Last week was the first leg of the Champions League Quarterfinals and there is a lot to unpack.
The most surprising was the fan favorite Real Madrid losing 3-0 to Arsenal. Madrid was a little banged up, but they still had their front three in Mbappe, Vini, and Rodrygo, which is likely the best front 3 in soccer. It was tied 0-0 at halftime but after two Declan Rice free-kick screamers, the game was basically already over. Merino scored another one for Arsenal, making it 3-0 and you could see the frustration in Madrid fans, as they left the stadium. The interesting part was Arsenal beat them in Madrid, so they can get ready for a loud, home atmosphere in the second leg at The Emirates Stadium.
Next was Inter Milan, who beat Bayern Munich 2-1 last Tuesday in the first leg of their game. Lautaro Martinez scored in the first half, making it 1-0 but Thomas Muller subbed in late and scored in the 85th minute, tying it up. Frattesi scored right after for Inter in the 88th minute, allowing Inter to park the bus and pull off the upset, and go into the second leg next Wednesday with a lead to defend.
The next two games were blowouts last week, but they’ve already finished their second leg up. Barcelona crushed Dortmund 4-0 last week, and then just lost 3-1 today, making the aggregate score 5-3 Barca, and advancing them to play the winner of Bayern/Inter in the next round.
PSG had a big win last week against Aston Villa 3-1 and looked really good. PSG fans were on the edge of their seats today though as Aston Villa came back from down 2 goals to beat them 3-2. The aggregate score was still 5-4 PSG so they will advance to play the winner of Madrid/Arsenal in the semifinals.
The second leg of the quarter finals took place today on April 15th, and there will be two more tomorrow, on April 16th. Can Arsenal hold on to their big lead at home? Can Bayern come back and advance?
The semi finals will take place on April 29th, and you won’t want to miss out.
