In the quarterfinals of the Champions League, in thrilling matchups, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Bayern, and Real Madrid defeated Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Manchester City respectively, securing their places in the semifinals.
Bayern and Real Madrid will face each other on April 30th at the Allianz Arena, while Borussia Dortmund and PSG will play on May 1st at the Signal Iduna Park.
Come and follow how the quarterfinal matches unfolded and how the teams qualified.
Follow us on social networks to stay updated on the latest Cup news: Instagram, Facebook and X.
Index
Champions League
Manchester City 1(3×4)1 Real Madrid
After a spectacular match in Madrid, ending in a 3-3 draw, City and Real Madrid once again found themselves level, and the qualification was decided in a penalty shootout.
Real Madrid opened the scoring at the 12th minute with the first shot of the game. Valverde passed to Vinicius Jr in the area, who crossed to Rodrygo. The Brazilian shot, Ederson made a great save, but Vinicius Jr followed up and netted the rebound.
With the assist, Vinicius Jr reached an incredible mark of 16 goal involvements in knockout games of the Champions League in the last 16 matches.
At the 18th minute, Bernardo Silva headed into the area, Haaland hit the crossbar, and on the rebound, the Portuguese missed an unbelievable goal.
At the 26th minute, De Bruyne tried from outside the box, and Lunin tipped it over for a corner.
At the 44th minute, De Bruyne attempted an Olympic goal, Lunin palmed it away, the ball grazed the post, and went out for a corner.
At the 51st minute of the second half, De Bruyne passed to Haaland, Nacho won the race but, while deflecting the ball, he troubled Lunin and almost scored an own goal. However, the defender managed to clear it for a corner.
City equalized at the 30th minute. Doku made an individual play on the left, crossed, and Rudiger cleared poorly, allowing De Bruyne to control and hit a powerful shot to level the score.
At the 33rd minute, De Bruyne struck a left-footed shot from outside the box, and Lunin made a great fingertip save.
At the 36th minute, Doku passed to Akanji, who crossed perfectly for De Bruyne. The Belgian finished unmarked near the penalty spot but sent it over the goal.
With the draw, the match went into extra time. In the last play of the first half, Brahim Díaz delivered a great cross to Rudiger. The German shot from inside the small area but missed.
The score remained unchanged, and the qualification was decided in the penalty shootout.
Álvarez opened the scoring and converted for City.
Next, Ederson saved Modric’s shot.
Bernardo Silva shot down the middle, and Lunin made the save.
Bellingham shot low and scored.
Lunin saved another penalty, this time from Kovacic.
Lucas Vázquez, Foden, and Nacho converted their penalties.
Finally, goalkeeper Ederson scored, but couldn’t prevent Rudiger’s goal, and Real Madrid once again advanced to the Champions League semifinals.
Real Madrid will face Bayern in the semifinal on April 30th at the Allianz Arena.
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_da025474c0c44edd99332dddb09cabe8/internal_photos/bs/2024/Z/I/k1RSmJRDugQkBqCMrQDA/106620637-real-madrids-german-defender-22-antonio-rudiger-celebrates-with-teammates-after-scoring.jpg)
Photo: Darren Staples/AFP
Barcelona 1×4 PSG
After winning 3-2 against PSG in Paris, Barcelona suffered a heavy defeat at home and bid farewell to the Champions League.
Barcelona started the match well and opened the scoring at 11 minutes. Lamine Yamal made a great individual play, penetrated the area from the right, and crossed for Raphinha to slot home with his shin.
At 27 minutes, Barcola advanced from the left and crossed to Mbappé, who struck first-time but was denied by a great save from Ter Stegen.
The game took a dramatic turn at 28 minutes with Araújo’s expulsion. Nuno Mendes passed to Barcola, who was heading towards goal, but the Uruguayan defender pulled the Frenchman down outside the area, resulting in Araújo’s red card.
PSG leveled the score in the first half at 38 minutes. Barcola crossed, the ball passed almost everyone, and Dembélé appeared to send it into the net.
At 47 minutes, Nuno Mendes crossed to Dembélé, who struck first-time, narrowly missing the post.
In the 51st minute, Dembélé dribbled and passed to Mbappé. The striker saw Fabián Ruiz making a run into the box and passed to him, but the midfielder missed the target.
PSG turned the game around at 53 minutes. In a short corner kick, Hakimi passed to Vitinha, who struck a powerful shot from outside the box beyond Ter Stegen’s reach.
At 55 minutes, Lewandowski passed to Gündogan inside the box. The German midfielder struck powerfully, hitting the post.
In the 58th minute, Cancelo fouled Dembélé inside the box, conceding a penalty. Mbappé placed his shot perfectly into the top corner, scoring PSG’s third goal.
PSG sealed the victory at 89 minutes. Hakimi initiated a counterattack with blistering speed, Ter Stegen saved shots from Mbappé and Asensio, but Koundé cleared poorly, and the ball fell to Mbappé, who made no mistake this time, concluding the 4-1 rout.
PSG will face Borussia Dortmund on May 1st at Signal Iduna Park.
Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea
Borussia Dortmund 4×2 Atlético Madrid
After a 2-1 defeat in the first leg, Borussia Dortmund surprised by scoring four goals against Simeone’s Atlético and advanced to the Champions League semifinals after 11 years.
In the 3rd minute, Adeyemi provided a perfect pass to Sabitzer inside the box, but the Austrian hesitated, and Azpilicueta made a crucial interception.
At 4 minutes, Morata dribbled from midfield, found himself one-on-one with Kobel, but his chip went wide.
At 33 minutes, Hummels delivered a beautiful long pass to Brandt inside the box. The German shifted to his left and struck a cross shot to open the scoring.
At 38 minutes, Sabitzer received a pass in the box and laid it off for Maatsen. The Dutchman struck a powerful low shot to double Borussia’s lead.
Atlético started the second half well. In the 48th minute, Griezmann took a corner kick, Hermoso headed, and Hummels deflected it, deceiving Kobel and scoring an own goal.
At 56 minutes, Koke provided a superb pass to Correa, who found himself one-on-one with Kobel but missed the target.
At 63 minutes, Correa made a brilliant play and crossed to Riquelme, whose shot was saved by Kobel. Correa scored on the rebound after two attempts.
Borussia saw their lead vanish quickly but didn’t give up and regained the lead at 70 minutes. Sabitzer crossed, and Füllkrug beat Giménez to head home.
At 73 minutes, Atlético’s defense cleared, Sabitzer got the ball at the edge of the box, evaded the marker, and struck with his left foot to score Borussia’s fourth goal.
Borussia Dortmund will face PSG on May 1st at Signal Iduna Park.
Photo: Getty Images
Bayern 1×0 Arsenal
Following a 2-2 draw, Bayern clinched a home victory against Arsenal, securing their spot in the semifinals.
In the 8th minute, Martinelli struck a placed shot from outside the box, narrowly missing the post.
At the 29th minute, Ødegaard took a chance from outside the box, the ball deflected off the defense, almost catching Neuer off guard, but the goalkeeper managed a double save.
In the first minute of the second half, Kimmich delivered a cross, and Goretzka’s header hit the crossbar. On the rebound, Guerreiro hit the woodwork once again.
Bayern netted the solitary goal of the match at the 63rd minute. Guerreiro delivered a cross, and Kimmich appeared unmarked to head strongly into the corner.
At the 43rd minute, Ødegaard stormed into the box and struck with his right foot. Neuer pushed it out for a corner, but the officials awarded a goal kick.
Bayern will face Real Madrid on April 30th at the Allianz Arena.
Photo: ODD ANDERSEN / AFP
Written by Henry Miller.
