Real Madrid self-destructs against Bayern, Arsenal sees of Sporting

Real Madrid collapse turned heads, but Arsenal still handled Sporting and reached another semi-final. The bigger picture matters.

Bayern Munich players celebrate after Luis Dias powered them in front in the tie against Real Madrid late in the game. Bayern won on the night 4-3 to win the tie 6-4 on aggregate. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal qualified for the semifinal of the Champions League for the second straight season after a goalless draw at the Emirates against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night.

The Gunners did the bulk of the work away from home last week as they beat the Portuguese side 1-0, courtesy of a late Kai Havertz strike. 

The goalless encounter in the second leg made it back-to-back semifinal appearances in the Champions League for the Gunners.

Following a run of three defeats in four games, Arsenal went into the game against Sporting on Wednesday night with nerves written all over them. 

It was such a relief to see them get over the line without much pressure.

With the trio of Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, and Martin Odegaard all sidelined, Christian Mosquera was trusted with the right-back position, while the real good news for the Gunners was the eventual availability of Declan Rice, who couldn't train on Tuesday due to illness.

At the other end on the night, Real Madrid hit the self-destruct button, having put themselves in a good position against Bayern Munich. 

Arda Guler profited from a Manuel Neuer mistake to hand the visitors the lead, but Pavlovic leveled just minutes after.

It was end-to-end for the entirety of the game, with Arda Guler scoring Madrid's second from a free kick. 

Harry Kane leveled again, but it was Kylian Mbappe who had the last laugh in the first half, tucking in from a Vini Jr. assist.

Then came the Camavinga moment. 

The French midfielder's indiscretion got him sent off with just two minutes remaining on the clock. 

Bayern Munich pounced immediately, with Luis Diaz curling one home in the 89th minute and Michael Olise doing the same deep into added time.

Bayern Munich progressed, setting up a juggernaut semifinal fixture against holders PSG, while Arsenal will go again in the semifinal against Atletico Madrid, who dumped Barcelona out of the competition.