PSG turn to Arsenal challenge after edging Bayern Munich into Champions League final

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia says the squad is now fully focused on Arsenal, their opponents in the UEFA Champions League final, after getting past Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The French club booked that meeting with the Premier League leaders when the second leg in Munich ended 1-1, enough to carry PSG through 6-5 on aggregate.

Kvaratskhelia said overcoming Bayern was PSG’s most demanding assignment of the campaign to date.

“Very happy we’re in the final. We know it will be difficult against Arsenal. Bayern are one of the best teams right now — it was very difficult, the hardest one of the season,” Kvaratskhelia told Canal Plus. “We showed we can play against these teams.”

After scoring twice in the first leg, Ousmane Dembele struck again in Munich just three minutes in, finishing a precise cutback from Kvaratskhelia.

With that early goal and a two-goal cushion in the tie, PSG still threatened on the break but also dropped deeper for stretches to manage the game.

Harry Kane found the net in stoppage time for Bayern — his 55th goal of the season — but the late finish was not enough to deny PSG a place in the Budapest final on May 30.

PSG head coach Luis Enrique praised his players’ mentality against a Bayern side that pushed hard to revive the contest but could not produce the breakthrough it needed.

“The character we showed against a team like Bayern is so positive. We’re so happy to reach a second Champions League final in a row,” Luis Enrique told reporters. “It was very intense. Very difficult. They play football at the highest level. Both teams are similar, we love to press high. We are very happy.”