PSG beats Arsenal 2-1 to reach Champions League final, will now face Inter Milan for title

Paris Saint-Germain clinched a place in the Champions League final as goals by Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave them a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their last-four tie on Wednesday, May 8, securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph. Ruiz crashed in a shot from the edge of the area in the 27th minute at the Parc des Princes to leave PSG firmly in the driving seat after they had withstood an early bombardment from the visitors.

Already leading in the tie after Ousmane Dembélé’s goal in last week’s first leg, PSG then saw Vitinha have a second-half penalty saved. However, Hakimi put the tie beyond Arsenal when he scored in the 72nd minute, even if Bukayo Saka did then pull one back for the visitors. PSG advance to a showdown in Munich on May 31 against Inter Milan, and it will be the second Champions League final in their history, five years after a defeat by Bayern Munich in Lisbon.

“We have worked hard as a club to get this and to deserve it. It has been a long, hard road,” PSG captain Marquinhos told broadcaster Canal+. “The job is done in terms of getting to the final but it’s not finished, we want more. We really want to win the trophy.”

Arsenal, meanwhile, saw their European dream come to an end as they fell short of reaching what would have been their second final, 19 years after losing to Barcelona in Paris. Still without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, all that is left to play for now for Mikel Arteta’s side is securing a third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League.

‘Applaud the opposition’

“To do what we have done in Paris today against this team is remarkable, but the fact is that we are out,” said Arteta. “Sometimes you have to applaud the opposition, and what the ‘keeper did in both games. He won the game for them,” he added of PSG’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

There was an electric atmosphere all evening in Paris, and PSG were able to celebrate getting to a final in front of their fans for the first time, after their victory against RB Leipzig in the last four in 2020 was played behind closed doors during the pandemic. There was a feverish mood in and around the ground pre-match, but PSG have tripped up in big Champions League ties plenty of times over the last decade. In addition, their top scorer Dembélé was not in the starting line-up having come off with a hamstring problem in the first leg.

Arsenal, with Thomas Partey back in midfield after missing the first leg through suspension, did their best to silence the raucous home support by throwing everything at the Parisians right from the off. Declan Rice headed just wide, and Donnarumma denied Gabriel Martinelli from close range before producing a stunning save low to his left to keep out a Martin Odegaard shot, all inside the opening eight minutes.

‘We deserve to get to the final’

PSG did eventually settle, and they almost went ahead on 17 minutes when Désiré Doué teed up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose curling shot hit the far post. Then Doué wasted a great chance, shooting straight at David Raya in the Arsenal goal after Bradley Barcola had intercepted a loose ball. But PSG did score before the half-hour mark, the goal coming in the wake of a free-kick awarded for a Rice foul on Kvaratskhelia.

Vitinha’s delivery was headed out by Partey but fell to Ruiz on the edge of the box, and he controlled before smashing in a left-foot shot as the ball bounced back up. It was the ideal moment for the 29-year-old Spaniard to score his first Champions League goal. Barcola failed to convert a good chance for the hosts to score again moments later, and Arsenal still had some hope going into the second half.

Only another stunning Donnarumma save with his fingertips prevented Saka from pulling one back on 64 minutes, before PSG were awarded a spot-kick. German referee Felix Zwayer gave the penalty after being summoned to the pitchside monitor when a shot by Hakimi brushed the outstretched hand of Myles Lewis-Skelly. Arteta was furious at the decision, yet Vitinha’s kick was turned away by Raya diving to his left.

Nevertheless, PSG made it 2-0 on the night when Dembélé, on from the bench, teed up Hakimi to finish in style. This being PSG, however, there was a wobble as Saka quickly pulled one back from close range after Arsenal substitute Leandro Trossard had got the better of Marquinhos on the wing. Saka then somehow blazed over with an open goal gaping from Riccardo Calafiori’s cross, ensuring that there would be no miracle Arsenal comeback and it would be PSG’s night.

After the win, PSG coach Luis Enrique insisted his team deserved their place in the Champions League final and were determined to go on and lift the trophy after winning their last-four tie against Arsenal. “Over the two legs we scored more goals than them and in football it’s the most important thing, but Arsenal played a great game and we suffered a lot,” the Spaniard said. “It is the match in which we suffered the most (in the Champions League) but we deserve to get to the final,” added Enrique.