Joshua Kimmich Leads Bayern Munich To Victory In Champions League 2023-24 QF Against Arsenal
A header from Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich at 63rd-minute secured their spot in the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in a thrilling match 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.
![Joshua Kimmich Leads Bayern Munich To Victory In Champions League 2023-24 QF Against Arsenal](https://sprtu.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Real-Madrid-1.jpg)
Real Madrid will take on Bayern in the championship match.
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.
“This one is ours to enjoy. Harry Kane, a striker for Bayern Munich, said, “We picked up the pace after the first half was cagey.”
“These games are tough and we had to find our way through them.”Whoever we play in the semifinals, it will be a difficult match.”
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, stated that his team “wanted it so badly”.
But as many other teams demonstrate, sometimes it takes six or seven years to reach that point. The truth is that we were really close.”
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 tense first half.
With extra time approaching halfway through the second half, Kimmich broke through the Arsenal defense 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 wasn’t playing defense as often.
Champions League champions six times Bayern advances to the semi-finals alongside another Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund, who take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Due to injuries to multiple first-team players, such as Kingsley Coman and former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry, who scored with Kane in the first leg, Tuchel moved Guerreiro into an unaccustomed advanced role.
The Portuguese found space down the left wing and made a good connection with Jamal Musiala in the center as the play went smoothly from the start.
To neutralize Leroy Sane, Arteta selected Takehiro Tomiyasu, a defensively stable player, over Jakub Kiwior at left back; nonetheless, the Japanese, starting for the first time since December, was noticeably lacking in rhythm.
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An early Musiala ball was misunderstood by Tomiyasu, allowing Sane to easily walk through the Arsenal box and force a corner.
In the first half, Gabriel Martinelli was the most dangerous player for the visitors. After seven minutes, he curled a curling ball just wide of the post, and a half hour later, with the goal beckoning, he shot straight at Manuel Neuer.
After the break, Bayern proved to be the superior team as Leon Goretzka headed a deft Kimmich cross onto the woodwork to go close right away.
After 63 minutes, with the pressure starting to show, Kimmich, one of the shortest players on the field, managed to get past an occupied Arsenal box and head in a Guerreiro chip to give Bayern the lead.
Moments later, Kane discovered an unmarked Sane in the area, and the hosts nearly increased the score, but the Germany winger sent his attempt high.
Arsenal attempted to tie the score and came near in stoppage time when Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka struck at a bouncing ball in the area, but the visitors’ chances of making it back to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2009 were dashed.