UEFA Champions League quarter-finals: What to look out for in Wednesday's second legs

Bayern München and Real Madrid must overcome first-leg defeats if they are to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

UEFA.com previews all the action ahead of the second set of quarter-final deciders on Wednesday 16 April.

All kick-off times are 21:00 CET.

Wednesday 16 April

Real Madrid vs Arsenal

First leg: 0-3

Real Madrid are perhaps the furthest thing from strangers to a dramatic turnaround, but even they have no precedent for overturning a three-goal first-leg deficit in the Champions League era.

Jude Bellingham gave a frank assessment of the performance at full time, having watched international team-mate Declan Rice curl in two magnificent free-kicks before Mikel Merino's expert finish. "We're lucky to get away with three," the midfielder admitted, while sounding the drum ahead of the second leg. "We're going to need something unbelievably special, something crazy – but if there's one place where crazy things can happen, it's our house."

Mikel Arteta is also unwilling to discount the power of the Bernabéu atmosphere ahead of the decisive second leg. "We're going to enjoy the win, because we feel we deserve to do that, but we know it's just half-time," the Arsenal coach conceded. "We have to be even better in Madrid to go through."

Doing just that could have the Gunners dreaming big – when they last overcame Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout phase back in 2005/06, they went on to reach that year's final.

Did you know: Real Madrid have emerged victorious in their previous seven Champions League quarter-final ties against English opposition.

Inter vs Bayern München

First leg: 2-1

Two welcome statistical streaks continued for Inter as they claimed an important win at Vincent Kompany's Bayern. First, thanks to Lautaro Martínez's trivela finish, they opened the scoring for the ninth time in their last ten Champions League matches. Then, courtesy of Davide Frattesi's 88th-minute winner, they claimed their ninth win in that same span.

Now Inter's all-time top scorer in the European Cup/Champions League, Martínez wants a repeat of the gutsy away performance on their return to San Siro. "Our performance and attitude must be the same in the second leg," the forward said. "We took the ball off them in the first half and saw how much they suffered, so we need quality as well as determination."

Bayern were left feeling that fine margins decided the result on their home turf, so travel to Milan with a point to prove. "Games like this are decided by details; we saw tonight just how quickly things can change," said Konrad Laimer, who provided the assist as Thomas Müller levelled the scores in the 85th minute. The goalscorer himself added: "I've never been overly concerned after a first-leg match. It's definitely achievable and we remain confident."

Did you know: The defeat was Bayern's first home Champions League loss since April 2021, when they were defeated 3-2 by Paris in another quarter-final first leg.

Where is the 2025 UEFA Champions League final being played?

UEFA via Getty Images

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final will take place at the Munich Football Arena on 31 May.