Dembele gives PSG edge

Paris Saint-Germain are leaving England on a high again and within touching distance of a second Champions League final. Ousmane Dembele’s early goal gave PSG a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday in the first leg of their semifinal, and only a couple of late misses prevented the advantage from growing bigger. “It was a great night,” PSG midfielder Vitinha said. “We could have scored more but we are glad for 1-0 and we will do everything in our power to go to the final.”

Having already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool and Aston Villa in the knockout stages, PSG outplayed Arsenal as well in a stadium where they lost 2-0 in the league phase in October. This youthful PSG side has come a long way since then, and once again showed that it’s a better team without superstar Kylian Mbappe — whose Real Madrid lost 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the quarterfinals.

Despite that recent history, PSG showed no hesitation in taking the game to Arsenal from the start. And Dembele opened the scoring in the fourth minute after he was left all alone in the area and was picked out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a first-time finish that snuck in via the far post. The goal came after 26 consecutive passes in the buildup, which stats provider Opta said was the most for PSG in a Champions League game since at least 2003-04.

“We showed the kind of team we are,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing the way we play.”