Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, the two clubs who contested the most recent Champions League final, both began their preparations for the new season with defeats on Wednesday.
The English and French champions were beaten by Spanish opposition, with Real Betis defeating Arsenal 3-1 in Dublin and Real Mallorca claiming a 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at Son Moix.
Arsenal’s surprise loss came in a friendly against Real Betis at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital. The game was part of the preparations for both sides ahead of the start of the new campaign.
Real Betis took the lead after nine minutes when Rodrigo Riquelme found the net. Nelson Deossa then doubled the Spanish side’s advantage in the 26th minute.
Arsenal responded through Piero Hincapie, who reduced the deficit in the 32nd minute and gave Mikel Arteta’s side a chance of recovering before half-time.
However, Real Betis restored their two-goal advantage before the interval. Pablo Fornals scored in the 43rd minute to put the Spanish team 3-1 ahead.
Arsenal were unable to find a way back into the match after the break, leaving them with a defeat in one of their early fixtures ahead of the new season.
In Spain, Paris Saint-Germain suffered an even heavier loss as Real Mallorca recorded a 3-0 success at Son Moix.
Zito Luvumbo opened the scoring for the home side after 21 minutes, giving Real Mallorca an early advantage in front of their supporters.
Jan Virgili added a second goal in the 40th minute, leaving Paris Saint-Germain with a significant deficit to overturn before half-time.
The hosts completed the scoring six minutes into the second half, when Antonio Jose made it 3-0 in the 51st minute.
The fixture was also staged as part of both teams’ preparations for the upcoming season. Paris Saint-Germain could not find a response as Real Mallorca secured a convincing victory.
The results come after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League final against Arsenal. The French club lifted the trophy for the second time in its history after prevailing 4-3 on penalties.
The final had finished 1-1 after both normal time and extra time, forcing the contest to be decided by a shootout. On Wednesday, however, both finalists were beaten by Spanish clubs in their respective pre-season matches.
