3-1! Paris meets Inter Milan, kills Premier League teams 3, strives for 3 championships + Golden Globes, the Gunners are all vacant

When the final whistle pierced the night sky of the Princes in Paris, the scoreboard 2-1 score freezes the most sad Champions League script of this season. This tactical game lasted 180 minutes and ended with Paris Saint-Germain's total score of 3-1. For Arsenal, who missed the Champions League final for 21 consecutive years, this loss not only ended their European journey, but also pushed the team into a historic dilemma of being empty. At the beginning of the game, Arsenal's blitz strategy is textbook-level. Rice's header shot in the third minute hit the post, and then Martinelli and Odegao created threats one after another, completing 5 shots in the first 10 minutes, perfectly interpreting Al's attacking tactics. However, Paris goalkeeper Donaluma built a wall with three divine pounces. The Italian goalkeeper's success rate in a single game was as high as 83%. His goal line technology allowed Arsenal's expected goal value (xG) 1.7 to only 1 goal.

Paris's defensive counterattack system showed an amazing transformation of efficiency. Under the disadvantage of 46% possession rate, Fabian Ruiz's volleyball world wave and Ashraf's deadly complementary shots increased the team's forward shooting conversion rate to 50%. This efficient counterattack mode just hits the biggest weakness of Arsenal's defense - this season, the Gunners conceded as much as 38% of their opponents' quick conversions, and Paris's two goals in this game came from the triple pass after the offense and defense conversion. The winner behind the data

Looking at the two rounds of competition, Paris' dominance in key data is eye-catching. They created the highest single-game confrontation success rate in the Champions League knockout stage this season (58%), with Ashraf's 12 successful breakthroughs on the right directly causing Arsenal's left-side defense to collapse. What is more worthy of attention is Paris's set-piece defense. Faced with Arsenal's efficiency of averaging 0.8 set-piece scores per game in the Champions League this season, the Ligue 1 giants successfully resolved all seven opponents' corner kick offensives in this game.

Arsenal's proud defensive system showed cracks under the three-dimensional offensive in Paris. The Gunners' record of 0.62 goals per game per Champions League this season was broken, and their clearance rate in the penalty area plummeted from 87% of the regular to 72% of the game. When Kvaratskhelia cut in the 17th minute and Douai's sudden arrows in the 54th minute tested the defense line one after another, the lack of Gabriel's central defender combination seemed to be stretched. The victory and loss balance of the semi-finals has also rewritten the competitive landscape of the Golden Globe Awards to some extent. Although Dembele did not score, its constrained effect created five absolute opportunities for the team. The data of participating in the Champions League 12 times this season (8 goals and 4 assists) has surpassed the team record maintained by Mbappe. More importantly, suppressing Saka's performance in direct dialogue gave the French winger the lead in the Golden Ball competition.

Donarumma consolidated his position as the world's top goalkeeper with phenomenal performance. Facing Arsenal's 16 shots in the game, he completed five key saves, of which the technical move of blocking Saka's arc ball in the 63rd minute was UEFA's technical team's best save candidate of the year. The 26-year-old goalkeeper saved the UEFA Champions League success rate this season was as high as 81%, setting a record high in the past five years.

The historical opportunity for the Triple Crown champions

As Paris advances to the finals, the outline of the only potential Triple Crown team in the five major leagues this season has become clearer. They have established a 12-point lead in Ligue 1 and have reached the finals of the French Cup. It is worth noting that Paris defeated three Premier League powerhouses in the Champions League knockout stage this season, which injected confidence into its final journey. Inter Milan faces completely different situations. The Nerazzurri not only eliminated the Italian Cup, but also had little hope of defending the league, which may affect the team's preparation mentality. However, historical data shows that after the reform of the Champions League, the new army showdown in the finals was 7 times, and 5 times finally won the championship by a team with more stable defense - Inter Milan conceded only 6 goals in the Champions League this season, while Paris conceded 11 goals, which laid a subtle variable for the final.

When the night of Munich on June 1 comes, this new king showdown will write the history of the Champions League. No matter who the final winner is, it means that the UEFA Champions League title list will usher in the 24th new name. For Arsenal, this regrettable season may become a catalyst for the transformation of young Gunners - after all, in the past decade of Champions League history, six teams successfully reached the top of Europe the following year after being eliminated in the semi-finals.