After a 1-1 draw after extra time on Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal 4-3 in a shootout to earn back-to-back Champions League victories. Gabriel and Eberechi Eze missed from the spot.
Twenty years after their first final loss to Barcelona in 2006, Mikel Arteta’s Premier League winners suffered a second final loss despite their remarkable perseverance in extending the match over 120 minutes in Budapest.
In the Champions League era, Luis Enrique’s team became just the second, after Real Madrid, to win the competition in back-to-back years.
“It is even bigger because we knew of the difficulties of playing against Arsenal, and for us as a team and a city it is incredible to win it,” AFP quoted Luis Enrique telling broadcaster Canal Plus.
PSG’s first victory took 55 years to achieve, with 14 of those years spent under Qatari control. The second victory might usher in what they believe will be a time of domination and dynasty-building.
“It was Real Madrid and now it’s us too. They defended all through the game and football is fair… today the right team won,” PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz told Movistar.
The crowded Parc des Princes, where the game was broadcast on six enormous screens, erupted in celebration as soon as the final whistle rang. More than 48,000 PSG fans yelled “Champions of Europe” and “back-to-back” as fireworks lit up the field.
The streets of the French capital were also filled with the sounds of firecrackers, automobile horns, and cheers. On Sunday, a triumph parade near the Eiffel Tower is anticipated to draw close to 100,000 spectators. Luis Enrique quickly and effectively rebuilt the team by benching the club’s best players and assembling a coherent, dedicated offensive unit that could destroy opponents at a terrifying rate.
With his third Champions League victory, the Spaniard became one of just five coaches to accomplish a hat-trick; the first came with Barcelona in 2015.
Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead after six minutes, but Ousmane Dembele’s penalty midway through the second half sent a close match to extra time and, eventually, spot-kicks. For a while, it seemed implausible.
“It’s gutting, it’s devastating to lose the Champions League final on penalties. Giving it absolutely everything up until this point, we took the game to penalties and it’s a lottery,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.
After winning the English championship for the first time in 22 years, Arsenal will still have a celebratory parade on Sunday, but it will be tinged with grief following their loss in Hungary. Luis Enrique picked ten players from the team that defeated Inter Milan 5-0 in the previous year’s championship game, giving PSG the trophy they so desperately wanted.
Twenty years ago, German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off early in Arsenal’s only previous final, and the team lost. At the Puskas Arena, they had a far better start, with Lehmann’s countryman Havertz giving the Gunners the lead after only six minutes.
After Marquinhos’s attempted clearance struck Leandro Trossard and rolled into his path, Havertz—who scored the game-winning goal in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League final victory—could not believe his good fortune. The forward shot into the roof of the net from a tight angle after galloping into free space behind PSG’s defense.
Against a frugal Arsenal team that had given up just six goals en route to the final, PSG had the worst start imaginable. Luis Enrique’s team controlled the ball but was unable to penetrate Arsenal’s defensive stronghold thanks to their methodical defense, which kept the Parisians at bay with perfect ease.
In a desperate attempt to pick Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s pocket, Gabriel—who would go on to become Arsenal’s antagonist—made a superb challenge. The lively Georgian had no space to breathe.
After the break, PSG moved the ball more quickly in an attempt to weaken Arsenal’s defense after being reduced to frustrated long-range pot attempts. Before Kvaratskhelia had a chance, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya stopped a free kick from Achraf Hakimi. Cristhian Mosquera bundled the winger down in the box following his deft one-two with Dembele.
Dembele scored their 45th goal of the competition, matching the all-time record, by sending Raya off with a low penalty to tie the score. As Arsenal faltered, PSG nearly created a fresh one when Kvaratskhelia raced down the left but struck the post, one of numerous opportunities.
When replacement Noni Madueke fell down under pressure from Nuno Mendes during extra time, the Gunners begged for their own penalty, but it would have been unfair to the PSG defender. It was a shootout, and PSG was confident after winning their last five games and taking home three titles on penalties this season.
Eze’s shot went wide as Arsenal blinked first, but Raya then stopped PSG’s Mendes. Declan Rice tied the score at two with a home run. Arsenal defender Gabriel had the fifth kick for his team after Lucas Beraldo gave the Ligue 1 winners a 4-3 lead. Gabriel sent it far over the crossbar to give PSG the trophy.
