Arsenal prevail on penalties as Gunners join Barcelona in Champions League quarter-finals
- Macdara Ferris
- Tue, Mar 12 2024
It was a nervy night in London as Arsenal required penalties at the Emirates to keep them on a European journey that they hope ends with winning a trophy in Wembley in June’s Champions League Final.
Goalkeeper David Raya was the hero for Mikel Arteta’s men in the quarter-final against Porto. The game had gone to extra-time after Leandro Trossard’s 41st minute goal cancelled out the Portuguese side’s 1-0 first leg lead.
In the shoot-out, the Gunners won 4-2 on penalites with Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and former Ireland international Declan Rice scoring the penalties.
It puts the current Premier League leaders into the quarter-finals of the European Cup for the first time in 14 years.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Martin Keown spoke highly of Porto’s efforts saying: “What a performance Porto put up. They were outstanding at times in denying Arsenal chances – but the hosts have kept their heads and gone through. Nobody's going to want to come here in the next round.”
Elsewhere, Barcelona also progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020 by eliminating Napoli on Tuesday night.
After the first leg in Naples ended 1-1, Barca won the return leg 3-1 in Barcelona. They had gone 2-0 up on the night inside 17 mnutes thanks to Fermin and Joao Cancelo before Amri Rrahmain pulled a goal back for the Italian champions.
However, a Robert Lewandowksi tap in seven minutes from time wrapped up the 4-2 aggregate win for the five time European champions.
Wednesday’s quarter-final will see Atletico Madrid host last year’s runners up Inter with the Italians bringing a 1-0 first leg lead to the Spanish capital.
In Germany, the Dortmund and PSV tie is finely balanced after the first game between the sides finished 1-1 in Eindhoven.
Already in the quarter-finals are the winners from last week’s ties Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Manchester City. They are already in the hat for Friday’s lunchtime draw which will pull out the quarter-final and semi-final fixtures.
Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl …
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