Mikel Arteta has suggested he won't be resting Bukayo Saka for their upcoming Premier League games as they prepare for their Champions League showdown against Paris Saint-Germain.
Both clubs threw away convincing leads in England last week. They need to get their seasons back on track quickly By Get French Football News Hubris cost Lyon last week and it almost cost PSG too. “We thought we were too good,” admitted Ousmane Dembélé after PSG conceded three goals at Villa Park and were nearly knocked out of the Champions League. “We eased off a bit. We thought it was over but big matches are like that,” said Malick Fofana after Lyon’s spectacular three-goal collapse against Manchester United did cost them a place in the Europa League semi-finals. “It is a match I won’t forget,” added Fofana, who knows that Lyon – like PSG – will have to re-engage if their season is to end well. With a derby at Saint-Étienne on Sunday, Lyon had no time for a postmortem. But for Paulo Fonseca, one thing was clear. “We led 4-2 with one less player on the pitch but we celebrated the 4-2 too much when the match was not finished,” said the Lyon manager after his team’s 5-4 defeat at Old Trafford. “We should have thought about continuing to manage the match. We lacked experience at this moment,” he added. Continue reading...
Mikel Arteta will have spent more arduous Easter Sundays attempting to hunt hidden chocolate eggs. Aside from a few minutes of brief concern for Bukayo Saka’s raked achilles – an incident for which Leif Davis received his very early marching orders – this was as undemanding an afternoon as the Arsenal manager could ever have envisaged as he navigates a path to the more important matter of a Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain later this month. The Spaniard will put his players through tougher training sessions ahead of that showdown than the exertions required of them at Portman Road. Continue reading...
Former Lioness goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis says she has "absolutely no doubt" that Arsenal can replicate their performances against Real Madrid to overcome a "difficult" PSG tie in the Champions League Semi-finals.
Arteta’s side delivered a performance for the ages to knock out Real Madrid, while PSG held firm at Villa Park and Inter outlasted Bayern to set up a semi-final of contrasts Arsenal Continue reading...
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Philippe Auclair as Arsenal win 2-1 in Madrid to knock the holders out of the Champions League Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: a brilliant performance from Arsenal at the Bernabéu, winning 2-1 in Madrid and 5-1 across the tie, they were close to perfection with Declan Rice probably the standout performer in a team of standout performers. Continue reading...
PSG player on her reinvention in midfield, Euro 2025 confidence and how she embraces her role-model status Sakina Karchaoui is one of the most popular players in the France team. Perhaps the most popular. But when she joins us at 9am at Clairefontaine, the national centre of French football, Les Bleues’ No 7 appears quite shy. Wearing a blue tracksuit emblazoned with the French rooster, she smiles for the first time when Kenza Dali teases her: “Interview for the Guardian … in English please, Saki!” Spring has finally sprung in the French capital and for the native of Salon-de-Provence, in southern France, the prospect of training in the sunshine is another reason to smile. “We are almost ready for the Euros,” Karchaoui says as she looks at the training ground below. “We work a lot tactically with the coach, we work technically, physically, all aspects of football. I think we can win many things together; we’ve got so much talent. And if everyone brings their own little madness, their own experience and their own qualities to the group, that’s what will make us win.” Continue reading...
‘The way Saka handled penalty miss was incredible’Arsenal set up PSG semi-final after 5-1 aggregate victory Mikel Arteta joked that he could have given Bukayo Saka a “clip round the ear” after his dinked penalty was saved by Thibaut Courtois, but the Arsenal manager described the winger as “incredible” for the way he recovered to score the goal that helped to send the Gunners into the Champions League semi-finals. Arteta described Arsenal’s 2-1 victory at the Bernabéu as probably the proudest moment in his career, and announced “the feeling we have is a reality” and that his team are “ready to compete against anybody” after going through 5-1 on aggregate. He also revealed that he called Pep Guardiola on the morning of the game to thank him for being an inspiration as a player and a coach and giving him the opportunity that led to him coaching here for the first time. Continue reading...
Aston Villa fall agonisingly short of reaching the Champions League semi-finals as a thrilling 3-2 second-leg victory for Unai Emery's side sees PSG hold on to win 5-4 on aggregate.
Nedum Onuoha analyses Aston Villa's second-half performance during their Champions League quarter-final second-leg against PSG.
PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma makes three crucial saves to stop Aston Villa reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Creative licence which Luis Enrique has granted sets arguably the most watchable team in Europe apart Luis Enrique had one word to describe Gianluigi Donnarumma. “Sensationnel,” the Paris Saint-Germain manager said, briefly switching into French from his native Spanish; no translation required. Donnarumma was the difference for PSG against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, the goalkeeper making five saves in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Villa Park, three of them, well, sensational, as his team just about got the job done, losing 3-2 on the night having been 2-0 up but advancing 5-4 on aggregate. Continue reading...
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon and Lars Sivertsen as Aston Villa go out swinging in the Champions League Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; so close for Aston Villa. At 2-0 down on the night and 5-1 on aggregate it all looked over before they rallied thanks to goals from Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa. Marcus Rashford played brilliantly and in the final 30 minutes the hosts had chances to take it to extra-time. Continue reading...
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique hailed his squad as the best in the world on Tuesday after they reached the Champions League semifinals with a 5-4 aggregate win over Aston Villa.
