PSG finish off Arsenal to reach Champions League final
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain clinched a place in the Champions League final as goals by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave them a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their last-four tie on Wednesday, securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph. Ruiz crashed in a shot from the edge of the area in the 27th minute at the Parc des Princes to leave PSG firmly in the driving seat after they had withstood an early bombardment from the visitors. Already leading in the tie after Ousmane Dembele’s goal in last week’s first leg, PSG then saw Vitinha have a second-half penalty saved. However, Hakimi put the tie beyond Arsenal when he scored in the 72nd minute, even if Bukayo Saka did then pull one back for the visitors. PSG advance to a showdown in Munich on May 31 against Inter Milan, and it will be the second Champions League final in their history, five years after a defeat by Bayern Munich in Lisbon. Arsenal, meanwhile, saw their European dream come to an end as they fell short of reaching what would have been their second final, 19 years after losing to Barcelona in Paris. Still without a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, all that is left to play for now for Mikel Arteta’s side is securing a third consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League. There was an electric atmosphere all evening in Paris, and PSG were able to celebrate getting to a final in front of their fans for the first time, after their victory against RB Leipzig in the last four in 2020 was played behind closed doors during the pandemic. There was a feverish mood in and around the ground pre-match, but PSG have tripped up in big Champions League ties plenty of times over the last decade. In addition, their top scorer Dembele was not in the starting line-up having