Here, we take a look at all the action from the first legs of the Semi-finals of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal FC 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain FC
Arsenal have it all to do in the second leg after forward Ousmane Dembélé’s early goal handed PSG a 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
The Parisians made a blistering start to the game as Dembélé dropped deep to collect the ball and ran at the Arsenal defence before ending a brilliant transitional move with a quality finish off David Raya’s post to give his side the lead in the fourth minute, silencing the Emirates crowd. It was one-way traffic in the first 20 minutes, with PSG dominating possession by 76% and creating all the chances.
It was just past the 20-minute mark that Arsenal managed their first attempt at goal as Jakub Kiwior guided the ball straight into Gianluigi Donnarumma’s hands from a set piece, kicking off a brief spell of dominance for the hosts as they tried to hurt PSG in the wide areas. However, it was another scary moment for the Gunners near the 30-minute mark when 19-year-old Désiré Doué rifled in a low shot on the near post, though Raya produced an excellent save to keep the tie alive at 1-0.
After Doué’s effort, it was all Arsenal till the end of the half as they probed and asked some serious questions of Luis Enrique’s men. João Neves produced a perfect last-ditch tackle to stop Mikel Merino before he pulled his shot, while Donnarumma produced a world-class save to deny Gabriel Martinelli in a 1v1 situation after the Brazilian was played through on goal following some brilliant individual play by the 18-year-old Miles Lewis-Skelly. Despite trailing by a goal, Arsenal looked positive based on how they ended the half.
Just after the restart, in the 46th minute, it looked like Merino had given Arsenal the lead from a set piece, though after a long three-minute deliberation the goal was ruled out for offside by the VAR. Arsenal kept pushing, and the ball broke kindly for them in the PSG half ten minutes into the second half when Leandro Trossard fired a shot across the Parisian goal, but Donnarumma produced another excellent save to keep the Premier League side at bay.
As the game wore on, PSG were able to bring in fresh legs from the bench, which in turn helped them disturb Arsenal’s rhythm as the game became more cagey. With the Ligue 1 champions trying to run the clock down and playing within themselves, Arsenal were left more and more frustrated as they pushed higher up the pitch, which in turn opened up spaces for the pacey PSG forwards to run in behind.
Bradley Barcola went through on goal in the 84th minute but pulled his shot just inches wide of Raya’s post. Gonçalo Ramos hit the post just a minute later, though replays suggested he might have been offside anyway. Arsenal introduced Ben White and Ethan Nwaneri late on, but it didn’t make any difference as Enrique’s men defended resolutely to secure a 1-0 lead for the second leg at home.
It’ll be an interesting second leg at the Parc des Princes. At home, PSG will be the clear favourites, though the Gunners boast one of the best away records in this season’s Champions League. Thus, there’s a lot to play for when these two clubs meet again next week.
FC Barcelona 3-3 FC Internazionale Milano
This proved to be the more thrilling affair as Barça came back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 3-3.
Inter had a dream start to the game as Marcus Thuram opened the scoring inside the first minute with a flicked finish into the net off a Denzel Dumfries cross, shocking the whole stadium into silence. However, the early setback didn’t deter the hosts as they started to attack and create chances of their own. Lamine Yamal found Ferran Torres in the box at one point, but Torres pulled his shot wide. He then missed another opportunity when a corner kick came in and the ball from the Inter clearance found him unmarked, but his sliced shot went wide of the post.
These near misses cost Barça as they conceded their second. From a corner-kick routine, Francesco Acerbi’s header was turned in by Denzel Dumfries to double the Nerazzurri‘s advantage in the 21st minute. The Blaugrana pulled one back three minutes later with a moment of magic from teen sensation Lamine Yamal, who made a mazy run into the box past half of the Inter defence and produced a curling finish into the left corner. Minutes later, Yamal was denied by another near-post effort that Yann Sommer kept out.
In the 38th minute, Barcelona’s efforts bore fruit as a Pedri chip found Raphinha in the box as he teed up Torres for an easy close-range finish to restore parity. An exhilarating first half drew to a close with the teams tied at 2-2.
Inter came back well in the second half and looked more likely to score as they reclaimed the lead in the 63rd minute again from a corner kick as Dumfries scored his second. Five minutes later, though, Barça equalised yet again as Raphinha’s long-range effort hit the post and went in off Sommer.
Inter had a goal denied for a marginal offside when Dumfries’ line-breaking pass found Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who slotted home. Both teams tried to gain advantage, with the hosts looking more likely to score a winner. Raphinha was denied twice by Sommer—first from a low free kick and then from a long-range effort.
The game finally ended 3-3 and the two teams will now look ahead to the second leg in Italy next week.
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