Arsenal recorded their biggest ever win on the road in the Champions League to all but lock up a quarterfinal against Real Madrid or cross town rivals Atletico, after their Madrid derby tie was left in the balance.
Real won 2-1 at home against Diego Simeone’s team who have all to play for in next week’s second leg. The winner is virtually certain to face the Gunners in the last eight after the London team demolished PSV Eindhoven 7-1 – a record away victory for the team that’s still searching for a first ever Champions League title.
Elsewhere Aston Villa look well placed to advance after a 3-1 win at Club Brugge, while Borussia Dortmund were held 1-1 at home by Lille.
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The Gunners, who had been held goalless in their past two Premier League games, enjoyed the slower pace and extra space on offer in the Netherlands and their seven goals came from six different scorers.
Captain Martin Odegaard returned to form with two goals, while instrumental in the build up all evening.
“We’ve been working on a lot of finishing but the same as always. We always work hard. Tonight it all clicked,” Odegaard said.
“We’ve had a bit extra focus on it [finishing] after last few games. We know we have quality. You see today at this level it’s fun we created so much so it was good to get everything out.
“Every player in my position want to influence the game with goals and assists and it’s something I haven’t been good enough at this season but two goals and one assist tonight is a good step.”
Former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott led the rave reviews for their dominant performance. They were 3-0 up after half an hour and after PSV narrowed the margin from the penalty spot, Arsenal scored another two in the opening five minutes of the second period.
“That is a statement win for Arsenal,” said Walcott.
“All the talk before was about PSV and how dangerous they are, they took out Juventus. But after that no one will want to face Arsenal.
“In the Champions League the games a that bit slower and they are well equipped to play with such pace and energy. They were ruthless.”
Former England striker Wayne Rooney described the PSV defending as “woeful”. “I’m not trying to take anything at all away from Arsenal, but the defending was not very good at all.”
There was a second Champions League goal for 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri – set up by fellow teen Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was withdrawn after 34 minutes having narrowly escaped a second yellow card – as the Arsenal attack found the right gear.
The team beat Manchester City 5-1 last month before finding goals hard to come by.
“We were fluid, enthusiasm, the drive and hunger in the knock out phase of the Champions League,” said midfielder Declan Rice, denied a goal of his own by a tight offside decision.
“But we’ve been playing like this all season. We feel we’ve been playing well as a team. Sometimes we score five, sometimes two, sometimes we don’t score, but tonight we did well. We had the opportunity to score more second half especially.”
Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid with goals from Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz either side of a stunner from Julian Alvarez.
The ex-Manchester City forward cut in from the left and smashed it in off the inside of the far post.
Villa in great position
An own goal proved the turning point as Aston Villa won 3-1 at Club Brugge in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie .
The key moment came in the 82nd minute when Club Brugge defender Brandon Mechele beat his own goalkeeper with the teams tied 1-1.
Mechele slid to stop a cross from Morgan Rogers, only to deflect into the back of the net.
Before that, the Belgian side had looked solid, enjoyed most of the possession and created the best chances in the second half.
Looking demoralised, the hosts then conceded a late penalty that was converted by substitute Marco Asensio.
The visitors had needed less than three minutes to take the lead when Leon Bailey swept the ball home with a precise and powerful low shot from a set piece.
Tyrone Mings connected with a free kick and headed it back towards Bailey, who left no chance to goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. It was Bailey’s first Champions League goal.
Marcus Rashford, who resumed his Champions League career on loan from Manchester United, had the chance to double Villa’s lead on the break in the 10th minute from a tight angle but his effort was blocked by Mignolet.
Club Brugge leveled two minutes later when a long ball in the back of Villa’s defenders found Christos Tzolis.
He came into the area and delivered an excellent cut back pass for the unmarked Maxim De Cuyper, who beat Emiliano Martinez with his left foot, into the far corner.
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/gplTtQG make history with ‘statement win’, Madrid derby perfectly poised, Villa heading into quarters
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