Agonisingly close: Arsenal managed to twice break the defence of a side that had not conceded at the Stade Louis in the group stages but fell just a little short in overcoming a 3-1 deficit from the first leg. PHOTO: AFP
MONACO/MADRID: Monaco qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals, for the first time since 2004, and went through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result against Arsenal in a thriller at the Louis II stadium on Tuesday.
Arsene Wenger, who was returning to the club he coached between 1987 and 2004, was left a frustrated figure after goals from Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey were enough for a 2-0 win on the night but not enough to send the North Londoners through.
"We knew it would be very difficult to score that many goals," said Wenger. "We weren't realistic enough in our approach and we should have been up by more at half-time. At the end of the day, we paid for our performance in the first leg. Monaco were playing at home but didn't have a shot on goal. We were very close but they surprised us in the first match because subconsciously we were too sure of ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev hailed a great night in the club's history.
"It's a great night for AS Monaco and it's been 11 years since the 2003-2004 season when the team reached this level,” said Vasilyev. “Arsenal played a great match but we stayed solid defensively.”
Arsenal were attempting to become the first team in Champions League history to overcome a 3-1 first-leg defeat at home but came up agonisingly short.
Constant pressure for 90 minutes could have provided more than two goals on another day, but the excellent Danijel Subasic turned in his second straight world class showing to play a decisive role.
I returned for 'nights like this', says Torres
Fernando Torres hailed Atletico Madrid's tense 3-2 win on penalties over Bayer Leverkusen as the reason he returned to his boyhood club three months ago.
Torres scored Atletico's final spot-kick and then watched as Stefan Kiessling blazed over to seal Atletico's place in the last eight for the second consecutive season.
"I never had any doubt I made the right decision in coming here. This is something I'll never forget," said Torres. "To play in the Champions League on nights like this is a gift."
Mario Suarez scored the only goal of the night in normal time as Atletico cancelled out the Germans' 1-0 first-leg advantage to send the tie the full distance.
And in a topsy-turvy shootout that included five misses, Atletico squeezed through to the last-eight for the second consecutive season.
"I value greatly the effort of the group, they work very hard. They never give up," said the Argentine. "It is very difficult for a team like Atletico Madrid to be in the best eight teams in Europe two years in a row."
To cap a glorious night for Atletico, it was also confirmed that inspirational coach Diego Simeone is nearing an agreement with a the club on a contract extension until 2020.
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