Paris Saint-Germain are through to the final of the UEFA Champions League after a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in a high-tempo semi-final second leg at the Parc de Princes.
PSG came into the match with a 1-0 lead thanks to their win at the Emirates in the first leg, but it was Arsenal who dominated the early stages of the game, creating a host of chances early on.
Declan Rice could and should have scored with a close-range header just three minutes into the game, and Gianluigi Donnarumma pulled off two astonishing saves during Arsenal’s early blitz to deny first Martin Ødegaard and then Gabriel Martinelli.
And the Gunners were made to pay for not taking those early chances when PSG took the lead, through a stunning finish from Fabian Ruiz on 27 minutes, hammering in a bullet of a shot from the edge of the box via a deflection.
Both teams created chances in an open and high-tempo game, and David Raya kept Arsenal’s hopes alive when he saved a second-half Vitinha penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Myles Lewis Skelly in the box. But the tie looked dead and buried when Achraf Hakimi finished superbly from the edge of the box with a little under 20 minutes left on the clock.
Bukayo Saka set up the prospect of a late finish when he scored Arsenal’s first of the tie to make it 3-1 on aggregate on 76 minutes after great work by substitute Leandro Trossard down the left. But Arsenal just couldn’t find the comeback, with Saka missing a great chance late on, as the Gunners’ hopes of a first Champions League crown drifted away in Paris.
The scenes of celebration were dramatic when the final whistle sounded, with PSG sealing their place in the final of the UEFA Champions League where they will face Internazionale.
