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Arsenal's stunning 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie sent shockwaves across the football world.
Goals by Declan Rice (2) and Mikel Merino handed the Gunners an excellent opportunity to make it through to the last four of the prestigious competition.
The result had online bookmakers running for cover as bettors wagered heavily on Arsenal to emerge victorious in the Champions League this season. The sportsbook operators that use odds API from odds88.io rated Arsenal as 7/1 shots before the game but were forced to slash those odds to 3/1 after the victory.
Arsenal may seem like a good bet to lift the trophy but manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that his team cannot afford to take Madrid lightly, despite the manner of their performance at the Emirates Stadium.
"You have to continue to make steps, and tonight we have won in the right direction," Arteta said.
"Now it's half-time, and now we have to go to the Bernabeu and we're going to have to elevate the level again to be the team that we want to be there, and to prepare the game to win it."
Given the unpredictable nature of professional football, Arteta's unwillingness to take anything for granted is a sensible stance to take.
Madrid have plenty of previous form for staging remarkable European comebacks, and an early goal in the second leg could change the complexion of the tie.
The La Liga side's run to the 2021/22 final was littered with thrilling fightbacks, highlighting their ability to find ways to win in UEFA's top club competition.
They battled back from two goals down to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16, before staging a remarkable late turnaround in their quarter-final tie against Chelsea.
They topped those results by staging a stunning comeback to defeat Manchester City in one of the most exciting semi-finals ever played in the Champions League.
While it would be foolish to underestimate Madrid's chances in the second leg, a three-goal deficit undoubtedly makes things more difficult.
They achieved the feat during the 1984/85 campaign, recovering from 3-0 down against Anderlecht in the third round of the UEFA Cup to win 6-4 on aggregate. Manager Carlo Ancelotti's post-match comments did not paint a picture of a man who was confident in his team's ability to turn things around.
The last time Madrid needed to recover from three goals down was against Borussia Dortmund in the 2012/13 season and they failed to do so.
"Why am I finding it difficult to instil ambition in these players?" Ancelotti said. "This is a little bit the problem we've been having throughout the season - the difficulty of being a compact unit in good moments, but also in bad moments.
"We have to do everything we can to try and recover. The chances are pretty slim, but we have to try. We'll try and do it any way we can. Let's see if we can pull it off.
"It feels as though there's no chance after tonight, but things always change in football. Nobody expected Arsenal to score two free-kicks but anything can happen. It's very tough, but stranger things have happened at the Bernabeu."
Although Ancelotti's deflated demeanour was a natural reaction to a disappointing performance, he is experienced enough to know that Madrid can turn things around.
His team will need to defend much better at the Bernabeu Stadium having kept just two clean sheets in their past eleven games in all competitions.
Top players Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe also have a major point to prove after failing to live up to expectations against the Gunners.
Bellingham's questionable attitude was on show again at the Emirates as he engaged in a worrying touchline disagreement with Ancelotti during the game.
He was outshone by Rice and will need to set the record straight in the reverse fixture if Madrid are to turn the tie around. "We were nowhere near it," Bellingham said. "That's the fact and Arsenal were really good.
"I know two of their goals were free-kicks, but they could have had way more. There is a second leg and that's what we're holding on to.
"We need something really special, something crazy really but one place where crazy things happen is our house.
"We've got 90 more minutes at home to pull something out of the bag. We're still alive - we've got 90 minutes of football, and anything can happen at the Bernabeu."
