Frattesi’s late goal hands Inter Milan victory at Bayern
A summary of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg quarter-finals between Arsenal and Real Madrid, and Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
IMAGE: Declan Rice celebrates scoring Arsenal’s first goal from a free-kick during the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium, London, on Tuesday. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Declan Rice’s two fantastic free-kicks and a striker’s finish from Mikel Merino gave Arsenal an emphatic 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
In the day’s other first leg quarter-final in Munich, Inter Milan scored an 88th minute winner through Davide Frattesi to snatch a 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich.
Hosts Arsenal had the better of the first half as Real began slowly, with Eduardo Camavinga almost conceding a calamitous own goal when he blocked Antonio Rudiger’s clearance before Thomas Partey shot straight at Thibault Courtois.
Real grew into the contest and threatened on the break, though their few opportunities came from Arsenal errors and the reigning champions looked disjointed throughout.
IMAGE: Declan Rice’s free-kick goes around the wall to the corner of the net past Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for Arsenal’s opening goal. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters
Courtois was by far the busier goalkeeper and produced a stunning double save on the stroke of halftime to keep the game level.
There was no stopping Rice’s opener, though, a fierce shot around the wall and beyond Courtois in the 58th minute for the midfielder’s first senior goal from a direct free-kick.
“It’s been in the locker, but I’ve hit the wall too many times or it’s gone over the bar. Originally I was going to cross it, and then I just have seen the wall with the goalkeeper’s position. I thought… just go for it,” Rice said.
Arsenal could have been two-up shortly after, but for more heroics from Courtois, who produced a diving stop from Gabriel Martinelli followed by another from Merino in between David Alaba’s goalline block.
Rice’s second free-kick was even better than the first, curled straight into the top corner in the 70th minute, to leave the 15-time European champions looking stunned.
Merino then coolly fired substitute Leandro Trossard’s pull-back into the bottom corner 15 minutes from time to give Arsenal a sizeable lead to take to Madrid next week.
IMAGE: Mikel Merino celebrates scoring Arsenal’s third goal. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Real will have to try and overhaul that lead without Camavinga, who was shown a second yellow card in the closing seconds for kicking the ball away.
The visitors did have some half-chances, most notably through Kylian Mbappe who scuffed his shot at the end of a fast break with the score still 0-0 in the first half.
But Real were unconvincing in attack and have now conceded 11 goals in their last four games in all competitions, while Arsenal have not lost a European tie when scoring three goals in the first leg.
Unused substitute Lucas Vazquez conceded Real were nowhere near their best but nonetheless, given his side’s European pedigree, warned Arsenal his team were far from finished.
“The tie is complicated, but if there’s one team in the world that can turn it around, it’s us, in our stadium and with our fans,” he told Movistar Plus.
The winner of the tie will face either Aston Villa or Paris St Germain in the semi-finals.
Frattesi’s late goal hands Inter Milan victory at Bayern
IMAGE: Davide Frattesi celebrates scoring Inter Milan’s second goal in the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany. Photograph: Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
Inter Milan scored an 88th minute winner through Davide Frattesi to snatch a 2-1 victory over stunned hosts Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Frattesi tapped in from close range to stun the Bavarians, who levelled three minutes earlier through substitute Thomas Mueller, a player leaving the club at the end of the season after 25 years as Bayern did not offer him a new contract.
Inter captain Lautaro Martinez had put the visitors in the driving seat after 38 minutes, drilling the ball into the net from a superb Marcus Thuram backheel after Bayern had earlier hit the post through Harry Kane.
The treble-chasing Italians, who have conceded three goals in their 11 Champions League matches so far this season, host Bayern in the return leg on April 16.
IMAGE: Lautaro Martinez fires the ball into the Bayern Munich net to put Inter Milan’s ahead in the match. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
“Tonight wasn’t a walk in the park and we were not expecting one,” said Mueller. “The chances converted were the key.
“We had a fair few chances but unfortunately the last counter makes it 2-1. Otherwise it would be 1-1, a good fightback and the Mueller story would have played out,” he said.
The Germans, who were missing several key players to injury including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala along with a trio of defenders, had two chances through Michael Olise and Kane in the opening 15 minutes.
They came even closer in the 26th after Olise outplayed almost the entire Inter defence to lay the ball off for Kane whose curled shot hit the post.
The Italians gradually grew bolder with Carlos Augusto firing into the side netting and Martinez charging into the box but slipping just before shooting.
IMAGE: Thomas Muller scores to enable Bayern Munich draw level. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
The Inter captain, however, made no mistake when Thuram found him with a backheel flick from a Carlos Augusto cut-back and the Argentine completed the swift move with a deft finish.
He came close to adding another in 55th but Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig stopped his powerful drive from a tight angle.
Bayern then pinned Inter in their own half but neither Konrad Laimer, Raphael Guerreiro nor Kane with his low drive in the 80th could find an equaliser until crowd favourite Mueller was in the right place to score with five minutes left.
Their joy, however, only lasted three minutes with Frattesi tapping in the winner in a heartbreaking finale for the Bayern fans in the Allianz Arena, site of this year’s final.
The winners of the quarter-final will face either Borussia Dortmund or Barcelona, who play their first leg on Wednesday.
