Brahim gives Real the edge in Atletico tie

Arsenal will be playing a team from Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but it isn’t quite clear which one after a tight last-16 first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Seeking to win the Champions League for the third time in four seasons, Real Madrid will take a 2-1 lead into the second leg against city rivals Atletico Madrid following a game lit up by three excellent goals.

Rodrygo cut in from the right and arced a wonderful fourth-minute finish beyond Jan Oblak to put Los Blancos in front, only for for Julian Alvarez to outdo him with a spectacular long-range strike that bent into the top-right corner in the 32nd minute.

That is some strike from Julián Alvarez 😮‍💨

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But it was another former Manchester City forward who would have the final say, Brahim Diaz evading three Atletico defenders before firing beyond a helpless Oblak to hand Carlo Ancleotti’s men a slender edge.

Should they hold onto it at the Metrpolitano next week, then the holders will face Arsenal, who essentially sealed their quarter-final place with an incredible 7-1 rout of PSV Eindhoven.

Real Madrid take the lead against the run of play 📈

Brilliant footwork from Brahim Díaz opens up the angle for a brilliant curling effort 👏

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First-half goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino put Arsenal in command. Noah Lang pulled one back from the penalty spot before half-time, but Martin Odegaard scored a second-half brace and Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori also netted to render the tie over bar the formality of a jeopardy-free second leg.

Aston Villa are not quite as comfortable, but they too are in command of their last-16 tie after a remarkable late collapse from Club Brugge.

It looked as if the sides would head back to Villa Park at 1-1 after Leon Bailey’s opener was cancelled out by Maxim De Cuyper. However, Brandon Mechele put through his own net eight minutes from time and Christos Tzolis gave away a penalty that Marco Asensio converted to put Villa on the brink of a tie with either Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain.

It’s all to play for between Borussia Dortmund and Lille, however, after the Ligue 1 side fought back to claim a 1-1 draw at Signal Iduna Park. Karim Adeyemi’s vicious low strike gave Dortmund the lead, but Hakon Arnar Haraldsson slotted in at the end of a great team move to keep Lille firmly in the mix for the last eight.