Arsenal, Bayern denied penalties as instant classic UCL night ends ...
Updated April 10, 2024 — 9.43am
London: Leandro Trossard’s second-half equaliser gave Arsenal a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) after Harry Kane yet again scored against his old rivals.
Trossard rolled in a low shot in the 76th minute to make sure Bayern didn’t come away from the Emirates Stadium with another big win after Kane had put the German club ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.
Tuesday’s other clash is also delicately poised heading into next week’s second leg after Real Madrid and Manchester City slugged out a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Spanish capital.
In London, the hosts had taken a 12th-minute lead through Bukayo Saka and dominated the early stages until former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry made it 1-1 in the 18th following a mistake by defender Gabriel.
Kane then put Bayern ahead from the penalty spot in the 25th, but two of Arsenal’s substitutes combined for the equaliser as Gabriel Jesus teed up Trossard in the area.
The last time these two teams played, Bayern routed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate after two 5-1 wins in the round of 16 in 2017. There was, however, a sense that things would be very different this time as Arsenal are top of the Premier League while Bayern are having their worst Bundesliga season in more than a decade and has ceded the title race to Bayer Leverkusen.
Leandro Trossard celebrates scoring the equaliser for Arsenal shortly after entering the fray.Credit: AP
But Kane made sure Bayern return to Germany with at least a slight advantage for the second leg at home next Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
The return of the England captain, who scored a record 14 goals for Tottenham in the north London derby, to one of his favourite haunts was the big pre-match talking point.
And he duly silenced the Arsenal jeers.
“It wasn’t an easy game,” he said. “Arsenal are a really good team. They’re top of the Premier League right now so we had to dig deep at times but it’s a good result and hopefully we can make the difference at home.”
Kingsley Coman nearly scored a 90th-minute winner for Bayern, but his flick-on from close range hit the post, while Saka had a penalty appeal turned down in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Saka had a chance to round Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but collided with him and went to the ground. However, referee Glenn Nyberg waved play on and replays suggested Saka stuck his leg out to initiate the contact. Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel was also left to rage against a “horrible, horrible” decision to deny his team their own bizarre penalty.
Tuchel and his Bayern players were furious that they were not awarded a second-half spot-kick when Gabriel Magalhaes, the Arsenal centre-back, picked up the ball after the whistle had been blown and a goal-kick had been taken towards him.
Bayern’s players claimed that Swedish referee Nyberg told them he could not award a penalty for a “kid’s mistake” in a match as important as a Champions League quarter-final.
He told our players it is a ‘kid’s mistake’ and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final. This is a horrible explanation.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel“For me, for all of us, he made a huge mistake not giving the handball penalty,” Tuchel said. “I know it is a crazy situation but they put the ball down, he whistles, he gives the ball and the defender takes the ball in his hand.
“What makes us really angry is the explanation on the field. He told our players that it is a ‘kid’s mistake’ and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final. This is a horrible, horrible explanation. He is judging handballs. Kid’s mistake, adult’s mistake. Whatever. We feel angry because it is a huge decision against us.”
“We’ve got a draw so the situation is clear, the winner moves on. We need the same devotion, passion and quality as we had tonight – and we’ll get through.”
Meanwhile, the Madrid crowd were left stunned two minutes in when City’s Bernardo Silva took advantage of a one-man wall to drill a free kick from 40 metres just inside Andriy Lunin’s right-hand post to give the visitors the lead.
But Eduardo Camavinga helped level the scores after 12 minutes when his long-range strike deflected off defender Ruben Dias for an own goal after wrongfooting keeper Stefan Ortega.
Two minutes later Vinicius jnr delivered a brilliant through ball that Rodrygo took in his stride before his weak goal-bound shot was deflected by Manuel Akanji to give the hosts the lead.
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City piled on the pressure and levelled in the 66th minute through a stunning Phil Foden strike into the top corner and went ahead when Josko Gvardiol fired home five minutes later.
But Federico Valverde’s glorious volley in the 79th rescued a draw for Real on another epic Champions League night that left the fans eager for more in the return leg in Manchester.
AP/Reuters
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