PSG retain the Champions League, beating Arsenal on penalties in Budapest
Paris Saint-Germain are champions of Europe again. Luis Enrique's side beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on Saturday, the shootout settling a final that finished 1-1 after extra time and made PSG the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid's run almost a decade ago.
Havertz strikes early, Dembele levels
Arsenal could not have asked for a better start. Kai Havertz put them in front inside the opening six minutes, and for the best part of an hour Mikel Arteta's team carried the lead and the better of the chances. A first European title looked closer than it had at any point in the club's history.
PSG needed a moment to drag themselves back into it, and they got one in the 65th minute. A penalty went their way, Ousmane Dembele stepped up, and he made no mistake to bring it level at 1-1. From there the final tightened into the kind of cagey, nervous contest that neither side wanted to lose by doing something rash. Ninety minutes brought no winner. Neither did extra time.
Gabriel's miss decides the shootout
The shootout swung on the finest of margins. PSG held their nerve from twelve yards to keep edging in front, and in the end the pressure told on Arsenal. Gabriel Magalhaes had the chance to keep his side breathing but skied his effort high over the bar, and that was that. PSG had their 4-3 win and a second straight Champions League crown. Vitinha, who ran the midfield for long stretches, was named player of the match.
A repeat for PSG, more waiting for Arsenal
Retaining this trophy is rare air. No club had managed it since Real Madrid won three in a row between 2016 and 2018, and PSG have now backed up last season's breakthrough with a successful defence. A club that spent years being measured against this one competition has now won it twice running, which reads like a different kind of statement.
For Arsenal, the wait goes on. This was only the second Champions League final in the club's history, after the 2006 defeat to Barcelona, and to lose it on penalties having led inside six minutes will sting for a long time. Arteta has built a team good enough to reach the last day of the European season. Turning that into silverware is the part that still eludes them.
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