Here, we take a look at all the action from the second legs of the Quarter-finals of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.
Aston Villa FC 3-2 Paris Saint-Germain FC (Agg: 4-5)
Aston Villa produced a spirited comeback against Paris Saint-German at Villa Park but were knocked out of the Champions League following a narrow 5-4 defeat on aggregate.
Facing a 3-1 deficit from the first leg, Villa fell two goals behind on the night courtesy of Achraf Hakimi (11′) and Nuno Mendes (27′), which seemingly ended any hope of a comeback.
Villa’s night was threatening to unravel at that point, but they kept pushing and were rewarded when a shot from Youri Tielemans (34′) deflected into the net off Willian Pacho.
After the break, two goals followed in quick succession to change the complexion of the night—a deflected strike by John McGinn (55′) was followed by a piece of individual brilliance from Marcus Rashford to set up Ezri Konsa (57′), putting the previously assured PSG under immense pressure.
But the final goal would not come. Marco Asensio had the clearest opportunity against his parent club but was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma in a 1v1 opportunity after he had gone through on goal.
PSG were taken to places they could not have expected but managed to just about hold on to their aggregate lead to set up a semi-final tie against Arsenal.
For Villa, thoughts now turn to domestic matters ahead of a hectic schedule that sees them face Newcastle United and Manchester City in the Premier League before an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace—plenty to be excited about even though their UCL adventure is over.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 FC Barcelona (Agg: 3-5)
Serhou Guirassy scored a hattrick and still ended up on the losing side as Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 win over Barcelona wasn’t enough to avoid an aggregate loss.
Having been swept aside 4-0 in the first leg, BVB had nothing to lose and attacked Barça from the start. Guirassy, who had missed chances in the first leg, spurned a couple more early on in Tuesday’s game before turning one in from the penalty spot in the 11th minute after Barcelona keeper Wojciech Szczesny’s collision with Pascal Groß.
Guirassy then made it 2-0 in the 49th minute with a header before an own goal by Ramy Bensebaini (54′) made Dortmund’s task even harder. In the 76th minute, the Guinea international seized on Ronald Araújo’s defensive error to complete his hattrick with a powerful close-range shot, becoming the Champions League’s top scorer this season with 13 goals.
His third goal on the night gave Dortmund a glimmer of hope of managing what would have been one of the all-time great Champions League comebacks—one to rival Barcelona’s triumph against Paris Saint-Germain in 2017—but the Catalan side managed to hold on to progress.
The Blaugrana, who suffered their first loss in all competitions since December, will now face Inter Milan in the semi-final. This is the first time they have reached the last four of the Champions League since the 2018/19 season.
Real Madrid CF 1-2 Arsenal FC (Agg: 1-5)
Arsenal dumped holders Real Madrid out of the Champions League with a stunning 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu, sealing a 5-1 aggregate victory to set up a semi-final clash against PSG.
Playing with an unchanged side from their 3-0 win at the Emirates, Arsenal started the brighter of the two sides despite Los Blancos‘ intense pressing in the early minutes.
Bukayo Saka, who was a constant menace down Real Madrid’s left side at the Emirates, was at it again from the onset. His best chance of the first half arrived when Raúl Asencio was adjudged to have impeded Mikel Merino inside the penalty area, only for Thibaut Courtois to turn the England international’s audacious chipped penalty behind.
Despite the penalty save, Real Madrid hardly posed any real threat at the other end, managing zero shots on goal in the first half. The second half started in similar fashion, with Arsenal comfortable both on and off the ball as Real Madrid grew frustrated and anxious.
At the hour mark, Carlo Ancelotti made a triple substitution, though it was Arsenal who broke the deadlock on the night with an exquisite piece of build-up play capped off by an equally impressive finish by Saka in the 65th minute. The Bernabéu went silent as Arsenal took an unassailable 4-0 lead on aggregate.
Just a couple of minutes later, however, Real Madrid received a lifeline thanks to a brain-fade moment from William Saliba, which allowed Vinícius Júnior to poach the ball off his feet and slot it home into an empty net, giving the Madridistas a glimmer of hope.
Soon after, though, Arsenal regained control of the game and looked the likelier of the two sides to get the winner. And so it proved to be when David Raya’s long ball allowed Merino to play Gabriel Martinelli through on goal, whose composed finish in the 93th minute epitomised Arsenal’s superiority over the two legs as he sealed their semi-final berth.
This victory ranks among one of the team’s greatest in Europe and puts them into the last four of the competition for the first time since 2009 and only the third time ever in their history.
FC Internazionale Milano 2-2 FC Bayern Munich (Agg: 4-3)
Former Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard scored against his old side to help Inter Milan to a 2-2 draw at San Siro and send them through to the semi-finals 4-3 on aggregate.
In the first leg, Inter had stunned Bayern by winning 2-1, marking the German team’s first home defeat in Europe in almost four years. The visitors, however, started this game brightly and had a few early opportunities, with Pavard charging down an effort by Michael Olise and Alessandro Bastoni timing a last-ditch tackle to perfection to also deny Olise.
Inter managed to slow things down after a frantic start and began to have opportunities of their own, yet the half ended with neither team getting on the score sheet.
It was Bayern who broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half when Leon Goretzka fed Harry Kane. The England forward steadied himself before firing through the legs of Federico Dimarco and into the back of the net to level the tie on aggregate.
However, Bayern’s jubilation was short-lived as Inter drew level seven minutes later, with Lautaro Martínez bundling home from a corner. More rapturous celebrations erupted throughout San Siro in the 61st minute when Pavard’s powerful header put the hosts two goals up on aggregate.
Eric Dier (76′) somehow managed to find the back of the net from a loopy header from Serge Gnabry’s cross to make for an uneasy end, but Simone Inzaghi’s men held on, showing solid defensive organisation to see off any late Bayern threat.
Having reached the semi-final stages of the competition twice in three years, Inter will now face Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, with the first leg to be played away from home at Camp Nou on April 30.
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