Arsenal is gunned down by Bayern; real anguish for City

There is no harder assignment in club football than defeating Real Madrid in the Champions League, as Antonio Rudiger demonstrated by staring down the goalie, taking a deep breath, and drilling home the game-winning penalty.

With their triumph against Manchester City on Wednesday in a penalty shootout, Real Madrid advanced to their record 17th semifinal appearance and continued their unbeaten run of 14 European Cups.

Rudiger’s goal to end the match was appropriate, given that he had supported Madrid’s valiant defense against several assaults from Pep Guardiola’s team.

For Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Madrid, it came down to survival. “The only way out of this place alive was this. We have to put up a strong fight,” Ancelotti said. “We demonstrated the dedication and mindset that this jersey required. For us, this is a really unique competition, and we consistently offer something that people do not anticipate from us. We were written off by everyone, yet we are still here.

Madrid is said to lack a particular style by those football purists who like Guardiola’s passing-and-pressure method (think Barcelona supporters). But as Ancelotti has said, he wants his squad to be chameleonic, able to adjust to every opponent, every game, and every situation. He doesn’t want his team to have a “set philosophy,” which would make them predictable.

Even though they never took the lead and required Kevin De Bruyne to cancel off Rodrygo’s first goal, City controlled possession of the ball in their away leg of their quarterfinal in Manchester. They also pinned Real Madrid within their box for the most of the game and overtime.

However, Madrid demonstrated that their strength is in their willingness to go above and beyond to win.

Kimmich prevails.

Munich: With a 3-2 aggregate victory against Arsenal, Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich scored a header in the 63rd minute to give the Germans a 1-0 victory and advance them to the semifinals for the first time in four years. After a 2-2 first-leg tie, Germany’s international Kimmich timed his run into the box precisely to connect with a cross from Raphael Guerreiro and put Bayern, who had previously missed two double chances, in the lead.

The Bavarians, who are having the worst domestic season in almost ten years, will play Real Madrid in the round of sixteen.