Ousmane Dembele sinks Arsenal as PSG seize edge in Champions League semi-final

Paris SaintGermain seized the advantage in their Champions League semifinal against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 10 win in the first leg on Tuesday Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enriques side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bayPSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favourites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapsesWe showed the kind of team we are We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing that way PSG boss Luis Enrique said We suffered sometimes but could have scored the second goal The second match is going to be very tough The result means a little advantage for us We can go to the final but there is still one matchArsenals first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenals run to the semifinals a beautiful story The last chapter might make for frustrating reading but Arteta insisted they arent dead and buried just yetAlso ReadCSK vs PBKS IPL 2025 Dream 11 prediction probable playing XIs headtohead injuriesWe put so much into the game Its halftime and we have a big chance to be in the final the Gunners boss said We struggled in the first 15 minutes to get momentum and dominance but in the end I was disappointed not to get a draw at least Thats the margins thats the level The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 51 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semifinal since losing to Manchester United in 2009They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 30 in the first leg despite a frenzied atmosphere as kickoff approached When Arsenals players gathered for a prematch huddle in the tunnel Declan Rice implored his teammates to give everything as he roared If we dont have the ball we dieBut PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarterfinals after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phaseArsenal were the one English side they had failed to conquer losing 20 in north London in October However PSG were without the influential Dembele for disciplinary reasons on that occasion and Luis Enrique insisted his side were more complete seven months onOutgunnedDembele took just four minutes to prove the point as the France star started and finished a ruthless raid Taking possession in the centre circle Dembele worked the ball out to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the Georgian drove at Jurrien Timber with intent Dembele had carried on his run into the Arsenal area and Kvaratskhelias perfectly weighted pass picked him out for a clinical finish that went in off the far postHaving seized the momentum Dembele was proving hard for Arsenal to handle his clever run and pass reaching Desire Doue for a low strike that David Raya saved at full stretch Arsenal had been outgunned but they should have equalised just before halftime when Myles LewisSkellys sublime pass found Gabriel Martinelli whose shot was superbly saved by Gianluigi DonnarummaArsenal thought they had drawn level two minutes into the second half when Mikel Merino headed home from Rices freekick but their celebrations were premature as VAR disallowed the goal for offside against the Spain midfielder Leandro Trossard was inches away from equalising when Rices pass sent him bursting into the PSG area for a shot that Donnarumma brilliantly tipped awayFeeling the shift in the balance of power PSG looked to take the sting out of the game by playing at a slower pace The tactic almost worked to perfection when Bradley Barcola sauntered through but with just Raya to beat he dragged his shot wide of the far postIt was a woeful miss leaving Luis Enrique holding his head in disbelief The PSG coach found himself in the exact same stunned pose moments later when Goncalo Ramos fired against the bar from close range as another big chance to double the visiting sides lead late on went beggingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params