Ousmane Dembéle scored the lone goal as Paris won away at Arsenal in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Paris have won 18 of the 19 ties when they recorded a first-leg away victory, most recently against Brest in this season’s knockout phase play-offs (3-0 a, 7-0 h). The exception came against Manchester United in the 2018/19 round of 16, a tie they lost on away goals (2-0 a, 1-3 h). Paris have won all five ties in which they recorded a 1-0 away first-leg victory.
Arsenal have never overturned a home first-leg defeat in European competition, losing all five ties – most recently against Barcelona in the 2015/16 round of 16 (0-2 h, 1-3 a). This is the first time they have lost 1-0 in the home first leg.
Youngest English players to appear in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals
18 years, 39 days: Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal (vs Paris, 29/04/2025)
18y 215d: Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal (vs Paris, 29/04/2025)
19y 199d: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool (vs Roma, 24/04/2018)
19y 215d: Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal (vs Man United, 29/04/2009)
“If you want to be in the Champions League final, you have to do something special,” observes Arteta. “We’re going to have to do something special in Paris to be there.”
“The game had phases,” says Arteta. “They scored from great combination play, when the margins are so thin and the finishing is unbelievable. We had, especially, one issue that we corrected after 15-20 minutes. We sustained that for the rest of the game and it turned the game around.”
More from Arteta: “We are at half-time, so my message is exactly the same as it was against Real Madrid at home [3-0 win]. We have to go to Paris and win the game, which we are more than capable of doing. I saw two very good teams, where the margins were so small. They were efficient in front of goal and their goalkeeper made a difference.”
Top French scorers in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage
34: Karim Benzema
24: Kylian Mbappé
12: Thierry Henry
9: Ousmane Dembélé
8: Zinédine Zidane
8: Antoine Griezmann
Dembélé has seven goals in his last five away appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
“We kept going and created many chances,” reflects Vitinha. “We could have scored more. We know that our goalkeeper, Gigio [Gianluigi Donnarumma] put in an amazing performance, making great saves. I think 1-0 is a well-deserved result; we need to do the same thing again in Paris.”
“It was very important to score early,” says Vitinha. “It’s a strength for us. The strategy was very clear in our minds; we all knew very well what we had to do to get a good result and, more importantly, win.”
Player of the Match Vitinha: “I’m happy for the result but, more importantly, for this side’s performance. We showed true team spirit, attacking and defending together when it was necessary, too. That’s what matters. We really showed our desire to reach the final. We need to repeat the performance in Paris.”
“Mission accomplished this evening,” says Luis Enrique. “Our sole objective is to win the second leg at home as well. With Arsenal, we cannot let our guard down and be complacent. This is a team who can completely rewrite history in one second and we’ll be back to square one. Nothing is in the bag yet, as they’ll have nothing to lose.”
More from Luis Enrique: “We saw wonderful work, both individually and as a team. Defensively, we had the attackers working hard, midfielders getting forward and everyone getting back to defend when needed.”
More from Luis Enrique: “The game had different phases. The beginning was an incredible atmosphere… and we made a fine start. The goal was a boost to our confidence. After that, the second half was littered with chances. Arsenal dominated more, especially from set pieces. It could have been worse or better. Let’s wait for the second leg.”
More from Arteta: “Regardless, nothing happened apart from the goal, which was an individual moment. Those are the margins at this level. After that, I think the team got better and better and better. Disappointing not to get a draw, at least.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking to Prime Video Sport: “We put so much into the game. It’s true that in the first 10-15 minutes, we struggled to gain momentum and gain the dominance we wanted. We were very inefficient at regaining the ball where we wanted to. That caused us a few issues.”
Luis Enrique on Donnarumma’s saves: “That’s the work of goalkeepers, no? Save the team – they work every day for that. In a semi-final, you need every player to perform at a high level.”
Luis Enrique, Paris manager, speaking to Prime Video Sport: “With emotions high, it’s difficult to analyse the game. We tried to play our way, scored the first goal [early], suffered a lot sometimes and could have scored a second goal. The second leg is going to be very tough.”
Raya on the differences between the teams: “We know they keep possession a lot. They’re really good at that. They had that chance and put it in the back of the net. It went for them, that’s football. We had chances to score, but didn’t manage to.”
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, speaking to Prime Video Sport: “Paris started very quick with a goal. They dominated the first 15 minutes but, after that, I thought we dominated the game. We had the chances and Donnarumma made some brilliant saves.”
Player of the Match Vitinha, speaking to Prime Video Sport: “It was a great night for the group. We had the ball for most of the game. We had to adapt to the different circumstances of the match and we did, defending and attacking well.”
Vitinha celebrates with the Player of the Match award.
Stay with us for reaction from both sides! A reminder that the second leg takes place in Paris on 7 May, with the winners advancing to the UEFA Champions League final on 31 May. You can also follow the first leg of the semi-final between Barcelona and Inter tomorrow here (all kick-off times 21:00 CET).
Paris’ Vitinha has been named Player of the Match. The UEFA Technical Observer Group said: “Vitinha was a key player in the attacking phase and constantly gave balance to his team, as well as running forward and trying to go behind defenders. He worked hard to regain the ball and was always positioned well, protecting the defenders while offering a solution in possession.”
Full-time verdict
Paris showed so many positive sides of themselves tonight: an electric start that had Arsenal all at sea, moments of suffering when the home side were on top and then, perhaps most impressive of all, exceptional game management in the second half, cleverly using possession to take the sting out of the game. The positive for Arsenal is the deficit is small and easily bridgeable, but they’ll know how tough their task will be at the Parc des Princes next Wednesday.
The referee ends the second half.
Paris secure a 1-0 first-leg lead! Dembélé’s fourth-minute goal decides the opening act between the teams, with Donnarumma on outstanding form and Barcola going close late on, as well as a shot against the crossbar from fellow substitute Gonçalo Ramos. Both sides will feel confident of their chances before the return match on 7 May.
