We’re in the Champions League semifinals, and the final will be contested by one team that has never won the tourney and one team that has had experience lifting the trophy with big ears. Both ties are finely balanced, so let’s see where everybody stands after the first leg.
Champions League Winners
Everyone watching Barcelona vs. Inter Milan
That 3-3 draw was terrible for the defenders but fantastic for the neutral fans, as the two European heavyweights traded one scoring chance after another. How about that back-heel finish by Marcus Thuram to score for Inter before one minute had gone, or before Barcelona even touched the ball? Then there was Denzel Dumfries’ bicycle kick that put the nerazzurri two goals up, followed by Lamine Yamal’s stepover-filled run into the teeth of Inter’s defense to pull one back for Barça, and Raphinha’s long-range screamer that was the last goal in the match.
Both teams can rue missed chances to break the tie, too, as Henrykh Mkhitaryan was denied a match-winner because the tips of his toes were offside, while Yamal’s lob hit the frame of Inter’s goal. So far, it looks like whoever wins this tie will be the favorite in the final.
PSG’s defense
Aside from a spell at the end of the first half, the Parisians kept Arsenal’s high-powered offense quiet, and they were smart enough not to give Declan Rice any free kicks around the penalty box.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
Having said that, PSG owe their goalkeeper that they’re not going back home tied at 1-1. Italy’s No. 1 made some key stops to keep out Leandro Trossard’s goalbound lob and then Gabriel Martinelli’s breakaway chance.
Champions League Losers
Arsenal
The Gunners should be able to overcome a one-goal deficit, but that first leg offered very little evidence that they will be able to do so. PSG did crumble defensively in their second leg at home against Dortmund, and Arsenal will be hanging their hopes on a repeat of that performance. On the other hand, both Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué are sharper finishers than anybody Arsenal have. The Gunners were good enough to take down Real Madrid with Mikel Merino as a false nine, but will their lack of a proper striker end their run in this competition?
PSG’s finishing
By the same token, Paris may well be ruing the fact that they only have a one-goal lead, given the numerous chances they had to add to their margin of victory. Those spurned opportunities have now given Arsenal hope for a second-leg comeback.