UCL wrap: Draws at Emirate and Bernabeu

The UCL quarter-final games in Spain and England experienced a turnout of goals between the four participating teams. 

While Arsenal had to come back against Bayern Munich to salvage a first-half lead, it was a rat race between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Six-goal thriller at the Bernabeu

The first leg of the UCL quarter-final clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City ended in an electrifying 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, 9th April.

It took less than two minutes for City to grab their first goal, as Bernardo Silva cunningly exploited Andriy Lunin’s positioning atop a free kick to put his side ahead.

Real Madrid swiftly retaliated through Eduardo Camavinga, whose deflected strike bounced off Rúben Dias and past Stefan Ortega, propelling the Los Blancos into an early lead.

Sensationally, Real took the lead two minutes after the Dais’ authorised equaliser, as Rodrygo went on to latched onto Vinícius Júnior’s pinpoint pass for a Madrid lead into the break.

Despite the first-half setback, City maintained their composure, which finally paid off in the 66th minute when Phil Foden unleashed a volley outside the box to restore parity.

Five minutes later, Joško Gvardiol curled in a stunning effort similar to Foden’s to put the defending champions ahead, much to the disbelief of the Santiago Bernabéu crowd.

True to Carlo Ancelloti’s vow of his players giving their best in all areas, Madrid found their way back into the game through Federico Valverde’s clinical finish from Vinícius’ delivery in the 79 minute.

The draw extended Manchester City’s unbeaten streak to 26 and Real Madrid’s to 13 matches across all competitions, ahead of the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Another draw at Emirate

Elsewhere at the Emirate, Arsenal survived an home defeat following a Leandro Trossard second half strike to end the game in a 2-2 draw.

Arsenal started the game with an internationality to prevent past woes at the Emirates. And the referee, Glenn Nyberg, warned Jorginho for a foul on Konrad Lahmier one minute into the match.

Six minutes later, Gabriel Martinelli’s shot from afar went off target before Bukayo Saka converted Ben White’s pass for the hosts’ first goal of the night in the 12th minute.

The lead only lasted for six minutes after Gabriel Magalhaes’s gaffe gave Serge Gnarby a goal. 

And a minute after the half-hour mark, Harry Kane scored his eighth spot-kick against Arsenal after William Saliba tripped off Sane in the box. 

According to Opta, Kane became the highest goalscorer against Arsenal at the Emirates with six goals. 

However, Mikel Arteta’s second-half substitutions of Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal relief ahead of the second leg in Germany next week. 

While the Gunners were trailing into the final 20 minutes, Jesus combined with Trossard to silence the wailing Bayern Munich, scoring his sixth goal from the bench in the UCL for Arsenal.

The game ended 2-2 with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka’s contentious penalty call following Manuel Nuer’s infraction, which was overruled by the referee.