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Sports / Football

Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid to set up semi-final with PSG

Published: 16 Apr 2026 - 12:30 am | Last Updated: 16 Apr 2026 - 12:32 am
Bayern Munich's Colombian forward #14 Luis Diaz (C) celebrates scoring the 3-3 goal with his teammates during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg football match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, southern Germany, on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

Bayern Munich's Colombian forward #14 Luis Diaz (C) celebrates scoring the 3-3 goal with his teammates during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg football match between FC Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in Munich, southern Germany, on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

AFP

Munich: Late goals from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise earned Bayern Munich a 4-3 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday, securing a 6-4 aggregate victory and sending them through to face holders Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

The tie was level at the break after a scintillating opening half, with Real going ahead three times on the night.

Arda Guler pounced on a loose Manuel Neuer pass to put the visitors ahead after just 34 seconds and scored again from a free-kick after Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised.

Harry Kane put Bayern ahead in the tie only for Kylian Mbappe to restore parity overall when he put Madrid 3-2 up before half-time.

Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second yellow with four minutes left and Bayern pushed forward, Diaz blasting into the corner from outside the box after a crucial deflection.

With Real pressing for an equaliser, Bayern broke and Olise curled in a magnificent shot to rubberstamp their tickets to the last four, where Luis Enrique's reigning European champions await.

Tempers boiled over after the final whistle with Guler picking up a straight red for confronting the referee.

For the first time in Real's long Champions League history, their starting XI did not contain a single Spanish player. Jude Bellingham, who impressed off the bench in the first leg, was one of four changes to Alvaro Arbeloa's line-up for the visitors.

Neuer, widely lauded after a vintage performance in Madrid, gifted Real an opener. The Bayern goalkeeper miscued a pass directly to Guler, who floated a first-touch shot into the unguarded goal in the first minute.

Bayern looked stunned but struck back almost immediately when Pavlovic headed in a Joshua Kimmich corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to read the flight of the ball.

The match had barely time to settle before Real were ahead once more thanks to a Guler goal, with Neuer again not at his best.

The Turkey international whipped a free-kick into the top corner which Neuer got a hand to but was unable to keep out.

The match continued to seesaw before half-time, with both Kane and then Mbappe getting on the scoresheet.

Kane slotted clinically into the bottom corner in the 38th minute to again haul Bayern level on the night -- and ahead in the tie -- before Mbappe ran onto a Vinicius Junior pass and slotted home just before the break to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate.

With Real regularly cutting into Bayern's high line, Kompany responded by introducing the pace of Alphonso Davies at the interval.

Both sides traded chances in the second half, with Olise particularly dangerous, forcing a fingertip save from Lunin with 20 minutes left.

Camavinga came on midway through the second half but picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave his team a man down in the closing stages.

It proved a turning point as Bayern struck three minutes later when Diaz's effort from outside the box took a touch off Eder Militao and flashed beyond Lunin.

Olise made certain of Bayern's progress deep into stoppage time as the German giants took down Real in a knockout clash for the first time since 2012.

Arsenal survive tense Sporting stalemate

In London, Arsenal reached the semi-finals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory yesterday.

Mikel Arteta's team were well below their best in the quarter-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.

But they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay for the latest in a growing list of angst-ridden performances.

The Gunners will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final after the Spanish club went through 3-2 on aggregate against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Arsenal crushed Atletico 4-0 in the group stage at the Emirates in October, but they will have to improve significantly to reach the final for the first time since 2006.

Arsenal have reached the Champions semi-finals in two consecutive seasons for the first time in their history.