game with the total commitment it deserved and had the upper hand in the first half though it ended goalless.
The Gunners determination continued in the second half with Declan Rice scoring two wonderfully taken free-kicks to give the home side a 2-0 lead. Real Madrid were stunned and before they could realize what hit them Mikel Merino put the icing on the cake to give Arsenal a 3-0 advantage ahead of the second leg next mid-week at the Santiago Bernabau.
Arsenal have not reach the Champions League semi-finals since the 2008/09 season and the hunger to reach the last four this season with the way they played tonight.
Real Madrid’s night moved from bad to worse when Eduardo Camavinga was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card. Nevertheless, the experience of the 15-time champions and the fire power in their armory still leave Arsenal with a bigger battle in Madrid if they will succeed in eliminating the defending champions.
In the second quarter-final match that took place at the Allianz Arena, venue for this season’s final, Bayern munich were beaten 2-1 at home by AC Milan.
Lautaro Martinez gave the visitors the lead in the 38th minute, but Thomas Muller equalized five minutes from full-time.
But, the Italians were not done yet as Davide Frattesi scored the winner that broke the hearts of the Germans. The second leg at the San Siro can go either side.
