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Arsenal, the English football powerhouse, has advanced to the Semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League after defeating the current titleholder, Real Madrid, 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
This victory allowed Arsenal to progress to the next round of the tournament, winning 5-1 on aggregate against the multiple-time champions.
In the match played on Wednesday, Real Madrid struggled to penetrate Arsenal's defense, which bolstered the confidence of Arsenal players.
Bukayo Saka silenced the home crowd in the 65th minute despite having missed a penalty earlier. Aware of the significant deficit they faced, Madrid equalized through Vinicius Junior just two minutes later, leveling the score at 1-1.
While over 50,000 Madrid supporters anticipated that their team would capitalize on the equalizer and score again, the defense faltered against Gabriel Martinelli, who netted a goal in the 93rd minute.
Arsenal had entered the match with a 3-0 aggregate lead after a dominant performance in the first leg the previous week, and they were offered a chance to dampen the home crowd’s spirits with a penalty in the 13th minute.
Saka took the penalty, but his weak, chipped attempt was thwarted by Thibaut Courtois. Nevertheless, the England forward redeemed himself with a brilliant chipped goal in the second half after receiving a clever pass from Mikel Merino.
Real Madrid quickly responded when a poor mistake from William Saliba afforded Vinicius Junior an open chance to score just two minutes later.
This marks only the third instance where Arsenal has reached the Champions League semi-finals, where they will meet Paris St-Germain in the last four.
The home fans, who created a vibrant atmosphere and hoped for an unforgettable comeback, were briefly optimistic after Arsenal’s penalty miss when they earned a penalty of their own. However, after a lengthy review by the video assistant referee, the initial penalty decision was overturned, as Kylian Mbappe had gone down following minimal contact from Declan Rice.
