Football Brexit: No English Club Advances to UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals
The quarter-finals of the most prestigious football tournament in the world, the Champions League, took place on April 16th and 17th. The results determined the tournament's semifinalists, as reported on the UEFA website. Surprisingly, there won't be any English clubs among them, as both Arsenal and Manchester City were considered favourites in their matchups but failed to overcome their opponents.
Tuesday's matches delighted viewers with a goal-filled spectacle. Barcelona hosted Paris Saint-Germain in Barcelona. The Catalans won the first match in France 3-2 and had excellent chances to advance to the semifinals. They scored the opening goal of the match, but before halftime, Barcelona's key defender Ronald Araujo received a red card. PSG capitalized on their numerical advantage, scoring four goals against Barcelona and winning the match 4-1 (6-4 on aggregate) to reach the competition's semifinals.
In another Tuesday match, Borussia Dortmund hosted Atlético Madrid at home. The Spaniards won the first match 2-1 and were considered favourites. However, Dortmund scored two goals before half-time in the return leg, taking the lead in the overall contest. In the second half, Atlético seemed to equalize quickly, but Dortmund couldn't be stopped that evening, scoring two more goals and winning the match 4-2 (5-4 on aggregate) to advance to the semifinals.
On Wednesday, the main contenders for victory in the tournament, Manchester City and Real Madrid, faced each other. The first leg in Spain ended 3-3, so everyone expected an exciting match this time as well. The return leg turned out to be less scoring (1-1) but equally captivating and tense. Since neither team found a winner in regular time or extra time, they went through a post-match penalty shootout, where Real emerged victorious 4-3.
The hero of the match was Real's Ukrainian goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin. He defended the goal reliably throughout the game (Lunin made 8 saves in 120 minutes of play) and also saved two penalties in the shootout. The Ukrainian goalkeeper received top ratings in the symbolic teams of the quarter-finals from authoritative publications WhoScored and SofaScore — an incredible 9.5 and 9.7 points, respectively.
"I am the happiest person in the world. But the situation is difficult in my country. So, it's not easy for me to train day in and day out. But I want to thank everyone who supports me," Andriy Lunin said after the game.
In Munich, Bayern hosted Arsenal after a 2-2 away draw. This game was the least scoring but very tense — Bayern scored the only goal in the 63rd minute and held onto the lead until the end, winning 3-2 on aggregate.
Now in the Champions League semifinals, Bayern will face Real Madrid, and Borussia will meet PSG. The first legs will take place on April 30th and May 1st, with the return legs on May 7th and 8th.