Category sport-news

Despite losing to Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday, David Raya insists Arsenal can still reach the Champions League final.

After Ousmane Dembele scored PSG’s winner in the fourth minute at the Emirates Stadium, Michel Arteta’s side will travel to Paris as underdogs.

However, Goncalo Ramos and Bradley Barcola wasted two late chances to increase their lead while PSG’s first half dominance struggled to add goals.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had excellent saves from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, was also necessary for the French champions to maintain their lead.

As he prepared for the second leg of the battling match at the Parc des Princes on May 7, Arsenal goalkeeper Raya looked forward to the match.

They had a goal in the opening 15 or 20 minutes, but they had a dominance the rest of the time and created chances. Donnarumma saved some good ones, according to Raya.

We take the positives because it’s only half-time. They are a strong team, but the players deserve praise for their efforts. The game was still possible for us.

They are skilled at keeping possession and do that. They seized that opportunity and posted it online. We had opportunities to score, but they were unable to. ”

For the first time in a home Champions League game since losing 2-0 to Barcelona in the last 16 of 2016, Arsenal was unable to score.

In 18 European games, they also lost to them at the Emirates.

However, the north Londoners will have Thomas Partey back from his second-team suspension, giving Declan Rice more attacking options.

Arsenal, who defeated holders Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, can defy the odds, believes Raya, who is convinced, will reach the final of their second Champions League campaign and win it for the first time.

We demonstrated from the opening minute of the first half that we could defeat any team. We’ve shown that we can win away games as well, so we’ll try to win in Paris the following week, he said.

With a 1-0 win in the opening match of the Champions League against Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain seized control of the match.

In the opening minutes of the match, Dembele scored and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

As the first team to win the tournament for the first time, PSG will enter the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7th as favorites to face Barcelona or Inter Milan.

Given their long history of epic European collapses, the French champions should not be taken for granted.

Arsenal’s attempt to capture their first Champions League title was dealt a painful blow by their 18 home European defeats.

Arsenal’s semi-final run was described as a “beautiful story,” according to Mikel Arteta.

They aren’t yet dead and buried, so the final chapter might be frustrating to read.

Real Madrid’s champions made their Champions League semifinal appearance with a 5-1 aggregate win, making it their first since 2009’s defeat to Manchester United.

Despite a frantic atmosphere as kick-off approached, they were unable to replicate the swaggering display that gave Madrid a 3-0 lead in the opening game.

Declan Rice pleaded with his team-mates to give everything during a pre-game huddle in the tunnel as he yelled, “If we don’t have the ball, we die.”

Arteta’s video message to fans to raise the roof was a similar rousing song that was played on the Emirates screens.

After coming back from two goals down to defeat Manchester City in the league phase, PSG had already defeated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.

With a 2-0 defeat in north London in October, Arsenal was the only English team they could not defeat.

However, PSG was unable to use Dembele for disciplinary reasons that day, and Luis Enrique insisted his team were “more complete” after seven months.

Out-gunned

Dembele’s only four minutes as the France star launched and finished a brutal raid proved his point.

Dembele worked the ball out to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the center circle before intently shooting at Jurrien Timber.

Dembele had made a successful run into the Arsenal area, but Kvaratskhelia’s perfectly weighted pass sent him in for a clinical finish that struck the far post.

After gaining the lead, PSG went to the end and headed home from the crossbar to the Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.

When Timber appeared to stop the forward from bursting into the area with his arm around his chest, Kvaratskhelia’s strong penalty appeal was ignored.

After attacking Timber once more, Kvaratskhelia was unaffected, forcing Raya to flee.

Dembele’s clever run and pass to Desire Doue for a low strike that Raya saved at the very end was equally difficult for Arsenal to handle.

Arsenal were outgunned, but Gabriel Martinelli should have equalized just before half-time thanks to Myles Lewis-Skelly’s sublime pass, who saved the ball superbly from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Two minutes into the second half, when Mikel Merino headed home from Rice’s free kick, Arsenal looked confident that they had already equalized, but VAR forbade their celebrations as a result.

When Rice’s pass caused him to slam into the PSG area for a shot Donnarumma skillfully tipped away, Arteta’s men had the momentum, and Leandro Trossard was just inches away from equalizing.

PSG attempted to stop the sting from the game by moving more slowly in response to the shift in power balance.

Bradley Barcola sauntered through with almost flawless accuracy, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post with only Raya to beat.

Luis Enrique held his head in disbelief following the terrible miss.

As defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek battled through some scares before making it to the quarter-finals, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday.

Cerundolo, a 21-year-old German champion, won 7-5, 6-3 to reclaim his previous year’s feat.

With a wacky 6-0, 6-7 (3/14), 6-4 victory over Diana Shnaider, Swiatek advanced to her fifth WTA 1000 quarter-final of the year.

After defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2, Cerundolo will face Argentinian Cerundolo in the quarter-finals.

He simply played better than I did, Zverev said.

Zverev gave Cerundolo two set points after mating game for game in the first set before granting Cerundolo a second set of points.

The 20th seed gained a 4-1 lead from an over-hitting Zverev immediately after the first set when he was broken by him in the second set.

Zverev yelled his racket in frustration, but Cerundolo kept his composure and remained calm throughout the match.

“I’m very happy because I know he enjoys playing here,” he said. He claimed that he beat him last year when he told me otherwise.

He plays such incredible football. I’m thrilled to win another championship and advance to the quarter-finals once more because of our excellent relationship.

Power at the Caja Magica was restored on Tuesday morning after a nationwide blackout that ended Monday’s majority of matches at the venue.

Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) to earn his third match point, some 27 hours after his first, won in Bulgaria.

With Dimitrov, the 15th seed, leading 6-4, 5-4, the match was suspended on Monday. Both players held serve until Dimitrov won the tie-break when play resumed on Tuesday.

That illustrates how quickly life can change as well. You serve for the match at one point, and at the other you are about to receive, and then the lights went out,” Dimitrov, who will face Gabriel Diallo, a livid loser, in the fourth round.

Due to an abdominal injury, Matteo Berrettini, a former finalist, retired after Jack Draper won the tiebreak in the opening set.

In the final 16, Draper will face American Tommy Paul.

Alex de Minaur, the sixth-seeded player, defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in a match with Lorenzo Musetti, the next opponent.

The Australian now trails Carlos Alcaraz for the most victories on a tour in 2025 with his 24th win of the year.

The 16th seed, Frances Tiafoe, defeated Matteo Arnaldi, who defeated Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.

Sabalenka coasts as Swiatek pushes.

In a final-eight showdown with Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Swiatek defeated in the women’s tournament by saving 11 of her 13 break points.

The 23-year-old Swiatek acknowledged she enjoyed being off the grid for a few hours when asked about the power outage.

“Honestly, I liked yesterday; I think everyone was more relaxed, and it’s obvious that those who didn’t lose were.” Swiatek remarked, “I had some time to rest.”

I used the time to relax and not think about what I should do, to be honest.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s top female, defeated American Peyton Stearns, who is 44th overall, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last eight.

The 26-year-old Belarusian, who won in Miami in March, will face Anastasia Potapova from Russia or Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine.

The Italian Open in Rome will not host Novak Djokovic, a record 24-time Grand Slam champion, from May 7 to May 18 according to tournament organizers.

Novak Djokovic has stated that he won’t participate in #IBI25. Nole, the clay court tournament’s organizers, announced on social media that “see you next year.”

The organizers did not explain why Djokovic, 37, withdrawn.

After pulling out of the Masters competition in the Italian capital, where he has won six times, most recently in 2022, the Serb is still waiting for his 100th ATP title.

After enduring a turbulent start to the year 2025, Djokovic is yet to win a trophy this year.

His most recent gold was won at the Paris Olympics last year, where the following Grand Slam will take place in May/June, at Roland Garros.

Before suffering early exits on the clay in Monte Carlo and Madrid, Djokovic lost to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik in the Miami Open final last month.

After losing to Matteo Arnaldi in his first match of the Monte Carlo Masters, Alejandro Tabilo, who had earlier lost to him in his opener, lost to him in the Madrid Open.

In a new video game that lets players choose their favorite cardinals as the new pontiff, thousands are already doing so as cardinals prepare to elect a new pope.

Since its launch last week after Pope Francis’ passing last week, almost 60, 000 people have reportedly signed up for Fantapapa, an online game that plays on Italians’ love of football and the Church, according to its creators on Tuesday.

One of the website’s two founders, Pietro Pace, 42, told AFP: “People are enthralled by Vatican power dynamics.

“Playing allows them to try to unravel some of the mystery that surrounds them” says one player.

The game resembles fantasy league, a popular sport where players pretend to be the head coaches of professional teams. The Italian “Fantacalcio” is a football fantasy league.

A captain (the “most papable” cardinal) and a goalkeeper (the least likely winner) are selected from a squad of 11 cardinals, according to Fantapapa, an Italian word for pope, giving an overview of the frontrunners’ votes on the website.

Also read: Conclave to begin voting for a new Pope on May 7th, Vatican

Matteo Zuppi was the cardinal with the most votes as of Tuesday, followed by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Luis Antonio Tagle, and Pietro Parolin, all of whom were roughly in line with bookmakers’ expectations.

However, some dark horses made the top ten.

According to Pace, Cardinal Fabio Baggio placed seventh, perhaps because he and Italian football legend Roberto Baggio shared the surname.

In order of first place, Jose Advincula of the Philippines placed sixth, making him a quick pick for users who were rushing to finish their roster.

Most players do not think Mykola Bychok will become pope because of his top goal selection, which is currently the world’s youngest cardinal.

The new pope’s political leaning, his religious order, his language, and his new name are also given points, respectively.

Francis, John, Pius, Paul, and Leo were the choices that received the most votes in this category.

Fantapapa, the brainchild of Mauro Vanetti and Pace, an AI worker, is unpaid because its creators are anti-gambling activists.

Instead, Pace claimed, winners will receive “eternal glory.”

On April 21, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88. On May 7, the conclave to choose his successor will start.