Final four established following UCL Quarter Final drama

The draw for the Champions League semi-finals is complete after the second legs of the quarter finals were played out across Europe last week.

In England, Aston Villa hosted Paris Saint Germain after losing 3-1 in Paris the week before. Arsenal travelled to Madrid with a 3-0 lead after a historic win in London. Elsewhere, Dortmund hosted Barcelona with a 4-0 deficit to overturn. Inter Milan were the only away team to lead after the first leg, and hosted Bayern Munich with a 2-1 advantage.

Arsenal stood strong in Madrid to see through their 3-0 lead from the first leg against Real Madrid, with a late Gabriel Martinelli goal gifting them a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu. Talks of a ‘remontada’ (comeback) were strong from the Madridistas before the game, but the Galacticos once again failed to shine against Arsenal’s steadfast defence, the best in the competition thus far.

At least one team in the final will have never won the trophy before

Courtois saved a Bukayo Saka penalty in the first half before he stepped up to give Arsenal the lead with a delightful chip 65 minutes in. Vinicius Jr scored Madrid’s first ever goal against the Gunners after William Saliba gifted him the ball on the edge of the box. Arsenal settled into a defensive rhythm as Madrid struggled to offer a consistent threat beyond crosses into the box. Martinelli then broke clear of the tired Madrid team to curl the ball beyond Courtois and into the bottom corner in extra time.

Arsenal are into the semi-finals for just the third time in their history, and for the first time since 2009. They have only got to the final once before, in 2006, when their 10 men lost 2-1 to Barcelona.

Aston Villa faced an uphill battle after conceding in extra time in Paris to take a 3-1 deficit home. They seemed down-and-out after half an hour at Villa Park when Nuno Mendes made it 2-0 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate. A Youri Tielemans goal seven minutes later stoked the fires of a comeback, and two goals in quick succession in the second half put Villa within touching distance. Despite a second-half onslaught of PSG’s goal in a rambunctious atmosphere, they remained within a goal of extra time for the last half an hour, and it wasn’t to be.

There will be no German team in the semi-final, after Bayern Munich lost out to

PSG are into the semi-finals for the second year in a row, after a surprise win against Barcelona in last year’s quarters, before they lost 1-0 home and away to Dortmund. As they play Arsenal, at least one team in the final will have never won the trophy before.

In Germany, Dortmund gave a strong performance, winning 3-1 on the night, but couldn’t overcome a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the first leg. Serhou Guirassy overcame a disappointing performance in Spain to score a hattrick and win player of the match. Barcelona were disappointing, with zero big chances to Dortmund’s six (three missed), their only goal a Ramy Bensebaini own goal.

Barcelona are in the semi-finals for the first time since 2019, when the likes of Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi were in the line-up. They’ll be looking to cast-off the demons of that season, when they saw a 3-0 lead overturned at Anfield in one of the greatest ever Champions League comebacks.

Barcelona, Arsenal, and Inter Milan each placed in the top four of the league phase

There will be no German team in the semi-final, after Bayern Munich lost out to Inter Milan. Inter’s 2-1 win away-from-home in the first leg proved priceless, as a draw on the night saw them go through 4-3 on aggregate. Harry Kane drew the tie level on aggregate in the first half, before a quick turnaround from Inter set the San Siro alight. Bayern’s other Englishman, Eric Dier, headed the equaliser in the 76th minute from an almost-impossible angle. It was a battling performance from Inter, who faced 20 shots from the Germans, and they are deemed the underdogs by the bookmakers.

The new format, introduced this season, seems to be proving a success thus far. Barcelona, Arsenal, and Inter Milan each placed in the top four of the league phase, with the other semi-finalist, PSG, knocking out first-placed Liverpool in the round-of-sixteen. Though none of the potential comebacks were completed, Aston Villa produced a blood-pumping attempt, while Arsenal’s denial of the ‘remontada’ to knock out the holders will go down in their club’s history. The two favourites for the final, Barcelona and PSG, were both exposed to onslaughts away-from-home in the second legs, which will offer hope to Arsenal and Inter Milan.

The semi-final first legs take place in London and Spain on April 29 and 30.