The final four: What to know about the Champions League semifinals

Four teams are left in the Champions League and each has a quest for a rare European title.

Arsenal meets Paris Saint-Germain in a semifinal between teams who have never lifted the iconic trophy. Barcelona and Inter Milan have a combined eight European titles yet the most recent were 10 and 15 years ago, respectively.

Here's what to know about the upcoming matches and the four semifinalists:

When are the semifinals?

Arsenal hosts Paris Saint-Germain on April 29 in north London, where defending champion Madrid lost by a stunning 3-0 last week in the first leg of the quarterfinals. PSG hosts the return game on May 7 at Parc des Princes, which has hosted three finals including the inaugural European Cup in 1956.

Five-time champion Barcelona hosts the first leg on April 30 at the 1992 Olympics stadium. Inter hosts the second leg on May 6 at San Siro.

The winners head to Munich on May 31 for the final of the most coveted and toughest title to win in club soccer.

Arsenal

Coach Mikel Arteta's team has been solid all season, including facing PSG and Inter in the first half of the eight-game league program. Arsenal finished third in the new phase with six wins — including 2-0 against PSG in London — and one draw. Its only loss was at Inter 1-0.

It easily overcame PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 after a 7-1 rout in the first leg. Arsenal then stunned many with a 3-0 win at home against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals and finished the job on Wednesday with a controlled 2-1 win at Madrid.

Arsenal is second in the Premier League but far behind leader Liverpool, so the Champions League is the only realistic chance it has left to win a title this season.

Paris Saint-Germain

PSG was at risk of being eliminated in the league phase but its campaign turned in the penultimate round when it bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to hand Manchester City a devastating 4-2 loss.

Crucially, new signing from Napoli Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was added for the knockout rounds. Brest was demolished 10-0 in the playoffs and the Georgia winger was scintillating in the round of 16 against Liverpool. PSG and Liverpool traded 1-0 wins on the road, and a penalty shootout at Anfield was decided by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's two saves.

PSG's third visit to England this season was this week's 3-2 loss at Aston Villa. Donnarumma's saves kept out a fourth goal that would have forced extra time. PSG advanced thanks to a 3-1 win at home last week.

PSG has already clinched Ligue 1. It now hopes to achieve what it failed to accomplish when France star Kylian Mbappé led the team: Winning the Champions League.

Barcelona

Barcelona won four of its five European titles in a nine-year spell from 2006-15, mostly inspired by Lionel Messi, and has not been back to the final since.

The team scored 28 goals in the league phase and added nine more in four knockout games. Robert Lewandowski, still prolific at age 36, has 11 goals and trails teammate Raphinha with 12. Lamine Yamal, outrageously good aged just 17, has four goals and three assists.

Barcelona started with a blip in its first Champions League game under coach Hansi Flick, losing at Monaco 2-1, then romped unbeaten through the rest of the league phase: 4-1 against Bayern — which Flick led to the 2020 title — 3-2 at Borussia Dortmund, and a wild 5-4 at Benfica.

In the knockout rounds, Barcelona beat Benfica two more times, then met Dortmund again in the quarterfinals. A 4-0 win at home allowed the luxury of losing the return 3-1.

Barcelona, like Inter, must balance preparing for the semifinals with staying top in a tight domestic title race and chasing the domestic cup.

Inter Milan

The hardest defense to breach, with just one goal conceded in the league phase by the three-time European champion.

The tone was set in the opening game, a rematch of the 2023 final. A 0-0 draw at Man City was impressive in September before the English champion's aura collapsed.

A series of 1-0 wins was broken up by losing by the same score at Bayer Leverkusen, on a 90th-minute goal by Nordi Mukiele. It was the only one to beat Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer until Feyenoord scored a penalty in the second leg of the round of 16.

Inter impressed in winning at Bayern 2-1 last week in the first leg of the quarterfinals, then responded quickly when Harry Kane tied the scores early in the second half at San Siro. The lead was restored by Lautaro Martínez, Inter's talisman with eight Champions League goals.

Inter beat Barcelona in the semis when last winning the Champions League in 2010.

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