Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

PSG 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 collapses.

Arsenal’s 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 Arsenal’s run to the semi-finals a “beautiful story”.

The last chapter might make for frustrating reading, but they aren’t dead and buried just yet.

The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semi-final since losing to Manchester United in 2009.

They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 3-0 in the first leg, despite a frenzied atmosphere as kick-off approached.

When Arsenal’s players gathered for a pre-match huddle in the tunnel, Declan Rice implored his team-mates to give everything as he roared “if we don’t have the ball we die”.

A video message from Arteta played on the Emirates screens struck a similarly rousing chord as the Spaniard urged fans to raise the roof.

But PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phase.

Arsenal were the one English side they had failed to conquer, losing 2-0 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 on.

Out-gunned

Dembele 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 he drove at Jurrien Timber with intent.

Dembele had carried on his run into the Arsenal area and Kvaratskhelia’s perfectly weighted pass picked him out for a clinical finish that went in off the far post.

Having seized the momentum, PSG went for the kill and Marquinhos rose to meet Achraf Hakimi’s cross with a header that was just too close to Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

Kvaratskhelia had a strong penalty appeal waved away when Timber appeared to halt the forward’s burst into area with an arm around his chest.

Kvaratskhelia was undeterred, forcing Raya to save after attacking Timber again.

Dembele was proving equally hard for Arsenal to handle, his clever run and pass reaching Desire Doue for a low strike that Raya saved at full stretch.

Arsenal had been out-gunned but they should have equalised just before half-time when Myles Lewis-Skelly’s sublime pass found Gabriel Martinelli, whose shot was superbly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Arsenal thought they had drawn level two minutes into the second half when Mikel Merino headed home from Rice’s free-kick, yet their celebrations were premature as VAR disallowed the goal for offside against the Spain midfielder.

Arteta’s men had the momentum and Leandro Trossard was inches away from equalising when Rice’s pass sent him bursting into the PSG area for a shot that Donnarumma brilliantly tipped away.

Feeling 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 post.

It was a woeful miss, leaving Luis Enrique holding his head in disbelief.

The PSG coach was in the exact same stunned pose moments later when Goncalo Ramos fired against the bar from close-range.

Liverpool made easy work of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday to clinch a first title since 2020 and only their second in 35 years.

The Reds, 15 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with four games left, are now level with bitter rivals Manchester United as the joint most successful club in English top-flight history.

The Reds’ last title, five years ago, was slightly anticlimactic as it came during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning Anfield was nearly empty when the trophy was presented due to restrictions.

Tens of thousands of fans swarmed around Anfield in the build-up to kick-off in anticipation of Liverpool’s coronation, setting off flares in the warm spring sunshine as the home team bus arrived.

Slot’s men started on the front foot at an expectant Anfield after a stirring rendition of club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in the warm spring sunshine.

Mohamed Salah had an early sighter and Cody Gakpo went close with a spectacular overhead kick but Tottenham briefly threatened to become party poopers when Dominic Solanke powered home a header from a James Maddison corner in the 12th minute.

But Liverpool were level just four minutes later when Luis Diaz converted Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross from close range. The offside flag went up but VAR awarded the goal.

The momentum was now all with Liverpool and the home side took the lead in the 24th minute when Alexis Mac Allister thundered the ball home from the 18-yard line past the flying Guglielmo Vicario.

Now the party was well and truly started and Gakpo made it 3-1, slamming a shot into the bottom corner after Spurs failed to clear.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had made eight changes from the team that lost to Nottingham Forest last week as he prioritises the semi-finals of the Europa League and they now had a mountain to climb.

The Liverpool fans — deprived of celebrating the 2020 Premier League trophy due to Covid restrictions, ran through their full repertoire of songs as their team pushed for a fourth goal in the second half.

– Salah selfie –

Top-scorer Salah scored the goal the crowd craved, collecting Szoboszlai’s pass before cutting in and blasting his shot into the bottom corner.

He celebrated by grabbing a fan’s phone before taking a selfie in front of the Kop.

Deafening cheers of “We’re going to win the league” and “We shall not be moved” rang out.

Liverpool had a fifth when Spurs defender Destiny Udogie poked the ball past his own goalkeeper from close range with about 20 minutes to go as the game turned into a procession.

As the game went into added time the club’s anthem rang out again as scarves were held aloft and the final whistle elicited a thunderous roar.

The win leaves Liverpool on 82 points, 15 clear of nearest challengers Arsenal with just four games remaining.

Tottenham are a miserable 16th in the Premier League table after their 19th defeat of the season, putting Postecoglou under enormous pressure.

Tens of thousands of fans swarmed around Anfield in the build-up to kick-off in anticipation of Liverpool’s coronation, setting off flares as the home team bus arrived.

Flags and scarves saying “Liverpool 20-time Champions” were on sale from stalls outside the ground.

At the start of the campaign, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were favourites to extend their dynastic Premier League reign and make it five titles in a row but their form collapsed.

Arsenal emerged as their closest challengers but they drew too many games, failing to take advantage of the rare Liverpool slip-ups.

It was feared Liverpool’s players would need time to adapt to the methods of Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp last June following the German’s departure after nine trophy-filled years at Anfield.

But the former Feyenoord boss has sailed serenely through the season despite relentless speculation over the futures of three of his biggest stars — Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Both Salah and Van Dijk have now signed two-year extensions, though England defender Alexander-Arnold is believed likely to be on the verge of a move to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde has penned a heartfelt letter to fans following their 3-2 defeat against FC Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey.

For a club of Real Madrid’s stature, the 2024/25 season has been deeply disappointing. Entering the campaign as the reigning European and La Liga champions, Los Blancos were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a heavy 5-1 quarter-final loss to Arsenal. Now, their Copa del Rey defeat leaves them staring at the possibility of ending the season without a major trophy.

Valverde, often regarded as one of the emotional leaders within the Madrid dressing room, took to Instagram to express his feelings, admitting that he felt he had let the fans down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DI87pDHo7Qa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

“It happened again. And it will surely happen again many more times, because it is the road we are building and it is normal that one falls after so many miles. It makes me sad, it makes me angry, impotent. I feel like I failed you.

“It’s been a difficult year, physically and mentally very tough, but one day I was clear: ‘until my legs don’t give up anymore’. This club doesn’t deserve less.

“We’ll be back, we’ll continue and there I’ll be leaving everything for the respect Madrid deserves, its people and everything that involves playing in the most winning team in history. Thank you,” Valverde wrote.

Unlike the previous two El Clásicos this season—where Barcelona cruised to dominant victories of 4-0 and 5-2 in La Liga and the Supercopa de España respectively—Madrid put up a spirited fight this time. After falling behind to a superb strike by Pedri, Kylian Mbappé responded with a brilliant free-kick to level the game.

Aurelien Tchouameni then headed Madrid into the lead, but Ferran Torres found a way past Thibaut Courtois to send the final into extra time.

There, Jules Koundé sealed Barcelona’s triumph with a crisp shot from outside the box, finding the bottom corner to secure a memorable 3-2 win for the Catalans.