Paris Saint-Germain have punched their tickets for Munich as they progressed to the UEFA Champions League final by beating Arsenal 3-1 on aggregate over the two semifinal clashes.
The Parisians edged out a 1-0 win in North London in the first leg before sealing a 2-1 victory in Paris to close out the crucial tie.
Ousmane Dembele was the hero at the Emirates Stadium, as goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi in the second leg confirmed Luis Enrique’s spot in the final.
Despite being a team filled with emerging young talent, PSG showed incredible resilience to hold out against Miel Arteta’s charges with No.1 Gianluigi Donnarumma turning in two sensational performances.
The Italian goalkeeper was an integral part of PSG reaching the UCL final for just the second time in their history as he kept Bukayo Saka and others at bay in Paris.
After the famous semi final win, Donnarumma offered up his view on why PSG have broken new ground this season, including barb at former talisman Kylian Mbappe.
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Speaking to Prime Video, the 26-year-old said, “The spirit has changed, we’re much more of a team. We play for each other.
“We miss Kylian, he’s one of the best in the world and I wish him all the best, because he’s a great friend.
“The team is very united now, we’re doing well together. Italy won a European Championship like this, it makes all the difference in every team.”
Mbappe moved on from PSG to Real Madrid ahead of the 2024/25 season as part of a controversial free transfer. The French superstar has netted 36 goals in 52 appearances for Los Blancos including seven in 14 UCL outings.
Yet, Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League, after losing to Arsenal in the quarterfinals, and their hopes of winning a trophy this season rely on the upcoming El Clásico against Barcelona in La Liga.
Donnarumma incredible stats vs. Arsenal
Donnarumma’s heroics even drew praise from Arteta who claimed he was the best player in both matches.
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s master class 🧤🧤🧤🧤🧤pic.twitter.com/DFReqo7bd7
— Champions League Out Of Context (@uclooc) May 8, 2025
“When you look at who was the best player on the pitch in both matches, it was their goalkeeper. He made the difference in the double-header,” Arteta told TNT Sports.
Donnarumma made eight saves and only conceded one goal in 180 minutes against Arsenal. He did this against a team that scored five goals against Real Madrid. As per Opta, he made three saves in the second leg whilst preventing 1.23 goals via their xG model.
To add to this, he made five saves in the first leg, which is the highest-ever for a PSG goalkeeper in a Champions League knockout game without conceding a goal since 2003/04.
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