Arsenal made their Champions League last-16 second-leg feel like a pre-season friendly. Meanwhile, many miles away in the Spanish capital, Atletico Madrid and Real were playing out the tensest of affairs.
Winning 7-1 in a knockout match away from home will do that to a tie. Mikel Arteta had to put on a straight face as he spoke afterwards about being disappointed at not overcoming PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night but even he could only laugh.
Arsenal drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium but rampaged their way through to the quarter-finals 9-3 on aggregate. They will play holders Real in what is already the standout fixture for the next round.
It was an evening of relative fun and good will in north London for Arsenal, though. Here, football.london goes through some of the smaller moments from the match which might have gone undetected.
Merino's run
As Oleksandr Zinchenko cut inside to score the sort of goal that he would have loved as a winger growing up, PSV's defence opened up. The Ukrainian was allowed the room to pick a spot on his stronger left foot but it wasn't just his neat drop of a shoulder which afforded him the time and space to shoot.
Sprinting down the right, Mikel Merino makes a striker's run to try and receive the ball. Although he didn't end up getting possession, Merino's run momentarily attracted the attention of the PSV backline, allowing Zinchenko to bend his way infield.
Had Merino not been tracked then he would have been through on goal. As it happens, his selfless movement and sacrificial run was enough to earn his teammate an open chance instead.
Zinchenko still had plenty to do but it would not have unfolded quite as well if Merino didn't peel off. At the moment Zinchenko strikes his shot there are three black shirts around him. Merino, meanwhile, is totally open with half the box to his mercy.
Rice celebration
It has been a very good week for Rice. He bossed the first-leg and was arguably man of the match. He followed that up with a brilliant goal at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
Here, his header was the sort of crashing midfielder's impact that many have asked him to continue producing more of from deep. Unlike the criticism which greeted him at the weekend, from those who felt he should have been trying to restart the game rather than celebrating against a side stranded in midtable, Rice was greeted by cheers from all corners this time.
He did not let the moment slide, though. After initially heading to the corner flag to enjoy the aftermath, Rice crossed his hands over in front of his body in a 'stop' gesture. He then wagged his finger in the air with his teammates as if to acknowledge the reception and talk after the weekend.
He wrote in Instagram afterwards: "no celebration police tonight". Smiling throughout, Rice didn't seem to take it too badly. As long as he keeps on scoring, Arsenal are unlikely to complain too much.
Zinchenko ovation
Maybe the nicest few seconds of the evening here. Zinchenko only played 17 times for PSV during a loan spell from Manchester City nine years ago, but he clearly has a lot of respect for the club. After scoring he decided not to celebrate.
Zinchenko came close to getting a goal from the bench in the first leg. He went one better and still didn't cave to his natural instincts. He never did score for PSV but did make four assists as well as getting nine in seven matches for their academy team.
On a night which was reportedly paid for by the club - it is said that the 3,000 or so travelling fans all had their tickets reimbursed as a thank you (and probably a sorry) - the happiness spread throughout. The corner of the Emirates Stadium that homes the away supporters was bouncing, creating a lot of noise for a team who were getting pumped.
They took the time to clap Zinchenko off the pitch in the second half regardless. He got an ovation from everyone inside the ground and took a moment to look over to the army of Dutch making the most of their trip.
Videos online circulated on Tuesday night of a small group of the PSV fans attending AFC Wimbledon's 2-1 home defeat to Cheltenham. Singing their own chants and making a proper racket, they really did get a little bit of everything.
Perisic celebration
Ivan Perisic has had a rotten time playing against Arsenal in his career. This was likely the last time he ever will.
The 36-year-old might have scored, bringing some small redemption for the two defeats he suffered against the Gunners as a Tottenham player in the 2022/23 Premier League season, but over the two legs he once again came second best. Perisic has now played against Arsenal six times and never won.
He did score in a 1-1 draw in Germany for Borussia Dortmund way back in 2011 but then lost at the Emirates Stadium. Here, his brilliant finish mattered little in the grand scheme of things.
What was funny was Perisic's lack of celebration (perhaps not surprising given the circumstances) and also the way he stoically chose to get the ball from the net in order to run back to the halfway line. It is the sort of thing done when a team is chasing a game.
PSV were 8-2 down in the tie at that stage. It is admirable and typically professional of the classy Perisic. It did look extremely wrong in the moment to try and act like there was anything at stake.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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