Published On 4/27/2026
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Last update: 12:17 (Mecca time)
French Paris Saint-Germain, the holder of the European Champions League title in football, hopes to untie the German Bayern Munich knot in recent years, when it receives them on Tuesday in the first leg of the semi-finals, while the English Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are dueling for the final ticket in search of the first title in their history.
Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich (held Tuesday, April 28)
The Bavarian giant emerged victorious in the last five Champions League matches against the Qatari-owned team, but the latter eliminated them with two goals in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup last summer.
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Bayern is considered the most likely candidate to win the competition title for the seventh time in its history, in light of the wonderful performance of Belgian coach Vincent Kompany’s team, which eliminated Spanish champion Real Madrid from the quarter-finals a record 15 times (2-1 and 4-3).
Kompany explained the importance of the confrontation after securing the domestic league title for a record 35th time. “Paris in the Champions League, as the defending champion, is probably the most difficult challenge. I do not want to stop here. Now come the crucial weeks. We are looking forward to them, but we also know how difficult they are.”
His midfielder, Joshua Kimmich, added, “We reached the semi-finals with two wins (over Real Madrid). I believe that the best teams in Europe are now preparing to meet in the semi-finals.”
The matches have always been exciting between the two sides, which have the strongest attack in the current version (38 goals), and have witnessed several cases of expulsion in recent years.
The last duel between them in the unified group stage ended with Bayern winning 2-1, but Saint-Germain had lost to English club Arsenal last season before defeating them in the semi-finals, on their way to winning the title for the first time in their history.
Spaniard Luis Enrique, coach of Saint-Germain, whose team leads the French League by six points over Lens, said, four matches before the end of the competitions, and eliminated Liverpool from the quarter-finals (2-0 and 2-0). “Last season, everyone thought that we could not win the Champions League because we are a very young team. Now everyone knows that we are the champions, but we need to develop. This is our goal.”
In turn, his striker Ousmane Dembélé – the best player in the world last season – said, “I think we are at the same level (as last season). We have this desire to win titles. We will try to go until the end, and we will play our style until the end of the tournament.”
Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid (Wednesday, April 29)
In the second confrontation, Arsenal, runner-up in 2006, has a moral superiority over Atletico Madrid, after defeating it 4-0 in the group stage in October, but this will not be enough in the continental competition in which Atletico, runner-up in 1974, 2014 and 2016, achieved a resounding surprise by eliminating its compatriot Barcelona in the quarter-finals (2-0, 1-2).
Atletico’s Argentine coach, Diego Simeone, said, “We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have great confidence in what we are doing. We are ready and will pursue what we have been chasing for many years.”
As for his veteran French striker Antoine Griezmann, he added, “It was a big and difficult confrontation (against Barcelona) against a great team that played excellently. It was a battle, but we are still in the race.”
After topping the English Premier League by a large margin, Arsenal declined, as usual in recent seasons, and Manchester City became the most likely to be deprived of the title, as the latter trails them by 3 points with a postponed match.
While Atletico has a remarkable offensive force (34 goals), Arsenal is distinguished by its strong defense, which conceded only 5 times in 12 matches, while its last continental stop was against Portuguese Sporting in the quarter-finals (1-0, 0-0).
Spanish “Gunners” coach Mikel Arteta said about reaching the semi-finals for the second time in a row, “It is the first time in our history, in 140 years. To be among these four teams is very special. You have to deserve it.”
His Brazilian striker, Gabriel Martinelli, added, “We beat them in the league stage, but the match this time will be completely different.”
