As we enter the closing stages of European competitions, the number of games we cover in these articles reduces, but the tension most certainly rises. It was the beginning of the quarter-finals in both the Champions League and Europa League and the three remaining sides from Germany entered with a mix of optimism and trepidation. The two sides in the ‘upper house’ would have been less upbeat before kick-offs: one because they managed to lose 3-2 to Heidenheim at the weekend after taking a 2-0 lead, and the other because they’re completely hopeless when the light shines brightest. The side in the Europa League would have been feeling far more confident given that they don’t know what losing even is, but they had a tough test too.
Arsenal 2-2 Bayern – Champions League Quarter-Final
London was calling for the rekordmeister as they had to pick themselves up following whatever that performance was against Heidenheim with a game against Premier League leaders Arsenal. This might be the least optimistic you could be about Bayern for a very long time and the side from Munich went about reinforcing that belief early on as they fell behind in the 12th minute, Bukayo Saka being played through wide-open in the box to tap in. This would not be the last time an Arsenal player would find themselves inexplicably open in the box. Luckily though (from a Bayern perspective), the next team to boo-boo would be their hosts, they would lose the ball in their own half to eventually allow former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry to tap in. Gnabry does seem fond of North London, you might remember him scoring four against Tottenham Hotspur back in 2019. Before half an hour had been played, Bayern remarkably had the chance to take the lead when William Saliba fouled Leroy Sane in the box for a clear penalty. Stepping up to take the elfmeter would be a player Arsenal fans know very well, one who makes them shudder, former youth player turned Spurs star turned arguably the best striker in the world Harry Kane. He would unsurprisingly score from the spot, helped by the fact David Raya decided to dive about five years too early. It’s safe to say that this lead was unexpected, I was convinced that it was going to be a very long night for the Bavarians when Arsenal went 1-0 up, but they took advantage of poor play from the Premier League side and contributed with some good play of their own. Manuel Neuer’s pass to begin the play that led to the penalty is something that could be easily forgotten, but really shouldn’t be as it shows the quality he has with his feet (something we’ll touch on later in a different game).
The second half was less positive for Bayern and more dramatic for both. Bayern had been given a penalty in the opening 45 minutes and they really should have had a second. Arsenal were given a free kick in front of their own goal, David Raya passed it out to William Saliba and he just … picked it up. Seemingly not aware of what sport he was playing, the French defender just picked the ball up and the referee was fine with that, giving a big shrug. It was beyond mindboggling but Bayern were playing like the better side and were holding on to their lead. To give credit to Arsenal though, Arteta has shown himself to be a very good manager since joining the side from Manchester City and he had been making changes, two of them seeing Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard coming on, Jesus would get the ball, use neat footwork in the box and play it to his fellow sub as he would convert to equalise. After that Bayern were the side doing most of the pushing, but Arsenal did have their chances as well and they would be the next side complaining about a potential penalty when Bukayo Saka went down in the box in the 97th minute. Most of the English pundits were convinced that it was a penalty, which should have been enough proof in itself that it wasn’t. It was the definition of the term ‘looking for it’, Saka stuck out his leg hoping to make contact with Neuer, but in no world does that justify a foul and referee Glenn Nyberg (who was great bar the handball decision) was having none of it.
The draw is of course better news for Bayern than it is for Arsenal as the tie moves back to the Allianz where the Gunners do not have a great record. Bayern can be proud of their performance, they were the better side in my opinion and showed an ability to bounce back after that poor performance at the weekend. Is this enough to make them the favourites to progress? The main thing for me will be this Saturday. Arsenal cannot afford to rest players as they sit at the top of the Premier League, level on points with Liverpool and just one ahead of 115 Charges City (I’m sure that’s their name). Bayern, knowing that the title is gone, can afford to rest their players if they want against Köln. Sure it’s a risk, a loss would potentially mean being just four clear of fifth, but I think it’s a risk worth taking.
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Borussia Dortmund – Champions League Quarter-Final
This match did not seem as interesting on paper as Arsenal vs Bayern. Borussia Dortmund, the side who cannot play good football, travelling to Atletico Madrid, the side who refuse to play entertaining football (also those ultras amirite?) To look at this game from the perspective of the Spaniards, of the seven teams they could have drawn in this round, they probably would have wanted Dortmund as they seem to be the weakest of the remaining sides. The main reason for that is their defence and they put on a true disasterclass in the first half of this game. The problems started after just four minutes when Rodrigo De Paul opened the scoring for the hosts. Gregor Kobel, a keeper who is decisively not as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Manuel Neuer, decided to delay passing it for what must have been two days before playing it to Ian Maatsen, who was in the worst possible position to receive the ball. Hindsight is 20/20 but Maatsen’s best call in this situation was to either play the ball back to Kobel, to Brandt who was standing to his right, or just boot it. He instead chose the worst possible call, playing it with the outside of the foot across the box without looking. Rodrigo De Paul probably doesn’t get presents that generous at Christmas, but give credit to the Argentine as his first touch really set up a neat finish into the bottom corner. Gregor Kobel did make up for the error with some great saves through the half, but more calamities would lead to the Atleti doubling their lead after 32 minutes. Mats Hummels has played 691 games of senior football for club and country by my count, so why he ran into the back of Nico Schlotterbeck as the two were trying to clear a long throw-in is beyond me. The ball would be played to Antoine Griezmann who would play an amazing chip to Samuel Lino for an open shot to make it 2-0. The defensive mistakes Dortmund are making would be unacceptable in the second tier, let alone in the Champions League. At the half-time break, the only question was how many more Dortmund were going to concede.
I’ve already discussed hindsight and how wonderful it is but maybe Diego Simeone shouldn’t have sat back in the second half. Dortmund entered the game nervy and had played terribly, increasing the pressure would have probably led to a third and put the series beyond BVB. Instead, it was the guests who would get the only goal in what can be considered the second quarter, massively against the run of play as Sebastian Haller scored his first goal for the club since a double against Schott-Mainz in the first round of the Pokal (and here you were thinking Regionalliga West side Schott-Mainz were not going to come up in this article.) Die Schwarz-Gelben kept pushing afterwards and hit the woodwork twice, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens seeing his deflected shot hit the bar and Julian Brandt in the final minute of the game with a near-perfect header. If Dortmund had equalised, it would have been both robbery and an amazing confidence boost for the second leg. Considering how the game went, this result is about as good as BVB could have asked for.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 West Ham – Europa League Quarter-Final
In the last round, Bayer Leverkusen nearly lost twice to Qarabağ, so the idea they would lose to West Ham was not out there. Like the Hammers’ first-leg defeat to Freiburg in the last round, they played very defensively and Leverkusen looked to exploit that by dominating from the start. They forced Łukasz Fabiański into some great saves early on before going a bit flat past the 20th minute. It wouldn’t be until the 70th minute when Die Werkself would start to wake up again, Patrik Schick forcing another great save from West Ham’s Polish goalkeeper. Six minutes after that, Xabi Alonso decided to make some changes and they would work as well as they could, Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface coming on. The former would finally open the scoring in the 83rd minute when he volleyed in through a crowded box, the latter adding what could be a crucial goal in the 93rd minute when he headed in a Hofmann cross.
Leverkusen can always be trusted to do the job late and they did so once again. It’s a match where they should have scored more and at half-time in the tie, it’s definitely not over. That would be true in any European match, but let us not forget that West Ham came from 1-0 down against Freiburg in the last round to storm through with a 5-0 win when the series moved to London. Xabi Alonso will be well aware of the threat his opponents could pose and Leverkusen need to keep up their incredible form that has guided them through this, so far, incredible season.
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