Key events
The emergence of the Arsenal players for their warm-up is the cue for the home fans to pay tribute to Joe Root. The noise is quite something, especially as we’re still half an hour away from kick off.
Jude Bellingham on the task ahead
Tonight’s winners will play Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, with the first leg at home of 29 or 30 April and the second leg in Paris a week later.
The players on a yellow card
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Real Madrid Lucas Vazquez, Rudiger, Vinicius Jr, Modric, Endrick.
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Arsenal Timber, Partey, Rice, Martinelli.
Chill out, Nicholas Jover
Team news: Arsenal unchanged from first leg
Carlo Ancelotti makes two changes from the first leg at the Emirates. Lucas Vazquez and Aurelien Tchouameni replace Luka Modric and the suspended Eduardo Camavinga. That means Fede Valverde will move into midfield.
Arsenal, as you’d expect, are unchanged from the first leg.
Real Madrid (4-3-3) Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Alaba; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Substitutes: Fran Gonzalez, Sergio Mestre, Modric, Arda Guler, Endrick, Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Brahim.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Setford, Tierney, White, Zinchenko, Trossard, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Gower, Henry-Francis, Nwaneri, Rosiak.
Referee Francois Letexier.
Mikel Arteta on the challenge awaiting Arsenal
The feeling is excitement. We want to create history. We are trying to do something consistently, to start to dominate European competition. This is a great opportunity. For sure, we are convinced.
‘So you’re saying there’s a chance’
Preamble
Noventi minuti en el Bernabéu son molto longo.
Those were the words of Real Madrid’s Juanito after his side lost 3-1 to Internazionale in the first leg of a Uefa Cup semi-final in 1985-86. Ninety minutes at the Bernabeu are very long.
Turns out 120 minutes were even longer. Real savaged a good Inter side 5-1 after extra-time and went on to win the competition. It was their fifth spectacular European comeback in just two seasons, all at the Bernabeu, and cemented the legend of the remontada.
The team, the myth, the legend. Real still dine out on it, and Jude Bellingham helped himself to seconds at yesterday’s press conference. You can understand why. Carlo Ancelotti’s team have produced some remarkable acts of escapology in recent years, but the aura of the Bernabeu has presented in short periods of utter madness rather than across a full 90 or 120 minutes.
That 1985-86 season was the last time Real overturned a first-leg deficit of at least three goals. Their victims were Borussia Monchengladbach, who won 5-1 in Germany but went out on away goals when Santillana scored in the 88th minute at the Bernabeu to make it 4-0. The last time Real did in the European Cup was against Derby in November 1975.
Real will feel a proper remontada is long overdue; Arsenal’s will fancy that their defence, which hasn’t conceded three or more in a game since December 2023*, can deal with the cauldron. The prize – a first Champions League semi-final since 2009 – is well worth suffering for.
Kick off 8pm.
*The last team to score three against Arsenal were… Luton Town, who lost a seven-goal thriller at Kenilworth Road in December 2023. That was 79 games ago in all competitions.
