This has been the most dramatic UCL quarterfinal in a while, as far as I can remember. You could have picked any of these ties to follow over the course of two legs, and there would have been drama aplenty. It was nervous, it was fractious, it was tense at times, and we're here to recap all of the action for you.
Real Madrid Have Been Humbled
Someone needed to knock Real Madrid off their perch and give them a humbling. Someone has needed to for years. As a dedicated follower of the dark arts of Diego Simeone, I've always hoped that Atletico Madrid would one day be the team to give Real a reckoning. But unfortunately, Atletico has a history of choking against Real when it matters most.
Real Madrid has made it a habit of doing the impossible in the Champions League when it seems like they are down and out. So, it was not altogether surprising to see the Real Madrid social media posts on Wednesday ahead of the second leg of their Champions League tie with Arsenal. The arrogance, the certainty, the subtle threats, the attitude of an entitled and spoilt child who is used to having his way, characterised how Madrid approached the tie. All of those things made the outcome much sweeter.
Arsenal didn't just win on the night, it was a mostly toothless Real Madrid performance characterised by aimless balls into the box cleared by Arsenal's defence. At no point in that game did it feel like Madrid were going to score 4 goals and beat Arsenal on the night. Their only goal came courtesy of a rare Saliba error, and except for a chance for Endrick late in the game, that was that for goal threats in the second half.
Arsenal, on the other hand, executed their game plan perfectly. They defended well and defended deep, gave up almost nothing and hit Madrid on the counter twice. Like Arteta said in response to all the Real Madrid noise before the game, Arsenal did their talking on the pitch.
Inter Squeeze Past Bayern
I still believe that Inter Milan is the best team in the competition and that they are going to win it. And their narrow aggregate win to squeeze past Bayern Munich into the semifinal only solidifies that feeling.
That might seem odd, but let me explain why. Bayern are, in my view, the ultimate UCL knockout team right now. When you think about how Champions League knockout rounds tend to go and what it takes to go through them, Bayern, I think, have the team most suited for that right now. They have a great team, so many experienced players who are used to UCL pressure, a world-class goalkeeper in Manuel Neuer (although he missed the game through injury) and perhaps most importantly, they have killers. Players who can produce something out of nothing when you need it most and drag you through to the next round. Kane's goal on the night was a good example of a vastly experienced striker just pulling something out of nothing to put his team in front.
So, the question for Inter was: could they pass the test? And pass they did.
When they went one goal down, they could have panicked and come apart, but instead, they struck back twice in quick succession through Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard. And then they held their nerves and defended to get over the line despite Eric Dier scoring again for Bayern. This was about as high-pressure a game as Inter could find themselves in, and they gave a good account of themselves. It's good preparation because in the next round, they face a Barcelona team that might be the best in the world right now. But Inter will be backing themselves to come through that tie as well.
Drama At Villa Park
Aston Villa could have gone through. They could have. That late Nuno Mendes block of Maatsen's shot. The missed header by Konsa. And Asensio's missed 1v1 against Donnarumma. In another universe, they take all three of those chances, and the game finishes 6-2, Villa qualify. But unfortunately, we live in this universe, those chances were missed, and PSG snuck through to the Semifinals.
When Nuno Mendes scored that second goal for PSG, I thought to myself, "this game is about to become a test of Luis Enrique's in-game management skills."
When you're 5-1 up in a Champions League tie with 63 minutes to go, what you want to do is manage the game. At that point, you no longer need to take any risks while trying to score goals. You can hold the ball, pass it around, maintain possession, and generally make it difficult for your opponent to have any chance to get some momentum going. The problem is, this PSG team don't seem set up to do that.
People have widely praised PSG's performance over the two legs of their tie with Liverpool and the first leg of their tie with Aston Villa tie. But each of those games saw PSG trying to assert dominance and win, and that's what this team, with its fluid front 3 and fullbacks who fly forward at the slightest opportunity, is built to do. Tuesday night presented a different sort of challenge. Already comfortably ahead, could they curb their irrepressible desire to play expansive, risky football in favour of something more controlled, more suited to the occasion?
They could not.
McGinn and Konsa scored in quick succession to bring the aggregate to 4-5, and PSG ended up having a far more frantic end to the game than they expected. This inability to transition between game states is one reason why I'm not yet on the PSG hype train in the UCL. Interestingly, the other reason is that I haven't seen them have to break down a good defensive block yet. Surely their Semifinal tie against Arsenal is going to give us answers to that question, as Arsenal have one of the most effective and menacing defensive blocks in the world. PSG has improved incredibly this season under Enrique and deserves to hang with the big boys in Europe, but some questions remain to be answered.
As for Aston Villa, kudos to them, I have totally enjoyed their UCL campaign. I did not expect them to come this far, and they nearly went one step further too. I'm looking forward to the rest of their Premier League season, and I hope they're back in the Champions League again next year. Up The Villans!
Barca Wobble A Bit
Much like PSG, Barca's tie seemed done and dusted in the first leg after a very comfortable 4-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. But this is the Champions League, nothing is ever completely done and dusted as such. Sehou Guirassy scored a hat-trick and made the second leg a lot more difficult than it needed to be for Barcelona.
It was their first defeat of the calendar year, and they now head into the Semifinals with perhaps some doubt as to just how good this team are over two legs of a UCL knockout tie. The result will be worrying for the Cules, not just because they play Inter, who are a much better team next, but because of the fixture congestion of that period.
They face Real Madrid in a Copa Del Rey final before the first leg of their tie against Milan. And then they play away to Real Valladolid in a La Liga clash that will have implications for the title race, especially now that Real Madrid no longer has the Champions League to worry about. After that, they travel to the San Siro for the second leg of the tie, before hosting Real Madrid again five days later in an El Clásico clash that will, once again, have huge implications for the title race.
Essentially, it is going to be a decisive period for all three titles they are competing for. And I think the question everyone is asking will be: do they have the squad depth and the strength of character to go through such a tough period and come out whole on the other side?
