Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as Bukayo Saka’s goal clinched a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium to complete a 2-1 aggregate victory.
On a momentous night for the club, Saka turned home the decisive goal just before half-time after Leandro Trossard’s shot had been parried by Jan Oblak, ensuring that Arsenal will face either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on May 30.
The Gunners, aiming to lift the trophy for the first time in their history having been beaten by Barcelona in their only previous final appearance in 2006, were deserving winners but had to come through another fiercely-contested encounter with Atletico.
It might have turned out differently had the excellent Declan Rice not made a vital tackle to prevent a certain goal from Giuliano Simeone in the first half. There was another goal-saving challenge on the same Atletico player by Gabriel Magalhaes after half-time.
But Arsenal, dogged in claiming a draw in last week’s first leg, produced another outstanding defensive display to limit Atletico’s chances, clinching a ninth clean sheet in 14 European games and a 30th in all competitions this season.
They also missed chances to kill the tie at the other end of the pitch.
The tireless Viktor Gyokeres spurned the best of them, firing over the crossbar from substitute Piero Hincapie’s low cross when well placed to score in the centre of the box.
In the end, though, Saka’s goal proved sufficient, as Arsenal saw out the closing stages in relative comfort before jubilant scenes of celebration which included manager Mikel Arteta sprinting onto the pitch to join his players after the final whistle.
Arsenal will now switch their focus back to the Premier League title race, with West Ham next up on Super Sunday, knowing they will have the chance to finish an epic campaign on an unprecedented high in Budapest at the end of May. (SkySports)
Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s team were well below their best in the quarterfinal second leg at the Emirates Stadium. But they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay for the latest in a growing list of angst-ridden performances.
The Gunners will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final after the Spanish club went through 3-2 on aggregate against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Arsenal crushed Atletico 4-0 in the group stage at the Emirates in October, but they will have to improve significantly to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Arsenal have reached the Champions semifinals in two consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. Yet after losing three of their last five games in all competitions and winning just once, they remain a puzzling side in the midst an untimely stumble.
Arteta had challenged Arsenal to play with “pure fire” and “zero fear” in an unusually passionate press conference on Tuesday. The response was hardly emphatic as Arsenal quickly retreated into their shell in another display lacking cohesion and quality in the final third.
Arsenal haven’t lifted the Premier League since 2004 and have never won the Champions League. The Premier League leaders are on course to achieve both targets, but the flaws in Arteta’s side have become increasingly clear in recent weeks.
Losing the League Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup quarterfinal against second-tier Southampton was bad enough. But a shock 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday left Arteta facing pointed questions about Arsenal’s character that remain unanswered.
Arsenal are just six points ahead of second-placed City, who have a game in hand and host the Gunners in a seismic showdown on Sunday.
The north Londoners have finished Premier League runners-up for the past three seasons — twice blowing substantial leads to City in 2023 and 2024 — and the nerves are mounting.
Responding to Arteta’s call for a fiery performance, Arsenal pressed furiously in the opening 10 minutes but couldn’t make the breakthrough.
Once that initial assault petered out, Arsenal wobbled at the back and William Saliba’s wayward pass led to Francisco Trincao curling wide from the edge of the area.
Former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has endured an erratic debut season with Arsenal and once again he struggled to make an impact.
Gyokeres had only one serious sight of goal after a burst into the Sporting six-yard box, but he didn’t get his shot off in time and Goncalo Inacio’s tackle snuffed out the danger.
Without the injured Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal were too often slow and unambitious in attack.
They grew increasingly edgy in a first half played out to a soundtrack of anxious groans from their frustrated fans.
Gunners ‘keeper David Raya nearly gifted Sporting a goal with a woeful pass that was intercepted by Trincao, whose miscued attempt to find Luis Suarez in the penalty area let Arsenal off the hook.
Geny Catamo was inches away from punishing Arsenal’s lethargy when he volleyed against the far post from an acute angle just before half-time.
Eberechi Eze’s drive whistled narrowly wide after the interval, before Gabriel Martinelli blasted just over and Noni Madueke shot into the side-netting.
Arteta responded by sending on Kai Havertz for Gyokeres, while Max Dowman replaced the injured Madueke.
Sporting appealed in vain for a penalty after Cristhian Mosquera’s slight push on Maxi Araujo. Arsenal were creaking but they held firm as Arteta breathed a sigh of relief.
In Munich, late strikes from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise sealed a dramatic 4–3 win for Bayern Munich over Real Madrid on Wednesday, clinching a 6–4 aggregate victory and setting up a semifinal with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The tie was level at the break in the second leg after a scintillating opening half, with record 15-time European champions Real going ahead three times on the night.
Bayern won 2-1 last week in the Spanish capital, but Arda Guler pounced on a loose Manuel Neuer pass to put the visitors ahead after just 34 seconds at the Allianz Arena. He scored again from a free-kick after Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised.
Harry Kane put Bayern back ahead in the tie only for Kylian Mbappe to restore parity overall when he put Madrid 3-2 up before half-time.
Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes left and Bayern pushed forward, Diaz blasting into the corner from outside the box after a crucial deflection.
With Real pressing for an equaliser, Olise curled in a magnificent shot to rubberstamp Bayern’s ticket to the last four and keep alive their quest for a seventh European crown. They will head to Luis Enrique’s PSG at the end of the month.
Tempers boiled over after the final whistle with Guler picking up a straight red for confronting the referee.
“We got off to a bad start, and then conceded again through a free-kick and a counter. The first half was hectic,” Joshua Kimmich told DAZN.
“The second half was calmer, we had more control – and then managed to win it in the end. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ll take the win.
“The two best teams in Europe will face each other. We had many top level games against Paris in recent years. I’m looking forward to it.”
The defeat for Real effectively ended their season as they look set to finish without a major trophy for the second year running. Barcelona hold a nine-point lead in La Liga and Real suffered a shock last-16 exit in the Copa del Rey.
“I feel for them (the players), for the effort they made. It hurts,” coach Alvaro Arbeloa told Movistar. “I’m very proud. We’re going back to Madrid after giving it our all.”
For the first time in Real’s long Champions League history, their starting XI did not contain a single Spanish player. Jude Bellingham, who impressed off the bench in the first leg, was one of four changes to the line-up made by Arbeloa.
Neuer, widely lauded after a vintage performance in Madrid, gifted Real an opener. The Bayern goalkeeper miscued a pass directly to Guler, who floated a first-touch shot into the unguarded goal in the first minute.
Bayern looked stunned but struck back almost immediately when Pavlovic headed in a Kimmich corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to read the flight of the ball.
The match had barely time to settle before Real were ahead once more thanks to a Guler goal, with Neuer again not at his best.
The Turkey international whipped a free-kick into the top corner which Neuer got a hand to but was unable to keep out.
The match continued to swing back and forth before the break, as Kane struck first before Mbappe responded by getting himself on the scoresheet.
Kane slotted clinically into the bottom corner in the 38th minute to again haul Bayern level on the night — and ahead in the tie — before Mbappe ran onto a Vinicius Junior pass and slotted home to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate.
With Real regularly cutting into Bayern’s high line, coach Vincent Kompany responded by introducing the pace of Alphonso Davies at the interval.
Both sides traded chances in the second half, with Olise particularly dangerous, forcing a fingertip save from Lunin with 20 minutes left.
Camavinga came on midway through the half but picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave his team a man down in the closing stages.
It proved a turning point as Bayern struck three minutes later when Diaz’s effort took a touch off Eder Militao and flashed beyond Lunin.
Olise made certain of Bayern’s progress deep into stoppage time as the German giants took down Real in a knockout clash for the first time since 2012. (JapanToday)
Barcelona hit Newcastle United for seven to reach the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Galatasaray in their last-16 tie and both Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid advanced to the next round.
Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both scored twice as La Liga leaders Barcelona tore apart Newcastle at the Camp Nou, winning 7-2 in the second leg of their last-16 encounter to progress 8-3 on aggregate.
A spectacular match saw Anthony Elanga twice score for Newcastle inside the opening half-hour to cancel out goals by Raphinha and Marc Bernal.
However, the Catalans went back in front when Lamine Yamal converted a penalty deep in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-2 on the night, and they never looked back.
Fermin Lopez ran through for 4-2 early in the second half before Lewandowski added a quick-fire double either side of the hour mark, and Raphinha completed the scoring in the 72nd minute.
“The confidence that we got in the second half was good to see,” said Barca coach Hansi Flick.
It was a chastening defeat for Newcastle and just the third time since 1955 that an English team has conceded at least eight goals on aggregate in a European tie — one of the other occasions was this week, when Chelsea lost 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain.
“When the game was effectively over we didn’t react well to that, so it became a very difficult second half,” said Newcastle coach Eddie Howe.
It was also just the third time Barcelona have scored seven in a Champions League game, and Flick’s side can now look forward to an all-Spanish quarter-final next month against Atletico.
Diego Simeone’s men lost 3-2 on the night to Tottenham Hotspur in London, but progressed 7-5 on aggregate thanks to their 5-2 victory last week.
Randal Kolo Muani headed in on the half-hour to give Spurs the lead on the night and suggest a stunning comeback in the tie was possible.
A superb Julian Alvarez strike just after half-time doused the home side’s hopes, even if a fine Xavi Simons effort put Tottenham back in front.
David Hancko headed in Atletico’s second on the night, before Simons converted a last-minute penalty for his second of the game as Spurs rescued some pride by ending a run of eight matches without a win.
Liverpool were too good for Galatasaray, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against the Turkish side with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side went ahead on 25 minutes through a lovely first-time finish at a corner from Dominik Szoboszlai.
Mohamed Salah then had a poor penalty saved in first-half stoppage time, but the Egyptian made up for that in style after the break.
He laid on two goals in the space of three minutes, one for Hugo Ekitike and the other for Ryan Gravenberch.
Salah then scored the fourth himself just after the hour, curling a superb effort into the far corner from the edge of the area from a Florian Wirtz lay-off.
It was his 10th club goal this season was also his 50th in the Champions League, and it sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory which takes the Reds through to a quarterfinal against PSG.
That will be a repeat of a last-16 tie a year ago which PSG won on penalties — the French club have won four knockout ties against English opponents since the start of 2025.
“We could (have) won 10-0, but we did a good job. We can be proud,” said Ekitike.
Bayern’s progress against Atalanta was never in doubt after their 6-1 win in the first leg in Italy, and they followed that with a 4-1 success in Munich.
Harry Kane opened the scoring with a retaken first-half penalty — his initial effort had been saved — and then added a brilliant second on 54 minutes.
The brace took the Englishman to a half-century of Champions League goals, as he joined Salah and Thierry Henry on that overall mark — Kane has done it in 66 games compared to 97 for Salah.
Teenager Lennart Karl got Bayern’s third and Luis Diaz the fourth, with Lazar Samardzic pulling one back as the Germans progress 10-2 on aggregate — they now face Real Madrid in a heavyweight showdown.
“We don’t fear anyone,” Kane told DAZN when asked about the prospect of that tie. (JapanToday)
Ademola Lookman has opened his goalscoring account on his debut as new Atletico Madrid player on Thursday.
The winger scored in the 37th-minute for his new Spanish La Liga club in its 5-0 drubbing of Real Betis in their Copa del Rey quarter-final clash. Lookman also provided an assist in the match.
The 28-year-old sealed a €35 million transfer to Atletico from Atalanta on Monday, was thrown into the fire by coach Diego Simeone, and immediately repaid the faith with the best goal of the night.
Lookman collected a cross-field pass in the box following a counter attack, expertly took out two defenders with his dribbling, and tucked in a shot at the goalkeeper’s near post to hand Atletico a 3-0 lead at halftime in Betis.
The goal is Lookman’s 100th career goal on the night he made his first appearance for his seventh club as a professional. He also scored on his debut for his third consecutive club, following on from his fast start at RB Salzurg and Atalanta.
Lookman and Atletico Madrid advanced into the semi-final of a competition the club has not won in 12 years. The capital club will know its opponent on Friday. (TheCable)
Paris Saint-Germain scored seven and both Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven hit six in big victories while Arsenal crushed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on a prolific night of Champions League action on Tuesday.
Erling Haaland was among the scorers in Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Villarreal as a total of 43 goals rained down across nine games.
However, it was champions PSG who stole the show with their 7-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.
Desire Doue scored twice in between goals by Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG in a first half which saw Alejandro Grimaldo miss a penalty and Aleix Garcia net from the spot for Leverkusen.
Both sides had a man sent off in the opening period, with Robert Andrich seeing red for Leverkusen and Illia Zabarnyi walking for the visitors.
Nuno Mendes got the French side’s fifth goal shortly after the break and Garcia pulled it back to 5-2.
Ousmane Dembele, on his return from injury and first appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or, got PSG’s sixth and Vitinha completed the scoring at the death.
“I am not yet at 100 percent. I wanted to play at the weekend and the coach told me to wait a bit, but I felt great,” Dembele told broadcaster Canal Plus.
It is the first time PSG have scored seven goals away from home in a Champions League game, and they are top of the standings after three outings in the league phase, with a maximum nine points and the best goal difference.
Inter Milan and Arsenal are the other teams with a 100 percent record after three outings, with the Italians easing to a 4-0 victory at Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.
Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez both netted late in the first half before Hakan Calhanoglu added a penalty soon after the restart and Pio Esposito completed the scoring.
Meanwhile Premier League leaders Arsenal hammered Atletico at the Emirates Stadium, as Mikel Arteta’s side made it three straight wins all with clean sheets in Europe this season.
All the goals came in the second half, with Gabriel putting them ahead and Gabriel Martinelli getting the second before Viktor Gyokeres struck twice to end a run of seven club appearances without finding the net.
“Hopefully it’s the start of some beautiful sequence now,” said Arteta of the Sweden striker.
Haaland put City ahead against Villarreal in Spain and Bernardo Silva got their second goal before half-time as Pep Guardiola’s team moved on to seven points from three outings.
Norway superstar Haaland kept up his remarkable record in front of goal this season and he has now found the net 15 times in 11 appearances for City in all competitions.
“I see that things are looking good, we are playing a little bit better day after day and that’s a good sign,” Guardiola told broadcaster Movistar.
Felix Nmecha hit a brace as Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 away to FC Copenhagen, with Ramy Bensebaini converting a penalty and Fabio Silva also scoring.
Waldemar Anton’s own goal had brought the Danes back level at one point in the first half, while Viktor Dadason got their other goal late on. They are yet to win in the league phase.
Beaten at home by PSG last time out, Barcelona bounced back to thump Olympiacos 6-1 at Montjuic as Fermin Lopez starred with a hat-trick.
Lamine Yamal got his name on the scoresheet with a penalty and Marcus Rashford scored twice, with Ayoub El Kaabi’s spot-kick scant consolation for the Greeks.
Newcastle United got their second straight win in the competition by easing to a 3-0 victory against Benfica at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon got the opener and Harvey Barnes emerged from the bench to score twice in the second half, leaving Jose Mourinho’s Benfica as the only team to have no points having played three games.
PSV claimed a stunning 6-2 home win against Italian champions Napoli, despite Scott McTominay giving the visitors the lead in the first half.
An Alessandro Buongiorno own goal restored parity and Ismael Saibari put PSV ahead before Dennis Man scored twice and both Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech also found the net.
McTominay pulled another one back for Napoli, who had Lorenzo Lucca sent off.
The night’s other game ended in a 0-0 draw between rank outsiders Kairat Almaty and Pafos of Cyprus in Kazakhstan. (JapanToday)
A Victor Osimhen penalty gave Galatasaray victory over Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Chelsea edged out Jose Mourinho’s Benfica and Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick for Real Madrid in Kazakhstan.
Elsewhere in the second round of matches in the league phase of Europe’s elite club competition, Tottenham battled back to draw with Bodo/Glimt as Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Marseille and Inter Milan recorded big wins.
In Istanbul, Osimhen beat Alisson Becker from the spot in the 16th minute, giving Galatasaray a 1-0 win and condemning Liverpool to a second straight loss after their defeat by Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The English champions thought they had a chance to equalise late on when Ibrahima Konate went down and a penalty was given, but the referee overturned his decision on review.
Liverpool, who finished first in the league phase last season, also saw Alisson go off injured in the second half before the introductions off the bench of Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak failed to have the desired impact.
“The margins were very small last season but then we were a lot of times on the right side of the score,” coach Arne Slot said.
“Today again the margins were really small, but for the second time in a row on the wrong side.”
Liverpool will now hope to bounce back on Saturday away to Chelsea, who themselves got back to winning ways with a 1-0 success against Benfica as the Portuguese giants’ new coach Mourinho came back to Stamford Bridge.
Richard Rios turned an Alejandro Garnacho cross into his own net for the only goal of the game in the 18th minute, with Benfica unable to recover as Mourinho returned to face the club he coached over two separate spells.
Chelsea had substitute Joao Pedro sent off in stoppage time but Enzo Maresca’s side were delighted to get the win after losing their opening European game of the campaign at Bayern.
“A defeat is always a defeat but this one can be a start for us. It was a stable performance,” Mourinho said of his team.
Spurs escaped Norway with a point in a 2-2 draw with Bodo/Glimt in a game played north of the Arctic Circle.
Kasper Hogh missed a penalty for the hosts before a brilliant second-half brace from Jens Petter Hauge had them two goals in front.
However, Micky van de Ven pulled one back on 68 minutes for last season’s Europa League winners, and Spurs then got a lucky 89th-minute equalizer when a Nikita Haikin save smashed into the stomach of Jostein Gundersen from close range and trickled over the line.
Record 15-time European champions Real made the long trip east to face Kairat Almaty and ran out 5-0 winners.
Mbappe opened the scoring from a first-half penalty and made it 2-0 soon after the break before firing in from the edge of the area to complete his hat-trick on 73 minutes, making it 60 career Champions League goals.
The Frenchman has now scored 13 goals in nine games in all competitions this season for Real, who also saw Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz net towards the end.
Bayern also scored five, with Harry Kane netting twice in the first half in a 5-1 win away to Pafos in Cyprus. The England star now has 17 goals in nine games in all competitions this season for his club.
Raphael Guerreiro, Nicolas Jackson and Michael Olise also found the net for Bayern, while Mislav Orsic scored for the hosts.
“I’m going into games with confidence, knowing I’ll get my chances. Scored a couple more goals today, I’m happy with that,” Kane said.
Atletico followed a 5-2 win over Real in the Madrid derby last weekend by thumping Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1.
Giacomo Raspadori, Robin Le Normand, Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone netted for Atletico before Julian Alvarez scored a late penalty. Griezmann’s goal was his 200th for the club. Jonathan Burkardt pulled one back for Eintracht.
Igor Paixao netted twice in the opening 12 minutes as Marseille hammered Ajax 4-0. Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were also on target.
Lautaro Martinez got a brace either side of a Denzel Dumfries goal as last season’s runners-up Inter eased to a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague at San Siro.
Mario Pasalic scored a late winner as Atalanta beat Club Brugge 2-1, after a Lazar Samardzic penalty had cancelled out a Christos Tzolis opener for the Belgians. (JapanToday)
Newly crowned European Champions Paris Saint-Germain launched their bid for Club World Cup glory with a convincing 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
In searing heat at the Pasadena Rose Bowl east of Los Angeles, PSG proved too hot to handle for their Spanish opponents in an impressive opening Group B win.
Goals from Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In sealed the three points for PSG, who delighted a crowd of 80,619 with their adventurous attacking play.
The French giants picked up where they had left off in their 5-0 Champions League final mauling of Inter Milan a fortnight earlier, quickly settling into their smooth passing game to control the early exchanges.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak was soon pressed into action, blocking a Goncalo Ramos shot from just outside the box on 17 minutes as PSG’s pressure mounted.
Oblak denied PSG again moments later, diving to stop a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shot that was destined for the bottom left-hand corner.
Those early warning shots proved to be a precursor for the game’s opening goal in the 19th minute.
A lovely passing move down the right saw the ball swiftly transferred to Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia who deftly laid off into the path of Ruiz to sweep in a low finish for 1-0.
With Atletico struggling to gain any kind of a foothold in the contest, the Spanish side’s frustration began to show.
Clement Lenglet was booked for a rash challenge on Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi in the 21st minute, and Robin Le Normand picked up Atletico’s second yellow soon afterwards for bringing down Ruiz.
Ruiz himself was booked on 28 minutes for a shove on Giuliano Simeone before the Argentine midfielder collected Atletico’s third yellow soon afterwards.
With the Parisians in complete control, Atletico had to wait until the stroke of half-time before their first shot on goal, France’s Antoine Griezmann drawing a smart save from Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low shot.
From the ensuing counter-attack, however, Atletico found themselves 2-0 down.
The electric Kvaratskhelia again found space down the left and fed inside to Vitinha, who ghosted into the box before steering a crisp shot beyond Oblak for 2-0.
Atletico appeared to have hauled themselves back into the game early in the second half when Julian Alvarez rifled home a low finish to make it 2-1.
But the goal was chalked off after VAR spotted a bodycheck by Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul on Desire Doue in the build-up.
That effort appeared to buoy Atletico for the remainder of the half, but despite playing with greater intensity they were unable to create a single shot on goal.
Lenglet was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card on 78 minutes. (Punch)
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