Bayern Munich and Arsenal moved into the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, with Bayern beating Real Madrid 6-4 on aggregate and Arsenal edging Sporting 1-0 on aggregate. The next round is set for April 28-29 and May 5-6, with the final scheduled for May 30 at Puskás Aréna in Hungary.
For Real Madrid, the loss carried the force of an elimination game from the start. Jude Bellingham called the second leg “almost like a final” for Madrid and said the team knew it was facing a difficult night after trailing from the first leg, which Bayern won 2-1 at the Bernabéu. Luis Díaz scored in the 41st minute, Harry Kane doubled the lead one minute into the second half and Kylian Mbappé pulled one back in the 74th minute, but Madrid could not erase the deficit.
Bayern’s place in the semifinals keeps their treble chase alive. They were also top of the Bundesliga table and in the semifinals of the German Cup next week, a run that leaves them with three trophies still in reach. PSG await in the semifinals, a matchup that brings together two sides still carrying the weight of expectation in Europe.
Arsenal’s advance was tighter and, in some ways, more fragile. Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time goal in the first leg gave them a 1-0 lead over Sporting, and that proved enough after a week in which Arsenal had lost three of their past four games in all competitions. Mikel Arteta said his players needed perspective on where they stood in the Champions League and the Premier League, and he pushed them to embrace the pressure rather than shrink from it.
Sporting had already shown in this tournament that a deficit was not always final, having erased a 3-0 hole against Bodø/Glimt with a 5-0 win in the Round of 16 second leg. That history made Arsenal’s narrow margin feel even thinner, but the Premier League side held on and will face Atlético Madrid in the semifinals. The dates are now set, the bracket is fixed, and the road to the final at Puskás Aréna is down to four clubs.
