UEFA Champions League: Semi-Final First Leg Preview

We are now down to just four clubs remaining in this season’s competition, with all teams looking to take a step closer to the Final in Munich in May.

Pressure and anticipation are rising amongst the four clubs who currently remain in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League competition, and some of European Football’s biggest clubs continue to battle it out across the continent for a place in the Final next month. This is the first leg, and it will be an opportunity for any of these clubs to take a definitive step closer to realising their ambitions to lift the title in Munich.

The remaining clubs are Arsenal (England), FC Barcelona (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain (France), and Inter Milan (Italy). Two of them are former European Champions.

FC Barcelona are, as of the time of writing, five time winners of this competition. They won it for the very first time in the 1991/92 season, when they were 1 – 0 winners after extra time against Italian outfit Sampdoria at Wembley thanks to what has become an iconic goal from Dutchman Ronald Koeman (112’).

The Blaugrana followed this up with further victories in 2005/06 (2 – 1 vs. Arsenal), 2008/09 (2 – 0 vs. Manchester United), 2010/11 (3 – 1 vs. Manchester United), and most recently in the 2014/15 season, when they were able to emerge as 3 – 1 winners against Italian heavyweights Juventus. This came following goals from the likes of Ivan Rakitić (4’), Luis Suárez (68’), and Neymar in second half stoppage time (90+7’), whilst it was Alvaro Morata who scored what turned out to be the only goal for the game for the Old Lady on that day (55’).

As for Inter Milan, they too are serial Champions League winners, having won a grand total of three times, first doing so back in the 1963/64 season when they were able to beat Real Madrid 3 – 1 thanks to goals from Sandro Mazzola (43’, 76’) and Aurelio Milani (61’). Spanish midfielder ‘Felo’ (Rafael Batista Hernández) midway through the second half of this game (32’).

Their other two European triumphs came back in the 1964/65 and 2009/10 seasons. In the 1965 final, they were 1 – 0 winners against Benfica thanks to a goal late on in the first half thanks to Jair da Costa (43’), whilst in the 2010 Final, they were victorious against Bayern Munich, beating the Bavarians 2 – 0 by two goals from Diego Milito either side of half time (35’, 70’). It was a game that took place at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain and the only English Premier League side left in the competition, Arsenal, are currently looking to get their hands on what would be a maiden European Cup/UEFA Champions League triumph for both of these clubs.

Arsenal (England) vs. Paris Saint-Germain (France) – Emirates Stadium – Tuesday 29^th April 2025, 20:00 KO

The first game that we will be taking a look ahead at for this week’s 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Semi Final matches will see Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal come head to head with a Paris Saint-Germain team led by their Spanish Head Coach Luis Enrique at the Emirates Stadium in what is an 8pm kick-off on the evening of Tuesday 29th April 2025. This is of course the first leg of this mouth-watering tie.

In the previous round, Arsenal took on reigning European Champions Real Madrid over two legs in the Quarter Finals. The first leg in North London saw the Gunners win 3 – 0 thanks to two spectacular free-kick goals from Declan Rice (58’, 70’), whilst Mikel Merino also scored in this game (75’).

In the second leg in Madrid, Arsenal were 2 – 1 winners thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka (65’) and Gabriel Martinelli deep into second half stoppage time (90+3’), whilst it was Vinicius Junior who was the scorer of the only goal for Los Blancos in the entire tie in what was an emphatic 5 – 1 victory on aggregate for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.

In terms of matches between Arsenal and PSG in the past, they have faced each other just 5 times in all competitions, with two wins for the Gunners, and three draws with them having an unbeaten record against the Parisians to date, as of the time of writing.

Arsenal faced PSG in what was a League Phase fixture in their most recent competitive meeting back on Tuesday 1st October 2024 in North London at the Emirates Stadium, where goals from the likes of Kai Havertz (20’) and Bukayo Saka (35’) sealed a comfortable 2 – 0 winners in the end.

As for Paris Saint-Germain, they faced Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the Quarter Finals. In the first leg in Paris, PSG were able to beat Villa 3 – 1 at the famous Parc des Princes thanks to goals from Désiré Doué (39’), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (49’), and Nuno Mendes deep in second half stoppage time (90+2’), whilst it was Morgan Rogers who scored the only goal for Villa to give the English side the initial lead (35’).

Then in the second leg at Villa Park, despite a 3 – 2 defeat in B6, PSG won the tie 5 – 4 on aggregate. Youri Tielemans (34’), John McGinn (55’), and Ezri Konsa (57’) were all on target for Emery’s Villans, whilst the visiting Parisians scored their two goals thanks to great strikes from the likes of Achraf Hakimi (11’) and the aforementioned Nuno Mendes (27’), who are their usual staring right back and left back respectively.

FC Barcelona (Spain) vs. Inter Milan (Italy) – Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys – Wednesday 30^th April 2025, 20:00 KO

We will now be moving on to yet another incredible and high profile clash in the Semi-Finals of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League competition, which will see Hansi Flick and his FC Barcelona side take on Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan over two legs in the final four of this season’s enthralling and intense competition.

This game will be taking place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on the evening of Wednesday 30^th April 2025, in what is going to be an enthralling contest that gets underway at 8pm.

In the Quarter Finals, Barcelona took on German Giants Borussia Dortmund over two legs, with the first taking place in Catalonia at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys back on 9th April. It was an emphatic 4 – 0 victory for the hosts, who scored their goals thanks to the efforts on goal from the likes of Raphinha (25’), Robert Lewandowski (48’, 66’), and Lamine Yamal (77’).

However, in the second leg, Flick’s Barcelona were beaten 3 – 1 on the night following what was a hat-trick from BVB forward Serhou Guirassy (11’ – Penalty, 49’, 76’), whilst Barça scored through an own goal from Dortmund defender Ramy Bensebaini (54’).

Moving on to Inter Milan, they came face to face with German Giants Bayern Munich in the Quarter Finals. The first leg took place at the Allianz Arena in Munich, with the Bavarians losing 2 – 1 on the night thanks to the goals from Lautaro Martinez (38’) and Davide Frattesi (88’), who scored the winning goal late on after Thomas Müller had scored the equaliser to restore parity (85’).

Then in the second leg at the mighty San Siro, it was to be a 2 – 2 draw in the heart of Milan, with Lautaro Martinez (58’) and Benjamin Pavard (61’) both scoring in quick succession for Inter Milan. It was Harry Kane (52’) and Eric Dier (76’), both successfully scoring for the visiting side (76’). Inter were 4 – 3 winners on aggregate.

All eyes are on these high profile matches in what are the first of two legs in these 2024/25 UEFA Champions League Semi Finals. There is plenty of anticipation and excitement that is building rapidly ahead of these fixtures getting underway this week. The first matches will be taking place on the evening of Tuesday 29th April 2025, with the games kicking off at 8pm in the evening.

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