By Barry Whelan, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – Wolfsburg stunned Real Madrid for a 2-0 first-leg victory in the Champions League quarter-finals, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City finished 2-2 on Wednesday.
A Ricardo Rodriguez penalty and Maximilian Arnold goal from close range gave Bundesliga side Wolfsburg – in the quarter-finals for the first time – first-half goals against 10-time European champions Real.
In Paris, Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring for City, who then went behind to goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adrien Rabiot before Fernandinho equalized.
Real, aiming for a sixth successive semi-final place, were left empty-handed in Wolfsburg, who were full value for their two-goal victory.
Dieter Hecking’s side were tactically well set-up and after a cautious start often hit Real on the break, with a number of chances throughout the game to add to their tally.
However the home side could consider themselves fortuitous with a penalty award when Andre Schuerrle went down under close attention from Casmeiro, the Germany midfielder appearing to have caught his own heel.
It made no difference to Rodriquez who sent Keylor Navas in goal the wrong way with his 18th-minute spot kick to the left, a first goal conceded by Navas in the competition after 738 minutes.
The second came seven minutes later when Julian Draxler cut inside from the left and found Bruno Henrique on the right of the penalty area, whose cross was turned in from close range by Arnold.
Real, who had been unbeaten along with Barcelona in the competition this season, upped the pressure late on but Wolfsburg dealt reasonably comfortably with the uninspiring visitors to give themselves a real chance of reaching the last four in the return leg next week.
«We know what is awaiting us. They will throw everything at us, we have to be ready for it,» Hecking told Germany’s ZDF television.
In Paris, City keeper Joe Hart saved an Ibrahimovic penalty in the 14th minute, diving at full stretch to his right.
However Hart was partially at fault in the build-up the penalty after a poor punch out, the ball then returned across goal before David Luiz was brought down by Bacary Sagna.
Ibrahimovic ballooned the ball over the over the bar when through on goal before City punished a slack pass in midfield by Blaise Matuidi in the 38th minute, with Fernandinho racing through to slip the ball to De Bruyne who drove firmly past Kevin Trapp in goal.
City then gifted the French champions an equalizer three minutes later when Hart needlessly played a short goal-kick to Fernando, who was under pressure from Ibrahimovic on the edge of the box.
Fernando’s attempt to pass the ball out of danger then deflected in off Ibrahimovic into an empty goal.
«It was a terrible first goal to concede, I gave Fernando the ball and he thought there was an option to pass it, the big man
(Ibrahimovic) put his size 15s through it and the ball went in,» Hart said.
PSG got in front just before the hour when Hart parried Edinson Cavani’s header from a corner and Rabiot finished unmarked in front of goal.
The home side almost immediately scored a third when an Ibrahimovic header came back from the bar.
City then levelled in the 73rd minute when PSG’s Serge Aurier and Thiago Silva failed to deal with a Sagna cross and Fernandinho’s shot deflected off Silva into goal.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: «The quarter-final continues to be open, we must now play 90 minutes in Manchester but this is a good result for us.»
In Tuesday’s first-leg matches, Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1, while Bayern Munich were 1-0 winners over Benfica.
