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It was a fantastic match that electrified the Parc des Princes and will go down in Champions League history! French defending champion Paris Saint-Germain secured a one-goal lead, having been up 5-2 but having also feared the worst.
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But the German 35-times champions showed their tenacity and talent to reduce the deficit to one.
The second leg in Munich next week promises a huge one.
To talk about what happened on that memorable Tuesday and what else is moving European football these days, host Stefan Grobe was joined by two other big football fans and consummate Brussels insiders: Connor Allen who manages government and external relations at a big company and Petros Fassoulas, secretary general of the European Movement International.
Both were full of praise of the quality of the French and Germans team that were on offense permanently. They also underlined the strong individual performances of the players with some of the highest incomes in European football.
That night, they sure earned their money.
It was the first time in any major European semifinal that both sides had scored at least four goals, and just the second time in a Champions League knockout match after Chelsea and Liverpool drew 4-4 in the 2008-09 quarter-final.
While Fassoulas and Allen shared many opinions about the game, they disagreed, though, on who will win the competition eventually.
Allen, who is British, believes that Arsenal London will take the Cup home. (The gunners had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Atlético Madrid in the second semifinal of the week.)
The match inspired excitement also in the political realm.
Asked by Euronews, EU Sports Commissioner Glenn Mecallef said this: “That’s what European sport does. It brings people into the same moment. Footballers are ambassadors and role models people look up to. They inspire and connect millions of people. And the Champions League, together with Europe’s domestic leagues, gives them the greatest stage to do exactly that.”
Other topics of the debrief included some darker sides of football, especially the problem of racism among supporters.
This episode of The Ring was produced by Luis Albertos and Amaia Echevarria, and directed and edited by Vassilis Glynos.
Watch The Ring on Euronews TV or in the player above and send us your views by writing to [email protected]
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