Man City and Real Madrid play out bonkers draw; Arsenal rescue draw in CL | OneFootball

The Champions League quarter finals kicked off with two mouth-watering ties this evening.

Here’s how it all went down.

Arsenal draw with Bayern in controversial clash

Arsenal played host to struggling German giants Bayern Munich looking to put one foot firmly in the Champions League semi-final.

Scorers: Saka 12′, Trossard 76′; Gnabry 18′, Kane 32′

The opening minutes began in an even fashion, with Arsenal having the first effort on goal as Gabriel Martinelli fired narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area.

But with their first effort on target, they took the lead. Bukayo Saka, whose presence had already seen Alphonso Davies booked early, cut inside before curling the ball past Manuel Neuer and handing his side an early lead.

Ben White could have doubled their lead when he fired straight at Neuer when well placed.

It proved costly as they were pegged back moments later when ex-Arsenal man Serge Gnabry poked past David Raya after being slipped in by Leon Goretzka.

Bayern were then gifted the chance to take the lead ten minutes later when William Saliba felled Leroy Sané after a mazy run from the German. As he so often did in Tottenham colours, Harry Kane stepped up and rolled it into the corner, sending David Raya the wrong way in the process.

Arsenal were far from their usual selves, with Sané in particular causing Jakub Kiwior plenty of problems, and headed into the break with it all to do in the second half.

The Polish defender didn’t make it out for the second 45, with Oleksandr Zinchenko replacing him at the interval.

The home side began on the front foot once more, but couldn’t find a way to break through Bayern and test Neuer. At the other end, the Bavarian giants remained a threat as Gnabry fired over.

Mikel Arteta rang the changes, with Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard coming on.

Minutes later it paid dividends when the Brazilian found his fellow substitute after some fleet footwork, which resulted in Trossard firing his side level ahead of a pulsating final 15 minutes.

Both sides pushed for a winner, with Kingsley Coman seeing his effort come back off the woodwork in the dying seconds.

In the fifth minute of injury time, Saka went down under a challenge from Manuel Neuer, only for the referee to turn down the appeals for a penalty, leaving both sides to wonder what could have been come full time.

Manchester City play out 3-3 thriller with Real Madrid

Arguably the two biggest sides left in the competition, treble winning Manchester City headed to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on Champions League heavyweights Real Madrid.

Scorers: Silva 2′, Foden 66′; Dias (OG) 12′, Rodrygo 14′, Valverde 79′

It took just two minutes for first blood to be drawn. Bernardo Silva caught out Andriy Lunin from a free kick, opting to shoot rather than cross and handing his side the lead after 90 seconds.

They could have doubled their lead minutes later when Erling Haaland saw his effort saved, before Jack Grealish’s shot was charged down by a desperate Real Madrid backline.

With almost their first effort of the game though, Real Madrid drew level when an effort from Eduardo Camavinga took a deflection off Ruben Dias, leaving Stefan Ortega stranded.

90 seconds later, they were ahead in a shock turnaround. Rodrygo ran through the Manchester City defence, before poking the ball past Ortega as it rolled over the line in slow motion.

City dominated the ball, but couldn’t find a way through to level the tie and Real Madrid remained a major threat on the counter attack, with Kyle Walker’s absence clearly hampering the reigning champions.

Twice Rodrygo came close for the home side, with the Brazilian finding the gloves of Ortega before slicing wide when well placed, while at the other end Erling Haaland struggled to find his way into the game.

Pep Guardiola’s side began the second half where they left the first, dominating the ball as they probed for an equaliser. But it was Real Madrid who had the chance to extend their lead when Jude Bellingham fired wide after a mistake from Ortega. Minutes later, Vinicius fired over from 14 yards out after good work from Rodrygo.

When City needed a hero, Phil Foden stepped up. Picking the ball up just outside the penalty area, the Englishman fired a curling effort into the top corner, leaving Lunin stranded and bringing his side level.

Pressure continued to tell, and City took the lead through an unlikely source when Joško Gvardiol took advantage of Real Madrid standing off, curling an effort into the far corner to turn the tie on it’s head once more.

It was far from over. A deep cross into the Manchester City box was met by a powerful volley from Federico Valverde to level the tie once more, and added to the catalogue of astonishing goals on show in the Spanish capital.

Neither side could find a knockout blow, and the two sides return to battle next week with the tie deadlocked.