Real Madrid says 'anything is possible' as it attempts to overcome 3-goal deficit against Arsenal

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid's website defiantly told fans that “anything is possible," one day before the defending champion attempts to overcome a three-goal deficit to Arsenal in the Champions League.

A video showed Madrid's memorable comebacks in recent years, mentioning the “team of dreams” and the club's achievements “in this stadium, in this competition.”

“Bernabeu, again,” was the headline on the website ahead of the second leg of the quarterfinals at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday.

“I have respect and admiration for what they’ve done in the competition as a club over the years, the history that they have, the values that they defend," Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said, while also trying to downplay the significance of Madrid's past success going into the second leg.

“It’s part of their history and they’ve earned the right to talk about these scenarios," he said. "Our mindset is different in how we have the best chance to be better than them. I think it is exciting. We have never won this competition, and we are trying to do something now where we can dominate.”

A record 15-time European champion, Madrid lost the first leg 3-0 in England last week.

Only four times has a home team erased a first-leg deficit of three goals or more, according to UEFA.

Madrid rival Barcelona recovered after a 4-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain with a historic 6-1 home victory in the round of 16 in the 2016-17 season. In the 2018-19 semifinals, Liverpool lost 3-0 at Barcelona but advanced with a 4-0 home victory. A season earlier in the quarterfinals, Barcelona was involved again. After beating Roma 4-1 at home, Barcelona lost the second leg 3-0 in the Italian capital.

The only other three-goal comeback by the home team came in 2004 in the quarterfinals, when Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna lost 4-1 at AC Milan and then won 4-0 at home to advance.

Madrid has a recent history of comebacks in the Champions League that has given fans hope of another magical night at the Bernabeu.

Madrid won its 14th Champions League title in 2022 after rallying its way through the knockout rounds. It looked beaten at the Bernabeu in the last 16 against PSG, in the quarterfinals against Chelsea and in the semifinals against Manchester City, but every time it found a way to advance.

Against City, Madrid needed two late goals by forward Rodrygo — in the 90th minute and in stoppage time — to force extra time, when Karim Benzema converted a decisive penalty kick to put Madrid in the final, where it beat Liverpool.

“The fans will be very important,” Ancelotti said Tuesday. “The push from the fans has helped us many times before. They have helped us a lot in recent years, and tomorrow it will be the same. We need to play at our best level to try to reverse this result, which we know is something difficult to do.

“Madrid has all the resources to make a comeback,” Ancelotti said. “We have the quality, the commitment, the experience, the fans. ... The resources are there. I don't know if we will achieve the result that we need, but I'm certain that we will all give our best."

Arsenal hasn't conceded three or more goals in nearly 80 matches across all competitions, since a 4-3 win at Luton in the Premier League in December 2023. The last time Arsenal lost by a three-goal margin was when Brighton won 3-0 at Emirates Stadium nearly three years ago.

“It doesn’t matter. We have to do it again,” Arteta said. “We have to prove it now in this context and that’s the challenge."

The English side last overcame Madrid in the Champions League knockout stage in 2005-06, when it reached the final and eventually lost the title to Barcelona.

Arsenal hasn't lost to Madrid in the teams' three previous meetings, and is the only side to have faced them three times in top European competition without conceding a goal.

Arsenal is looking to reach the European semifinals for the first time since 2009, when it was eliminated by Manchester United.

Madrid will be without midfielder Eduardo Camavinga on Wednesday because of a red card late in the first leg.

Kylian Mbappé was sent off in the Spanish league this weekend but is set to start in the Champions League game on Wednesday.

“He is disappointed with what happened, obviously, but he practiced well and is very motivated,” Ancelotti said. "He has scored a lot of goas this season, and more than ever we need his goals tomorrow."

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya during a training session in London, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal London. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a training session in London, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal London. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, center, gestures during a training session in London, England, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ahead of the Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Arsenal London. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Real Madrid at the Emirates Stadium in London, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.

This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)