Arsenal were handed a dream scenario to put their Champions League tie with Real Madrid out of reach, but Bukayo Saka wasn’t able to take his chance, attempting to chip legendary keeper Thibaut Courtois and seeing his penalty saved. Arsenal entered the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals with a 3-0 lead on aggregate, something that they’d feel good about considering that they haven’t conceded three or more goals since December of 2023 and haven’t lost by three goals since May of 2023.
The Gunners were handed an opportunity to go ahead following a VAR review in the 10th minute of play. Real Madrid center back Raul Asencio was gripping Arsenal’s Mikel Merino in the penalty box. One grab seemed to be allowed, but his second led to the penalty which Saka took after Martin Odegaard shielded the ball.
For Arsenal, Saka has been an excellent penalty taker scoring 13 and only missing one, but at the biggest moment he decided to go for the chip, which Courtois saved easily. It’s his biggest miss since the 2020 Euros final shootout when England lost to Italy. He did make a shootout penalty for England in the Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Switzerland but these moments loom large.
Minutes later, Real Madrid began pushing for a goal and almost got a penalty of their own. Declan Rice was given a yellow card for fouling Kylian Mbappe in the box but after a lengthy VAR review, it was judged to not be a foul, rescinding the yellow card and the penalty. Rice would be suspended for Arsenal’s next UCL match if he picks up a yellow and Arsenal advance, a possibility which increases with every moment Madrid don’t score.
This game is already being played on a razor’s edge and there’s plenty of soccer left to be played to determine who will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals, kicking off on April 28.
This news was originally published on this post .
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