Arsenal Crush Real Madrid with a Historic 3-0 Win
Arsenal delivered one of the most remarkable results in their UEFA Champions League history, handing defending champions Real Madrid a crushing 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash.
The London club dominated the game with an impressive performance led by England international Declan Rice, who broke the deadlock after a goalless first half, paving the way for a victory that makes Real’s task nearly impossible in next week’s second leg.
Rice emerged as the star of the match starting in the 58th minute, when he blasted a stunning curling free-kick past Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
He struck again in similar fashion in the 70th minute, delivering a second sublime free-kick that left Courtois helpless and gave Arsenal a clear path toward the semifinals. Rice thus became the first player to score two free-kick goals in a single Champions League knockout match.
Arsenal’s dominance continued five minutes later with a brilliant team move, capped off by Spaniard Mikel Merino’s precise strike from the edge of the box into Courtois’ bottom-right corner. Real Madrid’s misery was compounded in stoppage time when French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
With this victory, Arsenal are well-positioned to replicate their 2006 triumph over Real Madrid, when they knocked them out in the Round of 16 (1-0 on aggregate) en route to their only Champions League final appearance, where they lost to Barcelona 2-1.
Inter Score Crucial Win in Munich
Inter Milan, meanwhile, secured a valuable 2-1 away win at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, gaining the upper hand ahead of the second leg at San Siro next Wednesday.
Bayern’s first home defeat in the Champions League in 22 matches (since a 2-3 loss to PSG in the 2020–2021 quarterfinals) wasn’t entirely shocking, given the hosts’ injury woes, including the absence of key players like Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano, and Hiroki Ito.
All of that undoubtedly contributed to coach Simone Inzaghi securing a long-awaited victory over the Bavarian side, whom he managed to defeat for the first time in five encounters.
Despite Bayern dominating much of the match—especially the first half, where they created multiple chances, including Harry Kane striking the post in the 26th minute—Inter struck first against the run of play.
A swift counterattack led by Brazilian defender Carlos Augusto saw the ball reach Frenchman Marcus Thuram, who set it up brilliantly for Argentine captain Lautaro Martínez. Martínez fired a powerful shot into the roof of the net in the 38th minute, scoring his seventh goal of this Champions League campaign—becoming the first Inter player to score seven in a single UCL season since Samuel Eto’o netted eight in 2010–2011.
Bayern eventually equalized through veteran substitute Thomas Müller in the final minutes, but Inter substitute Davide Frattesi restored the lead just two minutes from time. Once again capitalizing on a counter, Frattesi latched onto a Carlos Augusto cross to slot home the match-winner.
The result puts Inter in a strong position as they aim for their second straight Champions League semifinal appearance.
