Bayern Compound Arsenal Woes To Enter Champions League Semis
Bayern Munich defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the 63rd minute thanks to a header from Joshua Kimmich, securing their spot in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday.
Bayern advances to the round of four for the first time since winning the championship in 2020 thanks to their 3-2 aggregate victory in the quarterfinals.
To advance to the championship game, Bayern will play either Real Madrid or Manchester City.
With their first league loss of 2024 on Sunday, Arsenal lost their top spot in the Premier League table. The outcome caps off a terrible week for the team.
In contrast to the thrilling four-goal contest in London last week, Wednesday's match was tense and had few clear opportunities for either side during a rough first half.
With extra time approaching in the second half, Kimmich broke through the Arsenal defence.
With extra time approaching halfway through the second half, Kimmich broke through the Arsenal defence and headed in a flawless Raphael Guerreiro chip.
Due to Bayern's injury problems, Guerreiro was moved from wing-back to the forwards and made an impression as a creative player when he was not playing defence.
Champions League champions six times Bayern joins Borussia Dortmund, a team in the Bundesliga, and Paris Saint-Germain in the final four.
Due to injuries sustained by a number of first-team players, such as Kingsley Coman and former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry, who scored alongside Harry Kane in the first leg, Tuchel moved Guerreiro into the forward positions.
The Portuguese found space down the left wing and made good contact with Musiala in the centre as the move went into effect early on.
To counter Leroy Sane, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta chose Takehiro Tomiyasu over Jakub Kiwior at left back due to his defensive consistency, but the Japanese, starting for the first time since December, was noticeably lacking in rhythm.
An early Musiala ball was misunderstood by Tomiyasu, allowing Sane to easily walk through the Arsenal box and force a corner.