Dembele's early goal gives PSG 1-0 win over Arsenal in 1st leg of Champions League semifinals

LONDON (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain is leaving England on a high again and within touching distance of a second Champions League final.

Ousmane Dembele’s early goal gave PSG a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday in the first leg of their semifinal, and only a couple of late misses prevented the advantage from growing bigger.

“It was a great night,” PSG midfielder Vitinha said. “We could have scored more but we are glad for 1-0 and we will do everything in our power to go to the final.”

Having already eliminated Premier League champion Liverpool and Aston Villa in the knockout stages, PSG outplayed Arsenal as well in a stadium where it lost 2-0 in the league phase in October.

This youthful PSG side has come a long way since then, and once again showed that it's a better team without superstar Kylian Mbappe — whose Real Madrid lost 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the quarterfinals.

Despite that recent history, PSG showed no hesitation in taking the game to Arsenal from the start. And Dembele opened the scoring in the fourth minute after he was left all alone in the area and was picked out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a first-time finish that snuck in via the far post.

The goal came after 26 consecutive passes in the buildup, which stats provider Opta said was the most for PSG in a Champions League game since at least 2003-04.

“We showed the kind of team we are,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “We tried to play our way and scored the goal early playing the way we play."

It was the hosts who looked affected by the moment — and the absence of suspended midfielder Thomas Partey — in their first Champions League semifinal since 2009.

They couldn’t cope with PSG’s pace in transition and the visitors’ lead easily could have been bigger after a dominant first half.

“They started quick with a goal and they dominated the first 15-20 minutes," Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya said. “It’s only halftime, we take positives.”

Kvaratskhelia caused Arsenal problems throughout and had a penalty appeal turned down in the 17th minute and a shot saved by David Raya in the 26th.

Raya made a better save in the 31st to deny Desire Doue as PSG continually was the more threatening team.

At the other end, Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Arsenal an equalizer on the stroke of halftime with a one-handed save to keep out a shot from Gabriel Martinelli.

With former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looking on in the stands, the Gunners improved in the second half.

Mikel Merino thought he had equalized shortly after the break when he headed in a free kick from Declan Rice, but it was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check.

Donnarumma, who played a key part in the wins over Liverpool and Aston Villa, then had to make another low one-handed finger-tip save to steer Leandro Trossard's shot wide after a quick counter in the 56th, but that was as close as Arsenal came to an equalizer.

“That’s the work of a goalkeeper, no? Save the team," Luis Enrique said. “They work every day for that.”

PSG substitutes Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos both had chances to double the lead late on when clear through on goal. But Barcola shot narrowly wide and Ramos rattled the crossbar to keep Arsenal close going into the second leg in Paris next week.

“We have to go to Paris and win the game. We are more than capable of doing it,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “If you want to be in the Champions League final, you have to do something special. And we are going to need to do something special in Paris.”

Both teams are looking for a first Champions League title, and second final. PSG lost to Borussia Dortmund at this stage last year. The French side lost to Bayern Munich in its only Champions League final in 2020, while Arsenal was runner-up to Barcelona in 2006.

Barcelona hosts Inter Milan on Wednesday in the other semifinal.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Declan Rice reacts during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

PSG's Achraf Hakimi reaches for the ball in front of Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Martin Odegaard applauds the fans following the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique applauds the fans at the end of the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

PSG's Desire Doue vies for the ball with Arsenal's Mikel Merino and Jakub Kiwior, right, during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Leandro Trossard reacts after a missed scoring opportunity during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

PSG's Goncalo Ramos, right, attempts a shot at goal and hits the bar during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal fans hang a banner during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli, center, is tackled by PSG's Achraf Hakimi during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta gestures during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya watches as PSG's Marquinhos, 2nd left, attempts a header during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

PSG players celebrate after Ousmane Dembele scored the opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after his teammate Ousmane Dembele scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Paris Saint Germain's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Emirates Stadium in London, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)