Who Will Come Through The Champions League Semi-Finals 2nd Legs?

This week sees the second leg of all the three European competitions with most eyes on the two Champions League semi-final second leg ties taking place in Milan and Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Tuesday sees Inter Milan and Barcelona meet up just six days after an enthralling 3-3 first-leg draw at the Nou Camp, which showcased Barcelona’s attacking brilliance and Inter’s opportunism in what was an enthralling game of football.

Then on Wednesday, Arsenal head to the French capital to take on Paris St. Germain with the Gunners losing 1-0 from the home leg last week. Can Mikel Arteta’s men complete a remarkable comeback, or will PSG eliminate a third English team in a row from the competition?

Let’s take a closer look at each game and give you our thoughts on how each will pan out.

Inter Milan (3) vs. (3) Barcelona

Both these teams deserve enormous credit for providing fans with an incredible first leg. Inter took a 2-0 lead thanks to early goals from Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries, only for Barcelona to strike back through a Lamine Yamal wondergoal and Ferran Torres to make it 2-2 at the half.

Dumfries then handed Inter the lead back after 63 minutes, but two minutes later a Yann Sommer own goal brought Barcelona level and despite more chances for both teams, that is how the game finished.

Despite having navigated the away leg, Inter remain the underdogs in this game at the San Siro. Bet365 has the home side at 3.00 to win the game and progress to the final. Barcelona are rated at 2.15 to win, while the draw is a 3.90 shot. 

It remains to be seen how both managers will approach this game. Inter’s famed defence was repeatedly cut apart in the Catalan capital, but they may be a tougher prospect on home soil. While Barcelona’s defence showed an even greater fragility against far fewer, but equally dangerous Inter attacks. 

Whatever you do, don’t miss this game on Tuesday night (kick off 8pm) as it could be another classic and despite the visitors being the favourites, I am going with this to finish as a draw on the night and Inter to go through either in extra time or via penalties.

Prediction (90 Mins) – Inter 2-2 Barcelona – Inter win on penalties.

Paris St. Germain (1) vs. (0) Arsenal

Last week’s clash between the two teams at the Emirates was a somewhat dour affair, especially for Arsenal fans. PSG scored relatively early in the game, thanks to a superb finish from Ousmane Dembele, and despite huffing and puffing, Arsenal never really created much against the PSG defence.

In the end, the French side deserved their 1-0 win, which puts them very much in the drivers seat ahead of the second leg at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday. However, Arsenal are not out of this by any means and playing away from home and on the counter attack may help them, especially with PSG’s defence not being the most robust.

The Gunners missed a trick in the first leg. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa showed how to get at PSG in the second half of their game at Villa Park, but Arsenal played with a lack of intensity that typefied Villa’s performance. That played into PSG’s hands and apart from one disallowed goal, the Gunners looked a little lacking in attack. 

Wednesday’s game should suit them better and I am sure that the likes of Saka and Martinelli will enjoy more room against PSG’s back line. If the Gunners can keep it tight, they still have a chance, but my money is on this game being a very close one, if not closer than the game last week, with PSG doing just about enough to progress into the final.

Prediction (90 Mins) – Paris St. Germain 1-1 Arsenal – PSG win 2-1 on aggregate.