Ousmane Dembele’s early goal gives PSG the advantage in the Champions League semi-finals against Arsenal.
Dembele silenced the Emirates inside four minutes with a sweeping finish into the bottom left corner. Dembele started the move as he drove through the middle of the park before he played the ball out wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Georgian drove at Jurrien Timber and cut the ball back to Dembele whose shot bounced onto the far post and in. That was the Frenchman’s 25th goal of the calendar year, ending his five-game drought across all competitions.
Moments after the break, Mikel Merino got on the end of Declan Rice’s free kick and nodded the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma. However, after a three minute wait, the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.
The Gunners came close to making it 1-1 before the break but Gabriel Martinelli couldn’t quite turn his effort on target.
Arsenal pushed for an equaliser in the second half and were dominant, but as time progressed and PSG continued to clear the danger, the tide began to swing again.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe best chance of the second half fell to Leandro Trossard thanks to a superb driving run from Declan Rice. The Englishman drove through the middle of the park before he released the ball out wide to Trossard.
The makeshift striker closed down on goal but was thwarted in the one-versus-one against Donnarumma. The PSG goalkeeper got down well to Trossard’s shot
The French champions, defended superbly and had two late chances of their own to extend the advantage.
First Bradley Barcola, then Goncalo Ramos, both missed golden opportunities to double their side’s advantage. Barcola dragged his shot wide with the goal gaping, whilst Ramos struck the crossbar from a toe poke from close range.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
INMR FOOTBALL 
Leave a comment