Champions League quarterfinals set after Actual Madrid, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Dortmund advance

This season’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinals are set following the final 4 spherical of 16 second leg matches on Wednesday.

Trophy holder and file 15-time European champ Actual Madrid topped crosstown rival Atlético Madrid on penalty kicks within the day’s most hotly anticipated contest.

Atléti received the match at dwelling 1-0 to ship the home-and-home, total-goals-wins sequence to the tiebreaker, the place Actual Madrid middle again Antonio Rüdiger ended it from 12 yards after Julian Alvarez and Marcos Llorente missed for Diego Simeone’s males.

Earlier, German membership Borussia Dortmund overcame final week’s failure to win dwelling in entrance of its “yellow wall” of diehards, responding with a 2-1 victory over Lille in France to take the house and residential, whole targets wins sequence.

And in England, the ultimate remaining Premier League representatives each took care of enterprise as Arsenal and Aston Villa accomplished their mixture routs of PSV Eindhoven and Membership Brugge, respectively.

Listed below are three fast ideas on Wednesday’s video games.

Actual Madrid does it once more

Even when Europe’s most embellished membership loses, it finds a solution to win.  Atlético’s Conor Gallagher scored the one purpose of Wednesday’s affair lower than a minute in, however not even a missed second-half penalty kick by Brazilian famous person Vini Jr. might forestall Actual from prevailing in the long run.

Atléti did every thing doable to get the second purpose it wanted to keep away from additional time, outshouting the guests 17-10 (8-3 on the right track). 

However similar to they’ve on different events lately within the Champions League knockout part, Actual Madrid rode their luck. And had Alvarez’s seemingly profitable shootout try not been overturned by the video assistant, who noticed a double-touch because the Argentine striker slipped simply earlier than his kick, the result would possibly effectively have been totally different.

Who’re we kidding? Whereas the outcome would possibly disappoint neutrals who’re sick of seeing Actual hoist Europe’s most coveted piece of silverware each different 12 months, no one may be shocked. Profitable is what Actual Madrid does within the Champions Leagie. After all they survived. And naturally they continue to be the favorites to assert one more title this Could. 

Dortmund exhibits character in Lille comeback

Lille’s gamers most likely thought they did the onerous half by securing a 1-1 tie final week on the 81,000-seat Westfalenstadion.

So when Canadian striker Jonathan David gave the hosts a 1-0 lead (and 2-1 benefit on mixture) simply 5 minutes into the return leg at Stade Pierre-Mauroy about 125 miles north of Paris, Lille supporters might’ve been forgiven for dreaming of the final 8.

And why not? Dortmund has been dreadful in home play all season. BVB sits tenth within the Bundesliga. They modified managers midseason. It will’ve been simple for the guests to crumble.

As a substitute, final 12 months’s dropping finalists confirmed among the combat that bought all of them the way in which to membership soccer’s most essential sport final 12 months in opposition to the percentages. Not lengthy after veteran defender Emre Can transformed the equalizer from the penalty spot early within the second half, Maximilian Beier stroked dwelling the winner with an exquisite shot that stood up because the decisive purpose:

Dortmund will now meet Barcelona subsequent month with a visit again to the semis on the road.

Arsenal, Aston Villa now carry England’s hopes

Wednesday’s Gunners-PSV match in London was rendered anticlimactic when Arsenal hung a 7-1 whooping on the Dutch aspect final week; Arsenal followers will not even care that the guests salvaged some pleasure with a 2-2 draw — Mikel Arteta’s aspect is again amongst Europe’s finest eight golf equipment for the second 12 months operating.

Villa supporters, then again, are in dreamland. Simply qualifying for the Champions League was a triumph for a membership that spent three seasons toiling in England’s second tier from 2016-19.

Getting one of many weaker foes left within the subject did not harm, however Unai Emery’s crew earned it, too, following final week’s 3-1 win over Brugge in Belgium with a 3-0 drubbing on Wednesday in Birmingham.

With Manchester Metropolis shockingly eradicated earlier than the spherical of 16 and Liverpool nearly as surprisingly bounced previous to the quarters, its as much as both the Gunners or Villains to grow to be the primary English membership to succeed in the Champions League last since 2023. 

It will not be simple: Emery & Co. will face Paris Saint-Germain, whereas in Arsenal’s approach stands mighty Actual Madrid.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer author for FOX Sports activities who has lined the United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Comply with him at @ByDougMcIntyre.

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