Paris, May 8: Paris Saint-Germain weathered one attack after another and showed remarkable adaptability Wednesday to hold off and defeat an inspired Arsenal 2-1 to reach the Champions League final and have another shot at the title it craves.
Deprived of the ball possession it usually enjoys, PSG looked shaky early on but found answers by relying on counter-attacks and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to advance 3-1 on aggregate.
PSG reached the final of Europe’s elite tournament for just the second time in club history – it was runner-up five years ago – and did so in the first season following superstar Kylian Mbappé’s departure to Real Madrid.
The big hole left by Mbappé was not filled by yet another superstar. It was a major change at a club where for more than a decade owners had spent lavishly to attract big names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The club’s new approach allowed coach Luis Enrique to build a rejuvenated, rock-solid side playing some of the best football in Europe.
The French club will try again for its first Champions League title when it faces Inter Milan on May 31 in Munich.
Three-time European champion Inter defeated Barcelona 7-6 on aggregate in one of the greatest semifinals in the competition’s history.
PSG, which eliminated Aston Villa and Liverpool before sending Arsenal home, had lost to Borussia Dortmund at this stage last year and was beaten by Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.
PSG broke the deadlock in the 27th minute from a set piece after the Arsenal defense cleared a free kick toward the edge of the area. The ball bounced back into the path of Fabian Ruiz, who smashed a stunning half-volley into the back of the net.
Achraf Hakimi curled in a precise finish in the 72nd minute to make it 2-0 on the night before Bukayo Saka pulled one back for the Gunners.
Arsenal had struggled early on last week in London – unable to cope with PSG’s intensity in midfield – and lost 1-0. This time, boosted by the return of midfielder Thomas Partey, the Gunners mustered 61 attacks, compared to PSG’s 26.
Saka misses sitter
Bukayo Saka missed from a near-unmissable position and Arsenal missed out again.
A 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday ended Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Champions League and halting a barren trophy run that now stretches five years.
PSG won the two-legged semifinal 3-1 on aggregate and will play Inter Milan in the final in Munich on May 31. Arsenal will wonder how another season of promise has ended up empty-handed.
“We have to learn from this. We did a lot of good things, but it’s not enough,” captain Martin Odegaard said after the match in Paris. It might have been different had Saka not fired over the bar with an open net to aim at in the 79th – but Arsenal had already given itself a mountain to climb at that point, having gone 2-0 down. Saka reduced the deficit and could have leveled the score on the night if not for his wayward finish.
“Inside the boxes, over the two games, we weren’t good enough,” Odegaard said.
An elusive final?
It’s a Champions League final few could have predicted.
No Real Madrid. No team from the mega-rich Premier League. No rejuvenated Barcelona. And no Harry Kane-inspired Bayern Munich. Instead, it will be Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan facing off to be a somewhat unlikely winner of the biggest prize in club soccer. Indeed, PSG — without Kylian Mbappé and at the start of the post-galacticos era — guaranteed its place in the knockout stage only by winning its final game of the league phase. Months later, however, PSG has been widely admired as perhaps the most stylish team in the competition after ending the title hopes of a succession of English opponents in its latest bid for its first European title. (AP)
