Champions League: PSG’s record in the semi-finals of the competition

By beating FC Barcelona, ​​PSG booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the Champions League, for the fourth time in history. But what is the capital club’s record at this stage of the competition?

Real Sociedad, FC Barcelona… The Paris Saint Germain continues the path towards the Champions League final. After losing to FC Barcelona at home (2-3), the Parisians had to fight in the return match, until they won 4-1. A win synonymous with qualification in the last four, for the fourth time in the club’s history. Back to the first three.

1995: First semi-final in PSG’s history against AC Milan

The 2023-24 edition of the Champions League has a taste of déjà vu for PSG. Because in 1995, the Parisian club also found themselves in the semi-finals after eliminating FC Barcelona. But during this edition, the Ile-de-France residents had to face a monster of Italian football: AC Milan.

The first leg is played at the Parc des Princes. Euphoric in front of his crowd, Luis Fernandez’s men even took the upper hand in the match over the Milanese. Led by Weah and Ginola, PSG create big chances but struggle to find the error. Result: immediate punishment. On a counterattack at the very end of the match, it was AC Milan who took the advantage thanks to Zvonimir Boban. The Rossoneri leave a stunned Parc des Princes (0-1) victorious.

Two weeks later, at the San Siro, they left the capital club no chance. Fabio Capello’s men are perfectly organized and PSG create very few clear-cut chances. At the end of Milan’s actions, Dejan Savisevic twice found the fault and shook the Parisian nets. PSG are eliminated but come out with their heads held high after this first historic run in the Champions League.

2020: Crushing victory against RB Leipzig

It is in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that Paris Saint-Germain manages to qualify for the second time in its history in the semi-finals of the Champions League. And in exceptional situations exceptional rule: the matches in the final phase are played in a dry match. This Final 8 took place in Lisbon, Portugal

From the kick-off, Paris took possession of the ball and found the error very quickly thanks to a header from Marquinhos (13th, 1-0). Led by an excellent Neymar, the Parisians doubled their lead thanks to a goal from Angel Di Maria, magnificently served by the Brazilian genius (42nd, 2-0). Bad with a good start, RB Leipzig saw all their chances disappear when Juan Bernat tricked Peter Gulacsi (56., 3-0). The score is no longer changed and PSG qualify for the first final in their history, which will end with a loss to Bayern Munich.

2021: The route against Manchester City

PSG’s last semi-final date back to the 2020-21 edition. It is still a bad memory for the capital club. After eliminating Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, Paris Saint-Germain finds Manchester City, the opponent in the group stage (1 win for each team).

The first leg, at the Parc des Princes, began in the best possible way for the Parisians, who opened the scoring through Marquinhos (15th, 1-0). The capital club kept the advantage for a long time, until Kevin de Bruyne offered the Citizens the equalizer on a free kick poorly judged by the Parisian defense and Keylor Navas (64th, 1-1). Then it becomes a nightmare for the inhabitants of Ile-de-France: Mahrez gives City the advantage with another free kick that pierces the Parisian wall (71st, 1-2), and barely a few minutes later Idrissa Gueye is sent off. for a tackle from behind on Gundogan.

Unfortunately, the return match at the Etihad will not be more favorable for PSG. Quickly behind after Riyad Mahrez’s opener (11th, 1-0), the Parisians failed to score a single shot throughout the match. The Algerian international scored twice in the second half (63rd, 2-0) and PSG even finished the match once again in deficit, after the sending off of Angel Di Maria, author of a very ugly gesture on Fernandinho. Final result: 2-0, 4-1 on aggregate between the two games. This time, Paris Saint-Germain will go out the back door despite a more than honorable performance in the Champions League.