Champions League shocks

Arsenal are back in the Champions League semifinals after a 0-0 draw with Sporting Club on Wednesday finished a 1-0 aggregate win at the Emirates Stadium. (apnews.com) Mikel Arteta’s side reached the last four for the second straight season and will face Atletico Madrid next. UEFA’s fixture list shows the semifinals are scheduled for April 27 and 29 and May 4 and 6. (apnews.com) (uefa.com) Arsenal did it with defense more than spectacle. UEFA’s team statistics list eight clean sheets and five goals conceded in this season’s competition, and reports from the second leg said Sporting’s Geny Catamo hit the post in one of the visitors’ best chances. (uefa.com) (monitor.co.ug) The other quarterfinal was the night’s chaos match. Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 4-3 in Munich and advanced 6-4 on aggregate after Luis Díaz scored in the 89th minute and Michael Olise added another in stoppage time. (uefa.com) (espn.com) Real Madrid led 3-2 on the night after goals from Arda Güler, twice, and Kylian Mbappé, but Eduardo Camavinga was sent off in the 86th minute and Bayern turned the tie in the final minutes. ESPN reported that Madrid players surrounded referee Slavko Vinčić after the match, and Güler was shown a red card after the final whistle for his protests. (uefa.com) (espn.com) The bracket has shifted fast over two weeks. UEFA lists Bayern’s 2-1 first-leg win in Madrid on April 7 and Arsenal’s 1-0 first-leg win at Sporting Club on the same night, which meant both sides entered Wednesday with narrow leads and protected them in very different ways. (uefa.com) Bayern’s win also carried some weight beyond one round. ESPN said it ended four straight Champions League knockout defeats against Real Madrid, while UEFA said Bayern reached the semifinals after another meeting between the clubs that swung repeatedly before the late finish. (espn.com) (uefa.com) Thierry Henry used Arsenal’s European progress to sharpen the domestic debate. Yahoo Sports reported that Henry said Arsenal cannot play against Manchester City on Sunday the way they have in some matches this season and still expect to make a statement in the Premier League title race. (sports.yahoo.com) So the semifinal field is taking shape around two very different identities: Arsenal with another shutout and Bayern with a seven-goal escape. Wednesday left Arsenal alive on two fronts and left Real Madrid out before the last four for a second straight season. (apnews.com) (espn.com)