Champions League: PSG reaches the final after absorbing the pressure of the semi-finals

Having won the first leg (1-0) in London , Paris Saint-Germain won (2-1) on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes and will now play in the Champions League final on May 31 in Munich against Inter Milan. In this second leg of the semi-final, the newly crowned French champions did not have to climb the curtain, not only superior in every way but driven by a conviction that was out of all proportion to what an Arsenal team put into the game, resigned after the first half hour. And who did not even give a false impression.

In the Parisians' controlled satisfaction after the first leg in London, something had slipped under the radar: not satisfaction, let's not exaggerate, but the relief of the English players in the mixed zone, devoted to the exchanges between journalists and the players after the match. Dominated, the Gunners had managed to stay alive. Within shooting range (a goal at the expense) of an opponent who had impressed, Bukayo Saka was " impressed by the cohesion, the way they circulated the ball, the way they found the right rhythm " and imposed it on the match.

In short: Mikel Arteta's men had gone down two floors for one evening, which raised the question of what he would do with this newfound modesty in the return leg. In fact, Thomas Partey and his teammates started the match in a completely different frame of mind. Deprived of Ousmane Dembélé, confined to the bench after his muscle alert in the first leg, the Parisian team had no choice but to fall back and rely on their goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who scored a first miracle just wide of his left post (8th) after a sharp shot from Martin Ödegaard, the Arsenal captain.

The same action (cross pushed back, recovery of an attacker posted on the edge of the penalty area and strike) but in color, with a superior execution speed and a praline to crack a marble, will put Paris-SG in control and there was some justice to see the Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz, more often than not in the hold where he balances without being noticed the movements of his partners, take the light and the score (1-0, 27th) on such a gesture. Arsenal's momentum was affected. The ability of Marquinhos, Pacho and the others to reign in their own area, cutting off all the crosses thrown a little blindly by the English, did the rest and the Parisians rallied the lemons without striking a blow (1-0).

After the break, Arsenal's players pulled off an incongruous move: benefiting from a free kick on the line separating the two sides, precisely in midfield, they mandated their goalkeeper to take it... in the Parisian box. A kick and rush from the upper Paleolithic of football at a time when everyone is thinking about speed, space management, ball circulation on the width and false runs. The Londoners were powerless. For having wanted to play as clever as possible with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya instead of sending a mine, Vitinha will let a penalty en route (69th) but it no longer has the slightest importance in the context, Saka and his team having taken their foot off the gas for a good half hour.

Achraf Hakimi devoted himself to putting away a ball that Partey forgot to attack (2-0, 72nd), Saka reduced the score because Marquinhos collapsed while claiming the foul rather than defending (2-1, 76th) and the game resumed its somewhat artificial course, as if the two teams had reached the same conclusion and no longer saw themselves contesting the progress of things. It is not forbidden to see this as a tribute from the current second-placed Premier League side to the high competitiveness of the team coached by Luis Enrique, capable of playing on several registers. And which will have suffered much less during this double confrontation than in the previous rounds, against Liverpool (0-1, 1-0, 5-3 on penalties) and Aston Villa (3-1, 2-3).