Arteta and his hero (©Getty images sport)
Arteta and his hero (©Getty images sport)

UCL: Raya's two magic saves in penalty-drama send Arsenal to quarter-final

Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 13.03.24. | 01:59

The Gunners have made it after more than 120 minutes of an undistilled drama at Emirates

After 14 long years of drama, the Gunners are where they belong - among the eight top teams in Europe!

Arsenal are in the Champions League quarter-final after defeating Porto on Tuesday night thanks to David Raya's two impressive saves in the dramatic penalty shootout!

On the other hand, all four Arsenal shooters were more than accurate for a 4-2 win, after the regular 90 minutes and half an hour of extra time that followed ended 1-0 for the hosts.

It started with a tense 98 minutes of regular time, which saw a single goal and only a few chances of those you could describe as promising and clear-cut ones.

Leandro Trossard found the back of the next following Martin Odegaard's dance on the left wing, as the Norwegian playmaker dribbled before launching a jaw-dropping through ball for Trossard to make it 1-1 on aggregate.

The Gunners netted in the second half, too, through Odegaard, but it was rightfully voided due to Havertz's foul on outstanding veteran Pepe, 41, in the build-up. Dissatisfied with a stalemate and faced with Porto's solid defensive wall, Arteta opted for some brave, offence-oriented solutions as the game was reaching its end. Gabriel Jesus came on for Jorginho and was inches away from scoring a winner seconds later, but Porto's keeper managed to deny his close-range effort.

Unlike the regular time, the extra time didn't provide us with any major opportunities, with both teams fighting eagerly for every ball. But the decision was left for the penalty shootout.

And there, Arteta had his saviour Raya for an unprecedented jubilation at packed Emirates.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

1/8 finals - second leg

Tuesday

Bayern - Lazio 3-0 (2-0)

/Kane 38, 66, Muller 45+2/

Bayern win 3-1 on aggregate

Real Sociedad - Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 (0-1)

/Merino 89 - Mbappe 15, 56/

Paris Saint-Germain win 4-1 on aggregate

Wednesday

Real Madrid - RB Leipzig 1-1 (0-0)

/Vinicius 65 - Orban 68/

Real Madrid win 2-1 on aggregate

Man.City - Copenhagen 3-1 (2-1)

/Akanji 5, Alvarez 9, Haaland 45+3 - Elyounoussi 29/

Manchester City win 6-2 on aggregate

Tuesday the 12th

Barcelona - Napoli 3-1 (2-1)

/Lopez 15, Cancelo 17, Lewandowski 83 - Rrahmani 30/

Barcelona win 4-2 on aggregate

Arsenal - Porto 1-0 (1-0)

/Trossard 41/

Arsenal win 4-2 on penalties

Wednesday the 13th

23:00: (3.05) Atl.Madrid (3.30) Inter (2.55) /first leg 0-1/

23:00: (2.15) Dortmund (3.50) PSV (3.30) / first leg 1-1/

***odds are subject to change***


tags

PepeMikel ArtetaArsenalUEFA Champions LeagueLeandro Trossard

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