Dembele's Goal Gives PSG a 1-0 Win Over Arsenal in Semi-final

Photo : AFP

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) took a big step towards the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Arsenal in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday. Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game early on, giving PSG the lead in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium.

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Dembele’s goal came just four minutes into the match. He picked up the ball in midfield, passed it to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and then ran into the Arsenal box. Kvaratskhelia made a perfect pass to Dembele, who finished it well, hitting the ball off the far post and into the net. PSG then defended well for the rest of the match, stopping Arsenal from scoring.

PSG now has an advantage going into the second leg at home on May 7. They will be favorites to reach the final, but coach Luis Enrique knows that anything can happen in the second game. He said, "We showed the kind of team we are. We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing that way. The result means a little advantage for us, but there is still one more game."

For Arsenal, the defeat was a tough one. It was their first loss at home in European matches for 18 games. Coach Mikel Arteta had called their run to the semi-finals a "beautiful story," but now they are facing a big challenge. Arteta said, "We put so much into the game. It’s half-time, and we still have a big chance to reach the final." He was disappointed that they couldn’t get at least a draw. "That’s the level. That's the way it is."

Arsenal had already beaten Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to reach their first Champions League semi-final since 2009. They came into this match full of confidence, but they couldn’t repeat the same strong performance against PSG.

Before the match, Declan Rice gathered the Arsenal players for a pep talk and told them to give everything: "If we don’t have the ball, we die." But PSG was ready, having already beaten strong teams like Liverpool and Aston Villa in earlier rounds.

Dembele, who was not in the team when PSG lost to Arsenal in October, showed his importance right away. After the goal, PSG kept control of the game, and Arsenal struggled to find chances. Just before halftime, Arsenal almost equalized when Gabriel Martinelli was set up by Myles Lewis-Skelly with a beautiful pass, but PSG’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made an amazing save to keep his team ahead.

In the second half, Arsenal thought they had scored when Mikel Merino headed in a free-kick from Rice, but the goal was ruled out for offside after a video review. Arsenal also came close when Leandro Trossard made a run into the PSG box and fired a shot, but Donnarumma saved it again.

PSG tried to slow the game down to protect their lead, but they missed chances to make it 2-0. Bradley Barcola had a great chance but missed when he shot wide. Later, Goncalo Ramos also missed when he hit the crossbar from close range.

In the end, PSG won 1-0 and has the advantage going into the second leg. But Arsenal is not giving up yet, and the return game will be exciting.