FOOTBALL – ARSENAL’S Eberechi Eze opened his Champions League account with a stunning goal as his side outclassed Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at home to reach the quarter-finals with a 3-1 aggregate victory yesterday.
Leverkusen somehow weathered a barrage of Arsenal pressure in the opening half an hour with keeper Janis Blaswich outstanding until Eze’s screamer from outside the area in the 37th minute put them in control of an awkward last-16 tie.
The tireless Declan Rice made it 2-0 just past the hour mark with a precise low finish and Leverkusen, who ended Arsenal’s 100 per cent record in this season’s competition when they had the better of a 1-1 draw in last week’s first leg, never really threatened a comeback.
Premier League leaders Arsenal have been criticised for their efficient rather than flamboyant style this season, but they were hugely impressive as they swept into the last eight where they will face Portuguese side Sporting.
Defending champions Paris St Germain laid down the gauntlet for European challengers, playing with Gallic brio to humble Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, for a crushing 8-2 aggregate last-16 victory.
It took less than six minutes for first-leg substitute hero Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to add a third goal to his tally in the tie, pouncing on an all too familiar Chelsea defensive blunder, this time by Mamadou Sarr.
Seven minutes later Bradley Barcola made it 2-0 on the night for the visitors with a fine finish to a PSG counter-attack and 19-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu added a third in the 62nd minute.
The home side rounded off a miserable night playing the last five minutes with 10 men after defender Trevoh Chalobah was carried off injured.
PSG will meet either Liverpool or Galatasaray in the quarter-finals next month.
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr scored twice as the Spanish side eased into the Champions League quarter-finals, beating 10-man Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Vinicius put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute after the VAR judged Bernardo Silva to have handled his shot on the line, a decision that also reduced City to 10 men and made an already daunting task seemingly impossible.
Pep Guardiola’s men were not waving the white flag however and Erling Haaland levelled in the 41st minute when he tapped in a pass from Jeremy Doku from close range.
City’s Doku and Rayan Ait-Nouri and Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde and Vinicius had second-half goals chalked off before Vinicius completed his brace with the last kick of the game from the edge of the six-yard box in the 93rd minute.
The Spaniards, 15-times winners of Europe’s elite club competition, had stunned 2023 champions Manchester City 3-0 in last week’s first leg in Madrid when Valverde struck a hat-trick.
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