Courtesy: UEFA/X
On Wednesday, May 7, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) semi-finals, 3-1 on aggregate, to reach the final of the competition, where they will take on Inter Milan. After one of the biggest victories in the recent history of PSG, their players celebrated in style in front of the home fans at the Parc des Princes, and now, they find themselves on heels of making history.
Notably, PSG had won by 1-0 against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London last week through Ousmane Dembele’s goal, putting themselves in a strong position going into the second leg at home in Paris. In the 27th minute of the contest, Fabian Ruiz scored a sensational goal, a 20-yard finish past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, which had a slight deflection helping his cause, to give PSG the 1-0 lead.
His effort came after a couple of stunning saves from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, keeping Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard at bay, and he also stopped Bukayo Saka’s attempt from going in as well. Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya kept the hopes alive for the visitors when they were a goal down, saving Vitinha’s poor penalty attempt after Myles Lewis-Skelly was caught handling the ball.
PSG doubled their lead on the night in the 72nd minute when Achraf Hakimi scored after Thomas Partey lost possession. Just four minutes later, Bukayo Saka got the first goal in the tie for Arsenal, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma, but he also hit a shot over the bar in front of an open goal in the flag end of the contest, which meant that the visitors weren’t able to make a comeback.
I don't think there's been a better team than Arsenal in the competition: Mikel Arteta
In the post-match interview, Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal was happy with his players, stating that they are the best team in the UCL this season, but unfortunately it didn’t materialise in terms of making an appearance in the final. He was quoted as saying, “We were very close, much closer than the result showed, but unfortunately we are out. I am very proud of the players, 100% I don't think there's been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out.”
“This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and theirs was the best in both games,” he added.
