Bellingham: Tonight is Made for Real Madrid, Not Arsenal
*PSG, Barcelona through to semi finals on a dramatic thrilling night
Jude Bellingham believes the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal this Wednesday is “a night made for Real Madrid”.
The reigning European champions are aiming to overturn a 3-0 deficit from last week’s first legin which they were well beaten at Emirates Stadium.
But Madrid midfielder Bellingham is confident his side can turn the tie around at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (20:00 BST)and add another chapter to the club’s illustrious European history.
“I’ve heard it a million times since last week, I’ve seen a million videos – it’s really motivating stuff,” the England international told a media conference on Tuesday.
“It’s a night that’s made for Real Madrid.
“A night that would go down in history but also something that people are familiar with around this part of this world. Hopefully we can add another special night.”
Real Madrid have lost by three or more goals in the first leg of a European knockout tie on five previous occasions.
The only time they came from behind to progress was in the 1975-76 European Cup, when they recovered from a 4-1 defeat by Derby County in the last 16 to win 5-1 at home and go through 6-5 on aggregate.
They have never achieved a comeback of this scale in the Champions League era – but Bellingham believes they can rise to the challenge at home.
“There’s not a lot you can do for Real Madrid in the Champions League that hasn’t already been done,” the 21-year-old said.
“Tomorrow is an opportunity for us to do something for the first time, so that’s really important to us.”
Bellingham’s England team-mate Declan Rice was the Arsenal hero last Tuesday, scoring two of Arsenal’s goals with brilliant free-kicks.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa threatened to pull off a stunning comeback against Paris St-Germain before going out of the Champions League 3-2 on a dramatic night at Villa Park 4-5 on aggregate.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund couldn’t recover from a first-leg demolition by Barcelona to reach the Champions League semi-finals, despite winning the return thanks to a Serhou Guirassy hat-trick.
The Catalan giants appeared to have all-but confirmed their place in the last four for the first time since 2019 following their crushing 4-0 win at home.
But Dortmund put up a brave effort to come so close to a stunning turnaround in a dramatic second leg.
Villa were attempting to overturn a 3-1 deficit to reach the semi-final but their hopes looked in tatters when they were two goals down inside the first half-hour.
Achraf Hakimi cashed in on Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez’s mistake to put PSG ahead, then Nuno Mendes doubled the French side’s lead to leave Villa needing to score at least four goals.
In a thunderous Villa Park atmosphere, Unai Emery’s team refused to yield and launched a magnificent response to put this hugely talented PSG side on the rack.
Youri Tielemans pulled one back after 34 minutes with a deflected shot before a second half of pure theatre unfolded in front a frenzied Villa Park.
Villa struck twice in two minutes to spark hopes of a remarkable revival, John McGinn scoring from 20 yards after 55 minutes before defender Ezri Konsa put them ahead on the night after fantastic work by Marcus Rashford.
And, as Villa’s belief grew, it took three crucial saves from PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to stop them drawing level in the tie. PSG are to meet the winner of the Real Madrid versus Arsenal.
RESULTS
Aston Villa 3-2 PSG
*PSG through on aggregate 5-4
Dortmund 3-1 Barcelona
*Barca through on aggregate 5-3)
TODAY
Inter v Bayern Munich
Real Madrid v Arsenal
