Few football occasions get the world buzzing and the crowds involved as much as the UEFA Champions League semifinals. One, or two if you like, last shots for glory, an enormous battle between the continent’s biggest names giving it their all. Fatigue, bad form, absences… it all goes out the window when all that stands between you and history are just two matches.
What we’d asked for from the first leg of the semis is exactly what we got. A memorable showcase of footballing brilliance, on a tactical, collective level, as well as on the individual, technical one. The two affairs so tightly disputed that no one can tell how the return leg will pan out.
Arsenal 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain
A clash of two Spanish managers, two men who’s managing careers are heavily influenced by their past ties with FC Barcelona promised a fascinating encounter in London.
After neutralizing Real Madrid’s offensive star power, Arsenal were now faced with a task of stopping one of the most lethal, fluid, unpredictable and, all in all, dangerous front lines in Europe. After just four minutes in, it looked like they were set to fail the exam – a fast switch of play found Kvaratskhelia in a 1v1 situation with Timber. Rice shifted across to help his full-back, leaving a gap for Ousmane Dembélé who took the shot first time and it found the back of the net after hitting the post.
Kvaratskhelia continued to cause problems for Timber who racked up a series of fouls early on. As time progressed, Arsenal started to settle in in the match, moving the ball better and finding Saka more and more often, which seemed to have been their no. 1 plan. The 18-year-old inverted full-back, Myles Lewis-Skelly, unimpressed by the occasion and as cool as ever, made a brilliant run through the PSG lines and carved a brilliant through ball for Gabriel Martinelli, but that’s when PSG’s other hero of the night took the stage – Gianluigi Donnarumma. A brilliant stop from the Italian keeper prevented the Gunners from scoring.
The second half gave us more of the same, with both sides having their moments and Donnarumma saving PSG, and the goal frame landing a hand to Arsenal when Gonçalo Ramos’ powerful strike rattled the crossbar.
It was Les Parisiens’ manager, Luis Enrique, who probably summed it all up perfectly, saying that it could have been a 2-0 win, but it could also have been a draw. Given the fact that PSG haven’t won both legs of a knockout tie in the UCL this season, and the very nature and size of the occasion, this one is still far from over.
FC Barcelona 3:3 Inter Milan
This one looked like it could be over after just 21 minutes, as Inter took an early two goal lead to stun the packed Olympic stadium in Barcelona. The first one came after just 30 seconds when Marcus Thuram turned Dumfires’ cross to the net with a cheeky backheel.
The man who set up the first goal, Denzel Dumfries, was the man who scored the second, reacting beautifully to a flick-on after a corner to smash it in the net with a bicycle kick. A huge advantage after only 20 minutes of play, but against a Barcelona side that scores as many goals as they do this season, it all melted down quickly.
Led by an inspired Lamine Yamal, whose mentality is maybe even more impressive than his unbelievable talent, Barça were back within a blink of an eye. The teenager took matters into his own hands when things got rough for his side, asking for the ball again and again to produce something almost every time he was on it. His brilliant solo effort to make it 1-2 will be the talk of the town for weeks to come, and his overall performance already a piece of Champions League history.
The drama continued well into the second half with Denzel Dumfries getting a brace, again following a corner kick, only for Raphinha to undo it moments later with a thunder bolt that hit the crossbar and went in off the goalkeeper’s back. Up and down action followed until the very end, with both teams giving it their all to get the win on the night. Inter came closer, with a goal disallowed for a fractional offside, and another string of decent counter attacks on which they exposed Barça’s risky high-line approach.
This one was probably best summed up by Pep Guardiola who said he was surprised by both teams’ attacking approach and as long as the game is played like this, there’s no fear of the viewers ever getting bored and stadiums being empty. The best part? They’ll run it again come Tuesday!