Arsenal : Shootout drama as Gunners reach Champions League quarters in 14-year first; Barca survive: Wrap
The Gunners came into the match with 33 goals in their past eight league games -- a winning run that has rocketed them to the top of the Premier League.
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Arsenal are into the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 after beating Porto 4-2 on penalties at the Emirates.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the Premier League leaders levelled the contest on aggregate through Leandro Trossard’s first-half strike but neither side could find an overall winner in the 90 minutes or extra time.
But goalkeeper David Raya made two excellent saves in the shootout – in front of Arsenal’s exuberant active supporters – to seal victory for the Gunners.
The goalkeeper pulled off a brilliant save to deny Wendell and repeated the feat against Galeno, while the home side converted all four of their penalties.
“I should have saved three! I should have saved another one,” Raya said. “It’s just crazy. It’s a crazy moment.”
It is the first Champions League match to go to penalties since the 2016 final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
The match was tense and heated, with both coaches receiving yellow cards, before tensions boiled over after the final whistle as players had to be be dragged apart.
The Gunners came into the match with 33 goals in their past eight league games -- a winning run that has rocketed them to the top of the Premier League.
But Sergio Conceicao’s men succeeded in frustrating the home team for long periods in the first half, fashioning enough chances of their own make it a nervy night for the expectant fans.
Porto, who were last crowned European champions under Jose Mourinho in 2004, had a number of openings.
Evanilson whipped a shot at goal from distance that bounced wide and minutes later struck a rising strike that Raya palmed away.
Declan Rice headed just wide and Pepe -- the first 41-year-old to play outfield in the Champions League -- got the deftest of touches with his head to prevent Kai Havertz from connecting with a White cross at the back post.
The breakthrough finally came in the 41st minute following good work from Odegaard, who jinked past an opponent and fed Trossard with a perfectly weighted low pass into the box.
Trossard calmly hit a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Diogo Costa and into the far corner of the net to ease the tension.
Arsenal thought they had doubled their lead midway through the second half when Odegaard dinked the ball into an empty net but the goal was ruled out for a foul by Havertz on Pepe.
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