Paris Saint-Germain and their semi-finals, Episode 6!

1992-1993 / UEFA Cup semi-final vs Juventus (1-2, 0-1)

Paris Saint-Germain, who have just eliminated Real Madrid, face Juventus for a place in the UEFA Cup final. In the first leg in Turin, Les Rouge et Bleu quickly opened the scoring through George Weah (23') and were looking good for another upset. In the second half, the Old Lady fought back and equalised through Roberto Baggio (55'). The Parisians thought they'd done enough for a draw before Baggio scored a late free-kick (90'). The Parisian club needed to score to qualify for the next round at the Parc des Princes. The match was tense, with the Italian defenders making a number of fouls and George Weah denied a penalty after being pushed by Carrera (72'). It was the turning point of the match before Vialli's free-kick was deflected home by Baggio (77'). It was the end Paris Saint-Germain dream run. Chairman Michel Denisot was disappointed: "It's very difficult to be denied such a blatant penalty. It's a lesson, but a very hard lesson."

1993-1994 / UEFA Cup Winners Cup vs Arsenal (1-1, 0-1)

Paris Saint-Germain suffered against Arsenal in the first leg at the Parc des Princes: after an exceptional first-half save from Bernard Lama to deny Jensen (24'), the Paris 'keeper could do nothing about a Davis free-kick from close range that was headed in by Wright (35'). Paris Saint-Germain then dominated and equalised when Valdo's corner was headed in at the near post by Ginola (50'). The score remained unchanged, and Les Rouge et Bleu needed to produce something special in the return leg to qualify. In London, Artur Jorge surprised everyone by bringing on Rai in place of George Weah, who was watching the game from the stands. The Parisians created a number of chances, but weren't clinical enough and the home side took theirs: Campbell scores with a header despite a desperate dive by Lama (6'). The scoreline didn't change, Paris Saint-Germain was eliminated and Bernard Lama, disappointed, declared after the match: "To win, you have to score goals. They never put us in danger, but all our forwards were on the bench..."

1994-1995 / UEFA Champions League semi-final vs AC Milan (0-1, 0-2)

After eliminating Barcelona in the previous round, Paris Saint-Germain face another big name in European football: Italian club AC Milan. In the first leg at the Parc des Princes, the match lay in the balance when David Ginola dribbled past Panucci only to see his strike hit the Italian crossbar (84'). It was the turning point of the match: from a Parisian corner, the Milanese quickly countered and Boban scored from a Savicevic assist (90+1'). Les Rouge et Bleu did not trouble Milan in the return leg. The Parisian defence was beaten by Savicevic's magic: the Montenegrin dribbles past Ricardo and easily beat Lama (21') before Desailly intercepts a Parisian pass and released Savicevic who scores a double and puts an end to the last Parisian hopes (68'). Luis Fernandez paid tribute to the Italian players: "Milan were the strongest and gave us another lesson in realism. For us it's over, we're out of the semi-finals once again but we'll try to come back and win this Champions League."

1995-1996 / UEFA Cup Winners Cup semi-final vs Deportivo La Coruna (1-0, 1-0)

Paris Saint-Germain are hoping to shake off the bad luck after three consecutive eliminations at the semi-final stage. In Spain, the Parisians, without an injured Rai, are relying on the talent of Bernard Lama, who was brilliant in the face of La Coruna's attack. We are heading for a draw when Youri Djorkaeff struck: after a forty-metre run, the "Snake" played a one-two with Pascal Nouma and scored with a right-footed shot (90'). Paris already had one foot in the final thanks to Djorkaeff's feat, who came on just minutes before his goal. In the second leg at the Parc des Princes, the match was very even and it was not until the hour mark that Paris made the breakthrough: Djorkaeff played Loko down the middle, and he scored (59'). Luis Fernandez was relishing this first qualification for a European final: "I'm happy. It may not have been a great game but it was hard on the nerves. We were scared to death, we had to deal with the result of the first leg."

1996-1997 / UEFA Cup Winners Cup semi-final vs Liverpool (3-0, 0-2)

Paris Saint-Germain got off to an excellent start in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, with Leonardo crossing for Loko who cut the ball back to Cauet. The Parisian midfielder's shot was blocked into the path of Leonardo, who scored from close range (11'). Just before half-time, Paris Saint-Germain doubled their lead: Liverpool goalkeeper James had a hard time deflecting Jerome Leroy's cross. Leonardo headed back and Cauet scored with his left foot (42'). At the end of the game, Cyril Pouget makes a perfect cross for Jerome Leroy who scores his first Paris goal (84'). Despite these three goals, the Parisians are wary and will suffer in the return leg at Anfield Road. The Paris Saint-Germain defence breaks down on the first English goal opportunity: Collymore, struggling with Ngotty, cuts it back to Fowler who opens the scoring (10'). Liverpool attacked, Paris Saint-Germain defended heroically and thought they had qualified until Wright headed home a second goal (79'). From that moment on, the pressure was on but the scoreline did not change. Paris Saint-Germain went on to challenge Barcelona to retain their European Cup and Bernard Lama paid tribute to his opponents: "It's the hardest of all our European matches. Atmospheres like this, I'm asking for more!"