Real Madrid topples Man City on penalties

Bayern Munich edges Arsenal to reach semifinals

Real Madrid advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League by beating Manchester City 4-3 on penalties at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Antonio Rudiger struck the decisive spot kick for the visitors after the game had finished 1-1 through extra time and 4-4 on aggregate.

Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic both saw their penalties saved in the shootout as defending champion City was eliminated by record 14-time winner Madrid.

Rodrygo fired Madrid ahead in the 12th minute with a twice-taken effort from close range to beat City goalkeeper Ederson on the rebound. City dominated the game from then on with Kevin De Bruyne levelling in the 76th by lifting a shot high into the net from close range.

City immediately took advantage in the shootout after Julian Alvarez converted his opening penalty and Luka Modric’s effort was saved. But Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin then saved successive spot kicks from Silva and Kovacic to swing the balance in the visitors’ favour.

Defeat ended City’s bid to become the first English team to win backto-back Champions League titles and its pursuit of successive trebles. City is still challenging for the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

Madrid advanced to the semifinals for the fourth year in row.

Bayern Munich 1, Arsenal 0

Bayern Munich could yet crown a disappointing season with the Champions League title. Arsenal faces the prospect of ending a promising season with no trophy.

Joshua Kimmich’s header powered Bayern over Arsenal to reach the Champions League semifinals with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

With the score at 2-2 from the first leg in London, Kimmich’s header off Raphael Guerreiro’s pinpoint cross put Bayern ahead in the 63rd minute as Bayern largely neutralized the English team’s attack.

Bayern kept alive its hopes of finishing the season with a trophy three days after Bayer Leverkusen ended Bayern’s 11-year reign as German champion. Striker Harry Kane, who spoke Tuesday of being motivated by his release from Arsenal as a youth player, took a step closer to what would be the first trophy of his career.

Tuchel said it meant “really a lot” to beat Arsenal. “The semifinals are an important step, the last four, that was fun,” he told DAZN.

Bayern and Arsenal have been drawn together five times in the knockout stages of the Champions League since 2005 and the German team has eliminated Arsenal on each occasion.

Arsenal’s Champions League exit follows a heavy blow to its Premier League title ambitions in a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday. Defeat also rules Arsenal out of next year’s Club World Cup in the U.S., in favour of Austrian team Salzburg.

Arsenal was left to rue the defensive errors that cost the team in the first leg. “We gave them two goals, a big advantage to give away, and today you could see it was margin of error zero, we made a mistake defending the goal and we conceded,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

After a first half full of inconclusive midfield battles, the match came to life after the break when Bayern hit the goal frame twice in a matter of seconds. Leon Goretzka sent a header against the bar and Guerreiro followed up with a shot that was deflected onto the post.

Kimmich darted into the box unmarked to score the only goal of the game after Guerreiro’s quick footwork on the touchline allowed him to cross past the onrushing Arsenal defender Ben White.

“I got a little lucky that no one seemed to really feel responsible for me,” Kimmich told DAZN.