May 9th, 2025
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Paris Saint-Germain successfully defended against many attacks and showed great flexibility on Wednesday to stop and beat a strong Arsenal team 2-1. This victory sent them to the Champions League final, giving them another chance to win the title they really want.
PSG didn't have the ball as much as they usually do, so they seemed unsure at first. But they found a way to win 3-1 overall by using fast attacks and depending on their goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
PSG reached the final of Europe’s top football competition for only the second time in the club's history. They finished second five years before. They did this in the first season after their star player Kylian Mbappé went to Real Madrid.
Instead of another famous player, a big space was left by Mbappé's departure. This was a significant change for the club, as for over ten years, the owners had spent a lot of money to bring in famous players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, and Neymar.
The club's new method helped coach Luis Enrique create a strong team that played some of the best football in Europe.
"From the first day, I said our goal was to work hard enough to be able to make history, and that is still our goal," Enrique said. "We want to be the first team to win the trophy everyone has been waiting for. This project has developed since last year, and I feel very comfortable here as a coach because I have the freedom and support from the president to build the team we want. We are changing things based on the market to create a team that gets better every day."
The French team will try again to win its first Champions League prize when it plays against Inter Milan on May 31 in Munich.
PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi told CBS Sports, "We trust our coach and our young, skilled players. They work hard for the team, for the city, and for the club, which is what matters most."
With one match remaining, our task is far from complete.
Inter, who have won the European championship three times, beat Barcelona with a total score of 7-6 over two games. Many people think this was one of the best semifinals ever in the competition.
PSG beat Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Last year, they lost to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals. In 2020, they lost to Bayern Munich in the final.
PSG scored the first goal in the 27th minute from a set piece after the Arsenal defense kicked a free kick away. The ball returned to Fabian Ruiz, who hit a great shot into the goal.
Achraf Hakimi scored a precise goal in the 72nd minute to make the score 2-0 before Bukayo Saka scored a goal for the Gunners.
Last week in London, Arsenal had problems at the beginning of the game, finding it difficult to deal with PSG's strong play in the middle of the field, and lost by one goal.
This time, with the help of midfielder Thomas Partey returning, the Gunners had 61 attacks, while PSG had 26.
The visiting team quickly had a good chance when Declan Rice jumped high for a header but didn't score, and Gabriel Martinelli's shot was stopped by Donnarumma.
Arsenal attacked well on the sides against PSG and almost scored again in the eighth minute when Martin Ødegaard shot from outside the box, making Donnarumma save it well.
PSG mostly waited for chances to attack quickly when the other team lost the ball, but they didn't get many of these chances.
The first chance to score finally happened in the 17th minute. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia found some room on the left side, moved towards the middle with his right foot, and sent a very accurate shot that hit the goalpost.
PSG didn't take advantage of William Saliba's bad pass. But Désiré Doué shot weakly and the ball went straight to Raya.
Soon after the hour mark, Arsenal had another good chance to score when Saka shot the ball with skill towards the top corner, but Donnarumma used his long body to stop the ball.
Vitinha missed a penalty after VAR decided a player touched the ball with his hand. Soon after, PSG scored again when Hakimi kicked the ball into the net after Ousmane Dembélé passed it to him.
Arsenal continued attacking until the end and scored a goal through Saka in the 76th minute, reducing the difference in the score.
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