There were no winners in the first legs of the Champions League quarter-finals. The game between FC Bayern and Arsenal ended 2-2, the game between Manchester City and Real Madrid 3-3.
FC Bayern led against Arsenal for a long time. Shortly before the end the score was 2:2.
Imago
(sda) Real Madrid and Manchester City draw 3-3 in a high-class game. The second first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League between Arsenal and Bayern Munich also ends without a winner.
Real Madrid and Manchester City are in the Champions League to win it. Since the two teams meet unusually early, this season’s goal will be unattainable for one of the two European heavyweights this year after the quarter-finals. After the first leg on Tuesday and the 3-3 draw at the Bernabéu, the starting position is open.
Given the importance that the top European club competition has for both the Spanish record winners (14 titles) and the English defending champions, it could be expected that the teams would be defensively oriented and tactically disciplined.
But in this encounter, commonly referred to as an early final, there was no time for tactics. Almost two minutes had been played when Bernardo Silva was able to take a free kick for Manchester City. And Andriy Lunin in the Real Madrid goal was caught by the Portuguese clockmaker in the near corner after apparently expecting a cross to the middle.
Regardless of their Ukrainian goalie’s faux pas, the Royals didn’t let themselves be thrown off course. And responded with a double strike within two minutes: First, City defender Ruben Dias deflected a shot from Eduardo Camavinga into the goal (12th), then Rodrygo completed an exemplary counterattack over strike partner Vinicius Junior (14th). Manuel Akanji, playing through for the English champions, was unable to stop the Brazilian from finishing and let the shot pass between his legs.
It is only the second time in the history of the Champions League that three goals were scored in the first 14 minutes of a knockout game. Manchester City was also involved for the first time in April 2019, when the score was 2-2 against Tottenham after eleven minutes.
Long shots worth seeing
It didn’t continue at the same pace, but it remained a duel at the highest level. And it didn’t take long for Manchester City to temporarily turn things around in their favor after the break: Phil Foden (66′) and Josko Gvardiol (71′) each scored with impressive shots from the edge of the penalty area.
But less than eight minutes later, Carlo Ancelotti’s team also showed that they can score nice goals. Federico Valverde capitalized on an assist from Vinicius Junior with a nice direct volley. It was supposed to be the end of a spectacular summit meeting that saw only the fourth time in Champions League history a first leg in which both teams scored at least three goals. The second leg takes place next week in Manchester.
Bayern gets a draw
After the embarrassing 2:3 after a 2:0 lead in Heidenheim at the weekend, some feared the worst for Bayern Munich when the German record champions traveled to Arsenal. And the leader of the English Premier League actually got off to a brilliant start. Bukayo Saka punished the passivity of the Munich backline with a shot after just twelve minutes. But the Gunners didn’t appear as stylish as they usually do in the league. A little later, Gabriel lost a ball, which Thomas Tuchel’s team used to counterattack. Serge Gnabry, who once also worked for Arsenal, used cold blood. And when Gabriel’s defense partner William Saliba brought Leroy Sané off his feet after half an hour, Harry Kane showed his coolness from the penalty spot. It was the English record transfer’s 39th competitive goal for FCB this season.
Arsenal then pressed for an equalizer and Leandro Trossard ensured with a quarter of an hour left that the Londoners traveled to Munich with a 2-2 draw. Bayern, clinging to the fact that they can still win the Champions League after a botched season, are surprisingly still in the race for a place in the semi-finals.