The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals got off to a bang on Tuesday with a pair of first-leg matches that didn’t disappoint.
At a raucous Emirates Stadium in London, Arsenal stunned reigning trophy-holders and record 15-time European titlists Real Madrid 3-0. Gunners midfielder Declan Rice scored a pair of spectacular free kicks during a 12-minute span in the second half.
Meantime, in Germany, Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan nudged ahead of Bayern Munich on a beautiful goal by star Argentine striker Lauturo Martinez before the hosts equalized through the ageless Thomas Müller. Inter got the last laugh, though, winning the first match of the home-and-home, total-goals-wins series on an 88th-minute tally by substitute Davide Frattesi.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s two quarterfinal openers.
On Declan Rice’s night, a statement win for Arsenal
On paper, it’s any team’s worst possible match-up. Drawn against the most successful participant in tournament history, a preposterously stacked Real Madrid side that has won club soccer’s most prestigious prize two of the last three years and five of the last nine, few gave the Gunners much of a chance to reach the semis this spring.
Can’t say that anymore. Following what will go down as one of the most famous nights in Arsenal lore, Mikel Arteta’s side is suddenly on the brink of the final four for the first time since 2009. And they mostly have Rice to thank.
The two-way English star has been worth every penny of the $130 million-plus transfer fee Arteta paid for him a couple of summers ago. But few knew he had the ability to almost immediately upstage one of the best set-piece goals in Champions League history with one-moments later that somehow might have been even more impressive. All-Planet Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had zero chance on either, with Rice curling the eventual game-winner around Madrid’s wall.
Mikel Merino then added a potentially back-breaking third, though Arsenal still hasn’t completed the mission just yet.
There is still a daunting trip to Spain’s capital looming, and counting Real Madrid out at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu would be a potentially fatal mistake. Still, it’s clear that Arteta has built something special at Arsenal even if the Premier League title has eluded them so far. Tuesday was further proof. Should they survive the second leg next week and vanquish the defending champs, an even more coveted title will suddenly be in the Gunners’ sights.
Bayern Munich have work to do in Milan
When Muller finally got Bayern on the board on Tuesday and canceled out Inter’s slim aggregate advantage in the process, it seemed that the hosts had survived disaster. While winning the opener at home is usually imperative when it comes to advancing, heading to the San Siro at 1-1 wouldn’t have been the worst thing considering that the Germans had been the better team most of the night. Had Harry Kane not hit the post on a golden first half opportunity, Bayern could’ve won the match.
Instead, they find themselves in a 2-1 hole against a team that has been far more consistent this season. They’ve also been almost unbeatable at home. Inter has just one loss in Milan in 19 games across all competitions in 2024-25, and are a perfect 5-0 in the Champions League. With a tie next week enough to reach the semis, Bayern seems poised to end its run in the quarters for the fourth time in five seasons since winning it all in 2020.
This would be Real Madrid’s greatest escape of all
Los Blancos‘ magic in European play is well-documented. It has pulled them back from the brink on multiple occasions in recent years, most notably in knockout stage deciders against Manchester City and as recently as its shootout victory over crosstown rival Atlético Madrid last month in the round of 16.
Now we’ll see if Carlo Ancelotti’s team’s knack for defying the odds and finding ways to win when all looks lost is, well, real. Never before has mighty Real Madrid had to overturn a three-goal deficit to avoid Champions League elimination.
And while nobody should count out an attack that boasts the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior, beating Arteta’s well-drilled Arsenal by at least three seems beyond a team that was thoroughly outplayed on Tuesday and will be missing central midfielder Eduardo Camavinga in the rematch because of a late red card.
If any club can do it, though, it’s this one.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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