In the first leg of the Champions League Tempobet semi-final, Paris Saint-Germain won 1-0 away against Arsenal, taking the lead in the two-legged match.
On April 9th, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Arsenal performed strongly at home and won 3-0 against the defending champion Real Madrid. Arsenal, however, had an incomplete lineup for this match. The tough midfielder Thomas was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, and Merino, who played as a substitute center forward, had to return to the midfield to fill the void left by Thomas. Manager Arteta arranged for the winger Trossard to play as a substitute center forward.
Just four minutes into the game, Paris Saint-Germain launched a fast break. Dembele passed the ball to the left side, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played it back. Dembele scored with a precise shot, breaking through the ten fingers of Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Raya. In the subsequent matches, Arsenal was unable to equalize the score. The core of the offensive organization, Odegaard, was in poor form, but Arteta didn’t replace him with the young player Enwaneri until the injury time, thus missing the opportunity.
Paris Saint-Germain used to have the “Big Three” of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, but their performance in the Champions League was not satisfactory. The main reason was that the “Big Three” basically did not participate in defense, resulting in an imbalance between the team’s attack and defense. Messi and Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain first. Mbappe joined Real Madrid on a free transfer last summer. Despite not having any superstars, Paris Saint-Germain has shone brightly in the Champions League this season, becoming a favorite to win the title with their outstanding performance in both attack and defense.
Paris Saint-Germain’s draw luck in the Champions League this season is extremely poor. They have drawn strong opponents such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, almost drawing all the strong teams they might encounter in every tier. Starting from the second round when Paris Saint-Germain lost 0-2 away to Arsenal, they have only managed one draw and three losses in the last four rounds, and their situation for advancing to the play-offs is in jeopardy. Under the leadership of head coach Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain staged a timely comeback. They won 3-0 away against Salzburg, 4-2 at home against Manchester City, and 4-1 away against Stuttgart. With a three-game winning streak, they advanced to the play-offs for a spot in the round of 16.
Since defeating Manchester City 4-2, Paris Saint-Germain has leaped to become the “King of the Premier League”. In the round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain eliminated the Premier League champion Liverpool this season. In the second leg away from home, they won 1-0 against Liverpool, and it was also Dembele who scored the only goal of the game. In the quarter-finals, Paris Saint-Germain eliminated the Premier League powerhouse Aston Villa. Although Dembele failed to score in both legs, he provided crucial assists respectively. In this away game against Arsenal, it was once again Dembele who seized the opportunity to score the only goal of the match.
Dembele once played for Barcelona along with Messi. Back then, although Dembele was highly valued, he was a “sickly” with a very low attendance rate and a “rash young man” who had poor scoring opportunities in limited playing time. After years of experience, Dembele has finally lived up to his talent. Messi left Paris Saint-Germain in July 2023, and Dembele joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in August 2023. Not only did he successfully fill the void left by Messi, but his form this season has even far exceeded that of Messi during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
Although Paris Saint-Germain won the first leg away against Arsenal, we can’t be too happy too early. Arsenal’s strong midfielder Thomas can return in the second leg, and Arsenal can play away against Paris Saint-Germain with a relatively complete lineup. In the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League round of 16, Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 away against Manchester United in the first leg, but lost 1-3 at home in the second leg and was eliminated by Manchester United thanks to their away goal advantage. The current Paris Saint-Germain is a team without any superstars. We can’t be careless when we return home for the second leg.
Dembele was substituted in the 70th minute of this game due to injury. When asked by reporters about his injury before boarding the team bus, he responded, “There won’t be any problem.” Paris Saint-Germain’s head coach Enrique said after the match: “I don’t know the specific condition of Dembele’s injury at the moment. He will be examined tomorrow.” His injury is relatively minor, but it remains uncertain whether he can participate in the second leg. However, we are a real team. It would be great if Dembele could play. If he can’t play, we still have a strong team.
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