Happy Wednesday one and all. We’re halfway through the first legs of the Champions League quarterfinals and wow, what a Tuesday that was. A thriller at the Emirates, a crucial win for Inter in Munich. I’m James Benge, let’s look back at what went down before diving into the treats ahead of us.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, April 9
🇪🇺 UCL: Barcelona vs. Dortmund, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: PSG vs. Aston Villa, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🌎 CCC: Inter Miami vs. LAFC, 8 p.m. ➡️ FS1
Thursday, April 10
🇪🇺 UECL: Legia Warsaw vs. Chelsea, 12:45. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 EL: Tottenham vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 EL: Lyon vs. Man United, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line
Rice delivers the Emirates’ finest hour
Imagine waking up this morning to discover you are, in fact, Declan Rice. You’d surely feel compelled to double check that what you think just happened to you actually did. It really, really did. Two of the greatest free kicks the Champions League has ever seen and with them, plus a little extra from Mikel Merino, Arsenal blew Europe’s great leviathan out of the water.
The Emirates Stadium has seen some impressive moments in its near 20 year history, not as many as it ought to have, but it will take something quite remarkable in the next two decades to better the jubilation that swept across north London Tuesday night. Certainly there were a few in The Tollington late into the night after the match who were destined for sore heads the next morning. Don’t ask me how I know.
What made this all the more remarkable is the night just wasn’t shaping up that way. If anything, it was going the way you would expect it to have. Arsenal seeing plenty of the ball, Madrid threatening on the counter and there seemingly only being a single goal in it, in either direction. Then Bukayo Saka was fouled by David Alaba, the nearest the veteran got to him all night, and Rice felt the touch of destiny on his shoulder.
- Rice: “Before this all was happening, our set piece coach, we was planning to cross the ball to that post… I stood with Bukayo and I said, ‘It doesn’t feel right to cross the ball here. And I looked at the wall, then I looked at Courtois, and I see that space for the right foot around the outside of the wall, and Bukayo said, ‘If you feel it, take it,’ and I said, ‘You know what, I’m going for it.’ And if you don’t take the risk, you don’t score. As soon as it left my foot, I knew it had a chance, and it’s one of them historic moments.”
Another was soon to follow. It really is take your pick as to whether the first or the second is the better. The former has that gorgeous curl, in front of Roberto Carlos no less, and lands back off the net with a satisfying ping. The other is definitional top bins, the sort of fizzing inside foot effort that millions are going to try (and fail) to replicate this weekend.
It’s at this point that we austerely note that the tie isn’t over yet. As Carlo Ancelotti put it, a lot of crazy stuff can happen on European nights at the Santiago Bernabeu. When you’ve got Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, you’ve got a chance. It might be even smaller than you think, mind. Madrid’s best moments in the first leg came not from what they did but mistakes from Saka and Jakub Kiwior, the latter growing to imperious levels as the game wore on.
Arsenal don’t tend to make many mistakes though and in the second half Madrid were held to as many shots of their own as Rice took free kicks. They managed just seven touches in the penalty area, 0.14 xG. That’s what life is like up against William Saliba and Jurrien Timber. You have to go back to December 2023 to find the last time Mikel Arteta’s side conceded three goals. It’s back to May of that year for the last time they suffered defeat by a three goal margin, the result the holders will need just to take this tie to extra time. All that to say nothing of the fact that Madrid’s banged up defense have now conceded 11 goals in four games.
Arsenal on the brink of the semifinals. How they got there was unforgettable.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
PSG and Barcelona return to UCL action as favorites
The prediction models might now have Arsenal among the leading favorites to win the Champions League for a very obvious reason, but before a ball was kicked in the quarterfinals it was rather starting to look like Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were the best bets to win the lot. Both will look to reaffirm that status against opponents who they might privately admit they are happy to be drawn against.
Certainly Borussia Dortmund suit Barcelona to a tee. Hansi Flick’s side have captured top spot in La Liga with a maximalised version of Bundesliga football. Opponents in Europe have picked at issues in that approach, whether breaking their press with the long ball like Benfica did or Atalanta’s exploiting of the flanks. What probably won’t work is getting in to an up down track meet with a team that has Pedri feeding Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
Then again Dortmund, who will be without star center back Nico Schlotterbeck, pushed Barcelona all the way in a 3-2 defeat when these two met at the Westfalenstadion in the league phase and have shown signs of life in back-to-back wins in the Bundesliga. The hosts certainly see the same.
- Flick: “Their confidence has changed a bit. Their passing is sharper. The results they’ve had in the Champions League and the Bundesliga have given them confidence. They have more concrete goals. They’re a team with great pace, they think very attack-wise, and we’ll have to be up to the task.”
Meanwhile in France, it’s more Premier League opposition for Paris Saint-Germain. If they are as brilliant as they were in knocking out Liverpool in the round of 16 then they will surely have enough to overcome Aston Villa. Unai Emery, however, is a master of the fine margins in European ties, defending with plenty of bodies and exploiting their rapid attackers on the counter.
Oh and they have Emiliano Martinez, the man who spoiled French dreams at the 2022 World Cup. Not that he wants to make much of a fuss about that. Just a small cap bearing a cockerel and all four international trophies he has won with Argentina. If this were the Champions League of mind games, Dibu would be Real Madrid, the undisputed master of his craft.
- Emery: “[Martinez] is mature. He is responsible. He is getting better at controlling his emotions…. He is a better player, a better goalkeeper and now my conversation with him is always the same. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world – he got the award for it here in Paris.”
One thing is certain, Martinez is taking quite a risk because he is going to have a lot to do on Wednesday night. PSG average seven shots on target per game in the Champions League and that number has only ratcheted up since the turn of the year when Luis Enrique’s side unleashed their frontline led by Ousmane Dembele with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as a devastating foil. To even get close to stopping that in the last round Alisson had to deliver one of the best games of his career, even that was not enough to take the Premier League leaders past the French champions. Has Martinez set himself up for a fall?
🔗 Top Stories
🔹 Lautaro lighting it up: So dramatic were events in north London last night that we haven’t even touched on the intriguing clash between Bayern Munich and Inter, won 2-1 by the visitors at the Allianz Arena. Lautaro Martinez delivered in the clutch on Tuesday, and it’s time to start talking about him as one of the world’s very best forwards.
📜 History in north London: Rice played the part so often afforded to a Madrid superstar in these big European nights. Here’s what it was like on the ground.
👑 Carlo Ancelotti believes in comeback: The Madrid boss knows crazy things have happened at the Santiago Bernanbeu and fully believes his side is capable.
🔴 Declan’s descriptions: Rice’s free kicks were a thing of beauty, and he joined the CBS Sports crew after the game to break down the magical strikes.
❔ Champions League scenarios: Here’s what Real Madrid, Arsenal, Inter and Bayern Munich all need next week to advance to the last four.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- UCL: PSG vs. Aston Villa, 3 p.m.
💰 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to get an assist (+210): The addition of Kvaratskhelia from Napoli may go down as one of the best January signings ever as his presence has allowed Ousmane Dembele to move centrally, but the understanding between the duo is on another level. That connection is what sets the Georgian up well to nab an assist as Paris Saint-Germain overwhelm the Aston Villa defense en route to victory. There will be plenty of goals to go around and there are few who are as adept as Kvaratskhelia at creating them.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.
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