Paris Saint-Germain clinched a spot in the Champions League final after defeating Arsenal 2-1 in the second leg of their semi-final tie at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. The win secured a 3-1 victory on aggregate and sent the French giants into their second-ever Champions League final.
After surviving an intense early period from the visitors, PSG found their rhythm and took control. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a powerful left-footed strike from the edge of the box, following a partial clearance by Thomas Partey. The goal gave PSG a crucial cushion after they had already come into the match with a 1-0 lead from the first leg, thanks to Ousmane Dembele.
Although PSG missed a chance to further extend their lead when Vitinha’s penalty was saved in the second half, Achraf Hakimi made sure of their place in the final by slotting home the second goal in the 72nd minute. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners a brief glimmer of hope by pulling one back shortly after, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the deficit.
Mikel Arteta’s men came out swinging in the early stages, looking to stun the Paris crowd. Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard both came close to opening the scoring within the first ten minutes, only to be denied by sharp goalkeeping from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Gabriel Martinelli also saw a close-range effort stopped as Arsenal tried to overwhelm their hosts.
PSG took time to settle but nearly struck on 17 minutes when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hit the post with a curling effort. Desire Doue also had a chance to score but failed to beat Arsenal keeper David Raya. Eventually, Ruiz found the net just before the half-hour mark, and the atmosphere inside the Parc des Princes lifted.
Arsenal didn’t back down and continued to press in the second half. Saka forced Donnarumma into another excellent save before a controversial penalty was awarded to PSG. Although Vitinha’s shot from the spot was stopped, it didn’t take long for the home side to score again through Hakimi.
Dembele, who was not in the starting lineup due to a hamstring issue from the first leg, came off the bench and immediately made an impact by assisting Hakimi. But PSG’s defense briefly lost focus, allowing Saka to score and nearly grab a second, missing an open net moments later.
