MUNICH: Holders Paris Saint-Germain booked a Champions League final against Arsenal as a 1-1 draw in their semi-final second leg at Bayern Munich on Wednesday sealed a 6-5 aggregate victory. Leading 5-4 after last week&#39;s thrilling first leg in Paris, Luis Enrique&#39;s side stretched their overall advantage early on through Ousmane Dembele. Harry Kane struck in added time for Bayern, but it was too late for a comeback. PSG will be favorites against Premier League leaders Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest after an excellent defensive display at the Allianz Arena, also the scene of their maiden Champions League final triumph over Inter Milan last year. The French giants are hoping to become only the second back-to-back winners since 1990, after Real Madrid. Bayern were angered by some first-half refereeing decisions but were largely toothless in attack. The six-time European champions have still not reached the final since beating PSG in the 2020 showpiece in Lisbon. PSG extended their aggregate lead to two goals in just the third minute, as Dembele fired the ball into the roof of the net from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia&#39;s cutback. Manuel Neuer made fine second-half saves from Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue to keep Bayern in the tie. Kane drilled in his 14th goal in the competition this season in the fourth minute of injury time, but it was too little, too late for the home team.

Football

PSG will be favorites against Premier League leaders Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest after an excellent defensive display at the Allianz Arena, also the scene of their maiden Champions League final triumph over Inter Milan last year.

PSG knock out Bayern to set up Champions League final with Arsenal

LONDON: Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years as Bukayo Saka sealed a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Mikel Arteta&#39;s side settled the semi-final second leg with Saka&#39;s strike late in the first half at an ecstatic Emirates Stadium. The Gunners, who drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid last week, held firm after Saka&#39;s goal to go through 2-1 on aggregate. Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30. Holders PSG, who beat Arsenal in the semi-finals last year, have a 5-4 lead ahead of the second leg in Munich on Wednesday. It was a cathartic night for Arsenal, who are back in the Champions League final for the first time since losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their only previous appearance in the showpiece in 2006. Arsenal have never won the Champions League, with their two major European trophies coming in the 1994 Cup Winners&#39; Cup and the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Their last continental final ended in a 4-1 defeat against Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League. It is shaping up to be Arsenal&#39;s greatest ever season as they chase a Premier League and Champions League double. Even Arsene Wenger&#39;s &#39;Invincibles&#39; &mdash; who won the club&#39;s last English title in an unbeaten top-flight campaign in 2004 &mdash; might have to bow to the current generation if they finish the job. Fittingly, it was Saka &mdash; the homegrown symbol of the Arteta era &mdash; who proved Arsenal&#39;s match-winner. Now just four games from immortality, Premier League leaders Arsenal were given a huge boost in the title race when second-placed Manchester City drew at Everton on Monday. The Gunners will be crowned champions if they win their last three games against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace. Once the title is decided, Arsenal will head to Hungary with a maiden Champions League crown in their sights. Arsenal endured jibes about their perceived lack of mental strength after a run of four defeats in six games in all competitions sparked painful memories of previous failures to end their six-year wait for silverware. But the &#39;nearly-men&#39; and &#39;serial choker&#39; labels applied only weeks ago are on the verge of being banished forever. Jubilant Arteta Thousands of Arsenal supporters massed outside the stadium before kick-off to greet their team with flares and flags, a vociferous display of affection underlining Arsenal&#39;s desperation to make history. It was the kind of evening in north London, when nothing was beyond the realm of possibility as Arsenal moved closer to casting off the shackles of two decades of underachievement. After some tense performances during the Premier League run-in, Saturday&#39;s 3-0 rout of Fulham had showed Arsenal at their flowing best in a riposte to the critics who claim they only win ugly. This was a more prosaic display but no-one with an affinity to Arsenal was bothered in the slightest. Arsenal were nearly caught on the counter in a frenetic start when Julian Alvarez shot just wide before Giuliano Simeone&#39;s close-range effort deflected past the post. But Arsenal recovered from those anxious moments to deliver a dominant spell that brought their 44th minute goal. Viktor Gyokeres&#39; clever run unhinged the Atletico defense and his cross reached Leandro Trossard inside the area. Trossard wriggled into just enough space for a low drive that Jan Oblak weakly pushed out to Saka, who reacted quicker than his flat-footed markers to slot home from four yards. Arteta jubilantly punched the air as all around him the Emirates erupted into a roiling red sea of celebration. Atletico tried to ruin the party in the second half, but Gabriel Magalhaes made a last-ditch tackle on Simeone to avert a certain goal before David Raya repelled Antoine Griezmann&#39;s blast. Arteta recently revealed he visualized Arsenal conquering the Champions League even in the difficult early days of his reign. The Spaniard now is just one win away from seeing that daydream become a glorious reality.

Arteta has revealed he visualized Arsenal conquering the Champions League even in the difficult early days of his reign; Spaniard now is just one win away from seeing that daydream become a glorious reality.

Saka ends Arsenal's 20-year wait to reach Champions League final

PARIS: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele scored twice each as Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in an epic first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, an extraordinary encounter becoming the highest-scoring match ever at this stage of the competition. The first half alone was crazy, with Harry Kane giving Bayern the lead from a penalty only for Kvaratskhelia to equalize before Joao Neves headed the hosts in front at an enthralled Parc des Princes. Michael Olise made it 2-2, but a Dembele penalty in first-half stoppage time had the reigning champions back ahead at the interval. Kvaratskhelia, surely the standout player in this season&#39;s Champions League, and Dembele both then scored again to have PSG seemingly out of sight, only for Dayot Upamecano to pull one back before Luis Diaz made it 5-4. An unforgettable game &mdash; perhaps better even than last season&#39;s semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona &mdash; leaves the tie between the continent&#39;s two best teams of the moment wonderfully poised for next Wednesday&#39;s return at the Allianz Arena, with a place in the final in Budapest on May 30 on the line. Luis Enrique&#39;s Parisians will be returning to Munich &mdash; scene of their 5-0 win over Inter in last year&#39;s final &mdash; with the advantage, but Bayern will be confident they can overturn the narrow deficit at home. The French champions are seeking to become just the second side in the modern Champions League era to retain the trophy, while the German champions are hoping to reach the final for the first time since 2020, when they defeated PSG to lift the trophy for the sixth time. Instant classic Vincent Kompany&#39;s team arrived in Paris having scored 167 goals this season, led by the remarkable Kane, who had netted 53 times in 45 appearances. This tie had a lot to live up to, after Bayern&#39;s spectacular win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, but it was an instant classic as both teams showcased their devastating firepower. Bayern went ahead in the 17th minute as Willian Pacho chopped down Diaz, and Kane made no mistake with the resulting penalty to make it 54 for the campaign. The visitors won 2-1 here in November in the league phase thanks to a Diaz double, and they were the better team early on this time. But their front-foot approach made them vulnerable to the counter-attack, and Dembele should have equalized before the leveler came just after the midway point in the first half. Kvaratskhelia&#39;s genius on the wing has regularly been the difference for PSG recently, and he broke clear of Josip Stanisic down the left before cutting inside and firing into the far corner. A classic Kvaratskhelia goal was followed by Neves heading in Dembele&#39;s corner on 33 minutes. The action was only just getting started, however, as French international Olise drove towards the PSG box before smashing in for 2-2 with his 20th of the season. PSG then won a penalty at the end of the first half, when a Dembele cross struck the arm of Alphonso Davies, the Canadian making his first start in the Champions League this season after injury. It was given by the Swiss referee after a VAR check, and Dembele beat Manuel Neuer to make it 3-2 at the interval &mdash; a lead which PSG added to after the restart, leaving Bayern stunned. Achraf Hakimi&#39;s assist was swept in by Kvaratskhelia for 4-2 on 56 minutes, the Georgian getting his seventh goal in seven games in the knockout phase. Bayern had not been able to reset before Dembele surprised Neuer with a low shot in off the near post to make it 5-2 with his second of the night. But Bayern were not done, as Upamecano headed in Joshua Kimmich&#39;s free-kick for 5-3, taking Kompany&#39;s side to 170 for their season tally. Diaz, who was sent off in the November meeting, was then played in over the top and dribbled past Marquinhos before slotting in for the night&#39;s final goal. Kompany, watching from the stands due to suspension, would have been delighted with his team&#39;s response &mdash; even if they were relieved to see Senny Mayulu&#39;s late strike for PSG come back off Neuer&#39;s crossbar.

The French champions are seeking to become just the second side in the modern Champions League era to retain the trophy, while the German champions are hoping to reach the final for the first time since 2020, when they defeated PSG to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

Articles tagged with "UEFA Champions League"

PSG knock out Bayern to set up Champions League final with Arsenal

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