Drama at Villa Park, Arsenal in the Semi-Final, Mbappé's Exit [Full Episode]

Few could have imagined that, after a slow start to the UEFA Champions League campaign, Paris Saint-Germain would be one of the four remaining teams left in the tournament. Perhaps even more unbelievable is that Kylian Mbappé's Real Madrid is not one of those teams.

On this episode of PSG Talking, I'm joined by Ethan from the PSG Fan Club Boise and Marc Damon to discuss the second leg against Aston Villa, look ahead to the tie against Arsenal, and react to Real Madrid's elimination from the Champions League.

Up first, it's the match at Villa Park, which saw PSG take a 2-0 lead to push the aggregate score to 5-1. Villa was able to pull one back before halftime, but a 5-2 lead with 45 minutes felt insurmountable, and PSG supporters were feeling positive. Then the second half started, and two quick goals from the hosts pulled them within one goal in the aggregate score. PSG was able to stop the flow of goals and would go on to lose the match 3-2, but advance on aggregate 5-4. We discuss the main storylines from the match, including Bradley Barcola starting in place of Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé not wanting the Man of the Match award, and Gianluigi Donnarumma's incredible performance late in the match when PSG needed him most.

Next, we talk about the matchup against Arsenal, which is a rematch from the league phase when PSG lost 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium. We discuss the unique challenges Arsenal presents for PSG and whether Luis Enrique can figure out a way to beat Mikel Arteta's Gunners.

Of course, Arsenal reached the semi-final because of their dominating performance over Real Madrid. We talk about what the defeat does for Mbappé's legacy and whether Real Madrid will have to make major changes this summer.

As always, thank you for listening. Be sure to subscribe and rate the show wherever you download your podcasts. For bonus episodes of PSG Talking, subscribe to PSG Talk Extra Time on Substack.