Real Madrid and Bayern Munich underline status as football royalty

Real Madrid's illustrious megastars found themselves in an unfamiliar position on Wednesday night, tirelessly chasing, covering and blocking with weary legs for what seemed like an eternity. In contrast, Manchester City displayed the qualities befitting champions of Europe, controlling the game for long periods.  

The English giants asserted their dominance with double the possession, an impressive 33 shots compared to Real's meager eight, and a significant advantage of 18 corners to Real's solitary one. As the match unfolded, it felt increasingly inevitable that City would find the decisive goal. Thus, it was truly perplexing to comprehend how City managed to end up on the losing side.

Pep Guardiola's in-form team showed great resilience after conceding an early goal from Rodrygo. They responded by launching a relentless onslaught on Real's goal, eventually finding the equalizer 14 minutes before the end of regular time. Kevin de Bruyne capitalized on Antonio Rudiger's clearance to restore parity. 

It was a well-deserved goal for City, considering their near-total domination of the match. However, their failure to convert their numerous chances into goals proved costly. Despite Real's exhaustion and desperate defensive efforts, they managed to hold on and force the game into a penalty shootout.

It's worth noting that neither Erling Haaland nor Kevin De Bruyne remained on the pitch during the penalty shootout. Despite the absence of their two top finishers from the penalty takers' list, City still appeared poised to secure a crucial victory when Luka Modric missed Real's first penalty. However, there was always a lurking danger that Real, who have previously showcased their great escapology against City in this competition, would find a way to prevail.  

And so it happened, with the pivotal moments arriving when Bernardo Silva uncharacteristically lofted a poor penalty straight into the waiting hands of Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. It was a complete malfunction from the typically reliable Portuguese playmaker. Mateo Kovacic didn't fare much better, as his strike was within Lunin's reach. Suddenly, Real glimpsed a ray of hope, foreseeing a possible way out. City goalkeeper Ederson's sensational conversion to level the score at 3-3 added to the drama, but it was Antonio Rudiger who ultimately sealed City's fate, extinguishing their hopes of securing a second consecutive treble.

At this juncture last year, City seemed to have engineered a significant power shift in the realm of the Champions League with their emphatic 4-0 victory over Real on home turf in the semifinals. Yet, in retrospect, that triumph now appears to have possessed a rather transient quality. 

While City have undoubtedly established their dominance within the English football scene, conquering the treacherous terrain of the Champions League is an entirely different proposition. As they watched on, City could only marvel at Real's performance, one reminiscent of a plucky underdog, as they fiercely defended their lines, expertly executed counter-attacks, and placed heavy reliance on their goalkeeper's heroics to keep themselves in the contest.  

This served as yet another poignant reminder that prematurely writing off a team as formidable as Real is a grave mistake, regardless of the accolades bestowed upon adversaries such as City.

The same could be said of Bayern Munich. The German powerhouse, whose remarkable 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title was recently ended by Leverkusen, have once again proven their mettle when it comes to the Champions League. 

It is clear that Bayern transforms into an entirely different entity in this illustrious competition, defying any premature judgments that may have been made. Perhaps obituaries were penned too hastily for this formidable superpower, as they showcased their indomitable spirit and revealed the ingrained instincts of perennial winners.

Arsenal's past encounters with Bayern at the Allianz Arena have left them reeling from a humiliating experience. While the magnitude of the class difference wasn't as stark on this occasion, Mikel Arteta's side will undeniably depart Germany with a sense of regret for their inability to produce their best performance when it truly counted.  

There can be no excuses. Bayern may have been dealing with their own personnel challenges, with the likes of Alphonso Davies suspended and Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman sidelined due to injuries, yet Arsenal displayed timidity throughout the match. Despite the significance of the occasion for both teams, chances were few and far between in this tightly contested second leg. However, Arsenal's defensive lapse in the 63rd minute proved to be their undoing. 

Joshua Kimmich, one of the smaller players on the field, inexplicably slipped through a congested Arsenal box, effortlessly nodding in a pinpoint chip from Raphael Guerreiro. This goal ultimately proved to be the decisive blow, prolonging Arsenal's wait for their first-ever Champions League triumph.  

This result, combined with the recent defeat at home to Aston Villa, is bound to draw comparisons to last season when Arsenal squandered crucial points in the final stretch and ultimately ended up empty-handed. It's hard to ignore the parallels, as Arsenal had held an eight-point lead at the top of the table in April, only to see it slip away. While their season is far from over and they must rally to overcome this disappointing European exit, there is an increasing likelihood that Arsenal could find themselves trapped in a recurring nightmare.