Welcome back, UEFA Champions League faithfuls! After a thrilling round-of-16, we arrived at the quarter finals with some incredible match-ups. Check out the results of this phase of the competition below!
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Aston Villa F.C.: 5-4 (agg.)
Aston Villa — the last underdog story of this season’s Champions League — fell to the Parisian heavyweights in a nail-biting contest. After walking away from their first encounter at Parc des Princes with a comfortable 3-1 lead, courtesy of Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes, Luis Enrique’s men were pushed to the limit at Villa Park.
The Lions staged an incredible comeback as two early goals from Achraf Hakimi and Mendes sent the visitors ahead. Emboldened by a stadium packed with the Claret and Blue faithful, a dizzying play in the 34th minute saw Marcus Rashford, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn befuddle the PSG defense and allowed Tielemans to score his 2nd goal of the competition. Twenty minutes later, Team Captain John McGinn magnified the home crowd’s hopes with an absolute screamer from outside the penalty area; followed by a superb assist from Rashford, who set up Ezri Konsa from a short distance. The final thirty minutes saw a breathtaking array of chances and multi-yard runs, but no more goals.
As the final whistle blew, Les Parisiens emerged victorious, booking a spot in the semi-finals for the fourth time in six years.
FC Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund: 5-3 (agg.)
This match-up was certainly a tale of two cities, or in this case, matches. In the first leg of the quarterfinals at Camp Nou, Barcelona’s front three led the charge on an absolutely stunning night of soccer. Robert Lewandowski bagged a brace, with the Blaugrana scoring its first goal after an impressive long-range cross by Fermín López found Pau Cubarsí and Raphinha. Lamine Yamal also got his share of the action – the seventeen year-old was absolutely brilliant, first with a stunning pass that set up the second goal and then a goal of his own, his fourth overall in the competition. Hansi Flick and co. walked away from that tie with an almost guaranteed spot in the semi-finals, their first in six years.
However, there was still a wall in their path: more specifically, the Yellow Wall, located at Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund at home is never to be underestimated, and they showed it by putting one of the strongest teams of the season on the back-foot with a hat-trick by Serhou Guirassy. After chipping in a penalty in the 11th minute, Guirassy found the back of the net twice more from a set piece in the 49th and 76th minutes. The Blaugrana were given some breathing room after Ramy Bensebaini accidentally converted a Barcelona play into an own goal, but BVB was clearly dominant in this leg of the tie, forcing the Blaugrana to do damage control.
Overall, the score remained at 5-3 on aggregate, and the Catalan side has now advanced into the semi-finals.
Arsenal F.C. vs Real Madrid CF: 5-1 (agg.)
Arguably the most shocking result of the quarter-finals was Arsenal’s demolition of Real Madrid — the reigning Champions League winners. Their first encounter in North London yielded a strong 3-0 advantage to the Gunners, with England national Declan Rice curling not one but two breathtaking free-kicks into Real’s net, and, in my opinion, earning a FIFA Puskás award nomination in the process. The already-sweet evening was topped off as Mikel Merino scored a third off a link-up between Leandro Trossard and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Nevertheless, a night at the Bernabeu awaited the North Londoners, and as we all know from experience, that is no easy feat. Los Blancos are the kings of at-home comebacks in this competition, so Mikel Arteta’s men headed into their Madrid clash cautious.
After a scoreless first half, Bukayo Saka burst into life with a convincing chip over Thibaut Courtois. Real Madrid’s response was swift as Vinicius Jr. caught William Saliba off-guard and pushed past the Arsenal defender, sending the ball straight into the top of the net. The Merengues' hopes were dashed, however, as Gabriel Martinelli brought home the third after out-sprinting the Madrid defense to catch Mikel Merino’s impressive assist.
The Gunners rejoiced as they advanced through to the semi-finals for the first time in 16 years and during Mikel Arteta’s tenure. Interested readers should check out our article interviewing the Vice President of Arteta’s childhood team, Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea.
Inter Milan vs FC Bayern Munich: 4-3 (agg.)
The outstanding Nerazzurri pushed past Bayern Munich to secure the final spot in the UCL semi-finals. Simone Inzaghi and his men walked away with a slim 2-1 margin in the first leg of the game at the Allianz Arena, before battling it out in their home-field to a 2-2 draw.
The first game, held in Munich, saw captain Lautaro Martínez open up the scoresheet while netting his seventh goal of the campaign. Bayern leveled as club legend Thomas Müller scored a volley in the 85th minute, but the draw was short-lived, as midfielder Davide Frattesi sent the ball into the Bavarians’ net three minutes later, dedicating his goal to his recently-passed grandmother.
Frattesi also played a crucial role in the return leg at the San Siro, as Inter battled a re-strengthened Die Roten. Frontman Harry Kane helped Munich equalize on aggregate with the hosts, dispatching a clinical finish off of Leon Goretzka’s assist. Milan rapidly regrouped as Federico Dimarco launched an incredible corner ball right into Martinez's path, pulling the Nerazzurri into the lead once again. Another corner allowed Bayern alumnus Benjamin Pavard to extend the lead with a header, as Hakan Çalhanoğlu collected an assist.
Although Eric Dier brought the visitors to a 2-2 with another play from the corner, as Serge Gnabry completed a superb cross into his path, Milan walked away with the semi-final classification for the first time since 2022.
What’s To Come: The Semi-Finals
We are now moving onto the semi-finals, and the clashes have already been set. Arsenal and PSG will face each other on one side, while Barcelona and Inter are set to meet. Keep an eye out for more Champions League news, including our new article format, UCL Team of the Week!
