First quarterfinal legs in Madrid, London stay on knife edge

[Esther ogunseemi]

The first legs of the quarterfinals in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League delivered thrilling action and intense drama on Tuesday.
In Madrid, Manchester City faced Real Madrid in a see-saw battle that ended in a 3-3 draw.
Despite City taking the lead early through Bernardo Silva’s free kick, Real Madrid quickly responded with a fortunate equaliser from Eduardo Camavinga.

Rodrygo then put Madrid ahead, only for City’s Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol to score stunning goals. However, Federico Valverde’s spectacular scissor volley in the 80th minute ensured the game ended 3-3, with all to play for in the second leg.

Over in London, Bukayo Saka and all Arsenal fans believe they should have had a penalty in the final seconds when the Arsenal man seemed to have been felled by Manuel Neuer.

The Swedish referee, Glenn Nyberg, did not think so and waved play on. The conversation went on after the final whistle, with Saka accosting the referee, but the 2-2 result means both teams start again from scratch in the second leg next Wednesday.