UCL: No Nigerian left as Real Madrid clinch last quarter-final spot

Nigeria’s hopes in this season’s UEFA Champions League came to an end on Wednesday night as Raphael Onyedika, the last Super Eagles star remaining in the competition, bowed out with Club Brugge.

After Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella were eliminated on Tuesday, Onyedika faced an uphill battle with his Belgian side, needing to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Aston Villa.

However, Unai Emery’s men proved too strong, securing a dominant 3-0 victory at Villa Park to advance to their first European Cup quarter-final since 1982.

Aston Villa dominate, Arsenal cruise through

Club Brugge started brightly, with Hans Vanaken coming close with a flicked header, but their hopes of a comeback faded when Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for bringing down Marcus Rashford as the last man.

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From then on, Villa took full control, with Marco Asensio stealing the spotlight in a comprehensive win.

Elsewhere, Arsenal made light work of their Round of 16 clash against PSV Eindhoven, completing a resounding 9-3 aggregate victory. The Gunners drew 2-2 at the Emirates on the night, with Raheem Sterling providing two assists—first for Oleksandr Zinchenko, who curled in a brilliant opener, and then for Declan Rice.

PSV fought hard and twice pulled level through Ivan Perisic and Couhaib Driouech, securing a respectable draw in London after their first-leg thrashing.

Arsenal, already assured of qualification, rotated their squad and used the match to build chemistry ahead of their quarter-final showdown with the winner of the Madrid derby.

Real Madrid triumph in dramatic penalty shoot-out

The final ticket to the quarter-finals was decided in an all-Spanish affair between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, which ended in high drama.

Atletico, trailing 1-2 from the first leg, wasted no time restoring parity. Just 27 seconds into the game, Conor Gallagher met a Rodrigo De Paul cross and fired past Thibaut Courtois, sending the Metropolitano into a frenzy.

Despite relentless efforts from both sides, the match remained deadlocked at 2-2 on aggregate after extra time, forcing a penalty shoot-out.

ALSO READ: UCL: Super Eagles duo exit, Liverpool crash out

Controversy struck when Julian Alvarez’s converted penalty was ruled out for a double touch, giving Real Madrid an advantage.

Lucas Vazquez missed his spot-kick, but Atletico’s Marcos Llorente also faltered.

Eventually, Antonio Rüdiger stepped up to score the decisive penalty, sealing Madrid’s place in the last eight.
Of the quarter-finalists, only PSG and Arsenal have never won the Champions League/European Cup.