PSG’s striker and goalkeeper excel at opposite ends of the pitch to beat Arsenal 1-0 in semi-final first leg; Gunners boss Arteta eyes turnaround in away leg
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Paris Saint-Germain are leaving England on a high after Ousmane Dembele’s early goal helped them beat Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of their semi-final clash at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
The Parisians could have left London with a greater advantage had substitutes Goncalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola buried their late chances when Arsenal were pressing for an equaliser.
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PSG’s Ousmane Dembele celebrates his goal vs Arsenal on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
“It was a great night. We could have scored more, but we are glad with 1-0 and we will do everything in our power to go to the final,” PSG midfielder Vitinha said.
The Portuguese midfielder was a crucial cog for the visitors in the middle of the park as he helped pull the strings in a game that was largely dominated by PSG.
Rapid start by visitors
Luis Enrique’s side showed no hesitation in taking the game to Arsenal from the start. Dembele opened the scoring in the fourth minute after he was left all alone in the area and was picked out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a first-time finish that snuck in via the far post.
Kvaratskhelia caused the Gunners plenty of problems throughout and had a penalty appeal turned down in the 17th minute and a shot saved by David Raya in the 26th. The Arsenal custodian then made an even better save to thwart Desire Doue in the 31st minute.
Thereafter, the Gunners grew into the game. It took a monumental save from PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma to deny Gabriel Martinelli on the stroke of half-time while Mikel Merino’s header was ruled out for offside in the 50th minute. The Italian made another excellent save to deny Leandro Trossard six minutes later.
PSG’s subs fail to fire
Barcola and Ramos both had chances to double PSG’s lead late on when sent clear through on goal. But Barcola shot narrowly wide while Ramos rattled the crossbar.
Enrique was full of praise for his young side following the final whistle. “We showed the kind of team we are. We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing the way we play,” Enrique said.
Meanwhile, Arteta expressed confidence in his team’s ability to turn the tie around next week in Paris.
“We have to go to Paris and win the game. We are more than capable of doing it.
If you want to be in the UCL final, you have to do something special. And we are going to need to do something special in Paris,” said Arteta.
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