Paris Saint-Germain have successfully defended their UEFA Champions League crown, defeating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a gripping 1-1 draw through 120 minutes of football at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30.
The French giants completed their title defence as they defeated Arsenal in the final.
Arsenal’s bid to win the Champions League for the first time in their 140-year history ended in heartbreak after the penalty shootout defeat.
The Gunners had made a dream start to the final when Kai Havertz found the net in the fifth minute to give them an early advantage.
Five years after he scored the winner in the 2021 final for Chelsea, the German opened the scoring to become the third man to score in Champions League finals for two different clubs.
Arsenal, who had conceded just six goals across 14 matches on their way to the final, quickly retreated into a low block as PSG played a patient game.
The Parisian pressure mounted until Khvicha Kvaratskhelia won a penalty on the hour mark, when he was fouled by Christian Mosquera.
Up stepped Ballon d’Or winner Dembélé to send David Raya the wrong way and bring PSG back into the game.
Kvaratskhelia would have found the lead were it not for Myles Lewis-Skelly deflecting a shot onto the post.
Bradley Barcola could have also won it with the last kick of normal time but put the ball wide as extra time beckoned in Budapest.
Arsenal had a major penalty shout in extra time, dismissed by referee Daniel Siebert, and as both teams took off their star forwards in Bukayo Saka and Dembélé, penalties lay in wait to crown the European champions.
While Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, and Viktor Gyokeres successfully converted their spot-kicks, an earlier miss from Eberechi Eze left Arsenal with no margin for error.
Eze’s missed spot kick was cancelled out by Arsenal’s David Raya saving from Nuno Mendes to keep the shootout all square.
PSG’s penalty takers remained clinical, leaving Gabriel with the monumental task of keeping Arsenal’s hopes alive.
Needing to score the fifth and final penalty to force sudden death, the defender skied his shot over the bar.
Gabriel’s decisive miss sailed over the crossbar, sending the French side into celebration as PSG secured the 4-3 shootout victory.
Luis Enrique has now won the premier European club football trophy for the third time as a manager, having previously lifted it with FC Barcelona in 2015 and last season with PSG.
PSG became just the second team in the Champions League era to successfully defend their title after Real Madrid, who won three in a row between 2016 and 2018.
Marquinhos, Désiré Doué, and Achraf Hakimi all became double European champions as the French capital prepared for another night of celebration under the lights of the Eiffel Tower.
For Arsenal, the heartbreak is immense.
The Gunners had earlier lost 0-2 to Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and now suffer a penalty defeat at the Champions League final.
Mikel Arteta’s side showed tremendous character throughout the tournament, but the dream of a first European Cup in the club’s 140-year history remains unfulfilled.
