Arsenal all but guaranteed their place in the quarter-final stages of the Champions League with a 7-1 demolition of PSV Eindhoven while a second half goal by Brahim Diaz gave Real Madrid a slender 2-1 lead over Atletico in the Madrid derby.

A fired-up Arsenal thrashed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 away in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday after rattling in three goals in a 13-minute spell in the first half and then ruthlessly adding four more after the break.

Jurrien Timber opened the scoring in the 18th minute, followed by a strike from teenager Ethan Nwaneri before Mikel Merino added the third in the 31st.

The Dutch champions pulled one back with a Noa Lang penalty for a 3-1 halftime deficit but two goals in the opening three minutes after the break reinforced Arsenal’s dominance, with captain Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard scoring.

Odegaard got his second goal in the 73rd minute before substitute Riccardo Calafiori netted the seventh five minutes from time to complete the rout at the Philips Stadion.

Arsenal registered their biggest away win in European club competition and put themselves in a virtually unassailable position to advance to the quarter-finals where they will meet either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid.

They dominated from the start, although the hosts should have taken the lead in the 16th minute when a cross from Ivan Perisic was palmed away by goalkeeper David Raya into the path of Ismael Saibari, who rattled the crossbar from close range.

Two minutes later, a clever turn and left-foot cross from Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice saw Timber tower above Lang at the back post to head home and begin the deluge.

The left side of the Gunners’ attack also provided the second goal as Myles Lewis-Skelly played in a square pass that Nwaneri ran onto and slammed home from point-blank range.

Lewis-Skelly was then fortunate to avoid being sent off for a second yellow card after a clumsy challenge that provoked furious protests from the PSV players and bench.

Merino’s contribution came after Timber’s persistence as the Netherlands defender tried to weave his way into the PSV box.

The home side battled to stop him but when the ball spilt free, defender Ryan Flamingo did not clear properly and Merino snapped up the chance to place the ball in the far corner.

Arsenal gave away a penalty three minutes from halftime when Thomas Partey’s outstretched arm caught PSV captain Luuk de Jong around the neck and Lang converted the spot kick.

But any hopes of a recovery were snuffed out after the break as PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez gifted Odegaard a goal when he pushed Nwaneri’s cross straight at the Norwegian and within 60 seconds a clever dink from Trossard over Benitez made it 5-1.

Odegaard fired home the sixth goal and then provided a perfect pass for Calafiori to net at the end of a storming run on a night where everything went right for the visitors.

Arsenal failed to score in their last two Premier League games, but Rice, who put on a storming midfield performance, said the nature of their victory was no surprise.

“We feel we’ve been playing well as a team. Sometimes we score five, sometimes two, sometimes we don’t score but tonight we did well.”

It was the first time PSV had conceded seven goals at home and also the first time any Dutch club had let in seven in a European tie.

“They were simply better than us in everything,” said PSV defender Olivier Boscagli. “We let them play. And that’s what they wanted to do. We were constantly running after them.”

Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz scored a second-half winner as the hosts edged out neighbours Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a scrappy first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Rodrygo’s opener.

It was a stuttering capital derby between bitter rivals who at times looked to be playing within themselves, seemingly conserving some energy for what is likely to be a compelling return leg at Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium next week.

Real started on fire when Rodrygo scored a fine opener four minutes after kickoff but Atletico slowly got into the game and Alvarez equalised with a stunning strike in the 32nd minute.

Real got the winner in the 55th through Diaz, who worked his magic to find a tiny pocket of space inside a crowded box and slotted a low, angled strike inside Jan Oblak’s far post.

“I think we always had the balance throughout the game, despite going a bit down after their equaliser, but at any moment we can find a goal with the talent we have and that’s what we did,” Brahim told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus.

“Everything is still open in the tie. It’s good that we won at home, but it’s far from over. This is the Champions League and every little thing you do makes a difference.

“The goal was good, it helped us grab an important win on another magical night at the Bernabeu. But there is still the second leg.”

Brahim’s goal gave Real Madrid the edge in a hard-fought clash with Diego Simeone’s Atleti, who dominated proceedings for large stretches of the match and could easily have finished with a better result if they had made the most of their chances.

RODRYGO STRIKE

The hosts started better and Rodrygo gave them the lead after an outstanding pass by Federico Valverde that he took in his stride before rampaging inside the box past two defenders and curling a brilliant left-foot strike into the far corner.

Despite Real’s early dominance, the visitors managed to level the playing field by slowing the pace of the game and started to create chances through Samuel Lino and Giuliano Simeone, a constant menace running up and down the channels.

Atletico found the equaliser after Alvarez wrestled past Eduardo Camavinga on the left byline before cutting inside the box to give himself a better angle and unleashing a strike that curled past Thibaut Courtois and went in off the far post.

The visitors took control of possession and were comfortable passing the ball around amid loud booing from the sold-out Bernabeu crowd who did not hide their frustration.

Atletico began the second half well with Rodrigo de Paul wasting a chance to give them the lead in the 53rd minute, a costly miss as two minutes later Brahim worked his magic to put Real back in front with a goal out of nothing.

Surrounded by three opponents, the Morocco international worked some space with quick feet and left Atletico centre back Jose Maria Gimenez on the ground before slotting the ball inside the far corner, giving Oblak no chance.

Simeone appeared comfortable with the scoreline, replacing attacker Griezmann with centre back Robin Le Normand and switching to five at the back to make sure Real’s lead was no greater ahead of next week’s mouth-watering second leg.

“They scored the goals at the right moments,” Alvarez told Movistar Plus. “At times, we were in control of the game and could have seized the opportunities to hurt them…

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy… We were at their stadium… But there are still 90 minutes left and it will be on our ground,” he added.

The winners will surely meet Arsenal, who are in a virtually unassailable position to reach the quarter-finals with a 7-1 win at PSV Eindhoven in Tuesday’s first leg in the Netherlands.

Tuesday’s results

Club Brugge (1) 1 Aston Villa (1) 3
Real Madrid (1) 2 Atlético Madrid (1) 1
PSV (1) 1 Arsenal (3) 7
Borussia Dortmund (1) 1 Lille (0) 1

Wednesday’s, fixtures
Feyenoord v Internazionale (1945)
PSG v Liverpool (2200)
Bayern München v Bayer Leverkusen (2200)
Benfica v Barcelona (2200)