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Important update on 1476AMBayern edge thriller, nervy Arsenal also reach Champions League semis
AP • April 16th, 2026 10:11 am
Bayern Munich | Photo: AP
Luis Díaz and Michael Olise have scored late for Bayern Munich to beat Real Madrid 4-3 in a home thriller and advance to the Champions League semi-finals.
The second-leg quarter-final game ended in acrimony with Madrid's players furious that referee Slavko Vinčić sent off substitute Eduardo Camavinga with a second yellow card for an innocuous looking foul on Harry Kane after being urged to do so by the Bayern players in the 86th minute.
Díaz fired inside the right post three minutes later and Olise ended Thursday's (NZ time) contest definitively with a shot in off the far post in stoppage time to give Bayern a 6-4 win on aggregate after the Bavarian powerhouse won the first leg of their quarter-final 2-1 in Madrid last week.
Madrid's players surrounded Vinčić after the game. Arda Guler, who scored two brilliant goals to spark the visitors' hopes of a famed "remontada" (comeback), was shown a red card for his vehement complaints.
Bayern will play defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals. Also Wednesday, Arsenal advanced past Sporting Lisbon to set up a last-four showdown against Atletico Madrid.
In Munich, Guler had opened the scoring after just 34 seconds thanks to a mistake from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer – who was outstanding in the first leg – whose attempted pass went straight to the 21-year-old Turkey star, who delayed not but fired the ball into the empty net from distance.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya punches clear during his team's nervy scoreless draw | Photo: EPA
Bayern seemed unfazed and Aleksandar Pavlović equalized with a point-blank header from a Joshua Kimmich corner in the sixth minute and Bayern maintained its dominance with Madrid patiently looking for breaks.
Konrad Laimer did well to block Kylian Mbappé, who had an adhesive bandage above his right eye after getting a heavy blow to his face last weekend.
Guler beat Neuer with a brilliant free kick in the 29th but Bayern had legitimate complaints it should not have been awarded with Brahim Díaz going down after minimal contact from Laimer.
Bayern again seized control and it was no surprise when Harry Kane equalised in the 38th inside the right post after being left free by English compatriot Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Vinícius Júnior then struck the crossbar before setting up Mbappé to restore Madrid's lead on the night in the 42nd.
There were no more, however, until the late drama.
A 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon at London's Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal advance 1-0 on aggregate.
Arsenal have never won the European Cup and only once reached the final. But they are now just two games away from this year's showpiece in Budapest, Hungary.
Kai Havertz's late winner in the first leg of the quarter-finals in Portugal last week proved to be decisive as Sporting failed to find a breakthrough in London.
It is the fourth time Arsenal haves advanced to the semi-finals, having lost to eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain at that stage last season.
