Bayern Munich vs Arsenal live reaction (2024)

Joshua Kimmich thundered in a header to give Bayern Munich the lead after Raphael Guerreiro's cross (63').

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid in the semi-final; Arsenal are knocked out.

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Thomas Tuchel spoke to beIN Sports after Bayern's win: "It was a chess game in the first half. Nobody wanted to make the first mistake. Everyone played a bit safe. There were moments for us, there were moments for Arsenal. We encouraged the team at half-time to show a bit more personality, a bit more courage. We were more fluid and played a fantastic second half. We deserved to win.

"Today we had three free seats on the bench. On the other side, there were no injuries. We lost our maximum speed from the first match in (Alphonso) Davies, (Kingsley) Coman and (Serge) Gnabry. We needed to find solutions and we did it as a team."

Bayern will meet Real Madrid in the semi-finals and the Spanish club's superstar Jude Bellingham was just asked whether he's worried about that match-up: "I wouldn't say worried, we're confident in our own ability. Everyone wrote us off before this game anyway saying that City were the favourites. Pretty much everyone put them in the final, so we've got nothing to be worried about.

"But we'll respect their talent and their quality and we'll have to approach it with the same focus as today."

Arsenal fans on our discussion page are having varied reactions to tonight's elimination, from disappointment to pragmatism to hope.

Daniel S: This UCL campaign was always going to be a litmus test on our progress. We got to the quarters and met a Bayern side that’s managed by a UCL winning coach and multiple winners on the pitch.

Scott R: We were a young inexperienced team beaten by one goal away to an elite European club. Yes we wasted openings, yes we didn't cut them open, but we controlled large parts of the game and got narrowly beaten. It's not the end of the world.

Cameron B: Overall quite an unsatisfying Champions League campaign in the end. Never felt like we got to have that moment where we *arrive* in the knockouts as one of Europe's elite clubs again. Hopefully we learn for next year.

Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer praised the club's manager after tonight's win: "It was a tactical masterclass from Thomas Tuchel tonight."

If they go on to win the Champions League, could the club reverse their decision to part ways with Tuchel at the end of the season?

A disastrous night for the Premier League as its two remaining teams have both been eliminated from the Champions League.

The UCL's final four consists of two teams from Germany, one from Spain and one from France.

With Italy set to grab one of the two extra spots in next season's tournament, this week's results have given Germany a massive boost over England in the race for the other.

Bad news for Tottenham and Aston Villa, which is a bit of a silver lining for Arsenal fans, of course.

Manuel Neuer, who set a record for most UCL clean sheets all-time tonight, spoke to the media after Bayern's win: "I think it was a special night that we've experienced here at the arena. The atmosphere, the fans, the support, but crucially the discipline we produced in our performance, which I think was key to what we lived through today.

"I think the key thing with my role in the team is to find the right balance and not to take too many risks. Then from the back, we were looking for the right passes out from the back, to pose a threat and I think the fact we struck a good balance as a team was crucial."

Real Madrid have beaten defending champions Manchester City on penalties!

Andriy Lunin is the hero after making two saves, making up for Luka Modric's failed attempt in the first round.

Bayern will host the first leg in two weeks, with Real hosting the return leg a week later.

Player of the Match Joshua Kimmich spoke to the media after Bayern's win: "It's an amazing feeling to score such an important goal in front of our fans on a night like tonight.

"The second-half performance was really good, we could have even scored more. Ultimately, if you look at the course of both games, I think we deserved to go through."

"The first half was a bit nervous from both teams, neither side wanted to take the decisive risk. The second half though we were much better, more incisive and ambitious. Your odds of scoring are always better when you pop up in the box."

Scoring in the second half of Champions League matches was an issue for Arsenal all season long.

They scored just five second-half goals across their 10 UCL matches this season, compared to 14 in the first half. Among the eight quarter-finalists, they ranked last in second-half scoring.

Arteta said it was his side's mental lapse that provided Bayern's opportunity and they did not benefit from one the other way around.

"A mistake from them or a magic moment is normally what unlocks a tie like this," he said. "In the first leg, we didn't manage to win it at the end and we could have done, I think we were better than them.

"Today, we had a lot of moments of dominance but a spark around the box is what you need in these ties to get a victory."

After 120 minutes of football in Manchester tonight we're still no closer to finding a winner. The match has finished 1-1, the quarter-final has finished 4-4 on aggregate.

You can follow our live coverage of the penalty shootout here!

Arsenal's record in Champions League away games against Bayern Munich is now five losses alongside one draw and one win. And that one win still resulted in an elimination on away goals!

Arsenal will be perfectly happy to avoid any return trips back to the Allianz Arena in the coming years.

A desolate Mikel Arteta faced the cameras.

"At the moment, it is a really gutted dressing room, very disappointed," he told TNT Sports. "I cannot find the right words, I wish I had. We have to go through it, we tried against a team that has a lot of experience and, through the tie, the margins were very small. There were moments where we were better, we gave them two goals in the tie and that is a big advantage to give away.

"Today, you could see that the margin for error was zero. We made a big mistake defending the box and we conceded a goal. And then it was difficult.

"It's the moment to stay with the players, give them support because they are the ones that have taken us on this journey."

Tonight's other quarter-final match is in the 114th minute and we still don't know which team Bayern will be facing in the semi-finals.

The score is tied 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate. You can follow our live coverage of that match here.

Bayern were dominant in the first half, but looked a completely different team in the second half and went on to secure a deserved win.

"The first half is always cagey in these types of games with both teams not wanting to concede early," he added. "We said at half time to up the tempo, up the pressing, be better with the ball and that's what we were.

"We created a lot more chances, we had a couple come off the post and, at the end, we probably could have finished it off.

"Overall, these games are tough and you just have to get through them."

Arsenal's performance today was pretty reminiscent of the Aston Villa game. They failed to take advantage of some promising early positions, faded badly in the second half, had leggy defenders static on a cross, etc.

Mikel Arteta faces a huge task to pick the team up now. It's so important they don't finish the season with a whimper.