Paris Saint-Germain claimed back-to-back Champions League triumphs with a 4-3 shootout win over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw after extra time on Saturday, with Eberechi Eze and Gabriel missing from the spot.
Mikel Arteta’s Premier League champions showed great resilience to take the game beyond 120 minutes in Budapest, but fell to a second final defeat, 20 years after their first against Barcelona in 2006.
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Luis Enrique’s side became only the second besides Real Madrid to win the competition in consecutive years in the Champions League era.
“We are so, so proud, so happy, so grateful,” PSG winger Desire Doue told TNT Sports.
“As a team, as a family, I think we deserve that… look at the fans, we are so happy.”
PSG’s first triumph was 55 years in the making, 14 of those under Qatari ownership, the second could start what they hope is a period of dominance and dynasty-building.
“It was Real Madrid and now it’s us too,” PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz told Movistar.
“They defended all through the game and football is fair… today the right team won.”
Luis Enrique rebuilt the team swiftly and efficiently, removing the club’s superstars and building a cohesive and committed attacking side, capable of shredding opposition with terrifying pace.
It was the Spaniard’s third Champions League triumph, making him one of only five coaches to complete a hat-trick — the first coming with Barcelona in 2015.
For a while it looked unlikely as Kai Havertz powered Arsenal ahead after six minutes but Ousmane Dembele’s penalty midway through the second half took a tight game to extra time and ultimately spot-kicks.
“It’s gutting, it’s devastating to lose the Champions League final on penalties,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.
“Giving it absolutely everything up until this point, we took the game to penalties and it’s a lottery.”
He added: “The emotions and the stakes are so high. It’s cruel.
“This is only the start for us. We got over the line in the Premier League, this would’ve been one step further, but it wasn’t to be.
“We keep building… this isn’t going to define us.”
Arsenal will still have a victory parade on Sunday after landing the English title for the first time in 22 years, but it will be tinged with regret after defeat in Hungary.
“Everyone is really disappointed. When you are that close to winning, it is really tough to take,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said.
“At the same time we know what we have done this season and we’ve achieved something incredible and we were so close to doing even better today.
“So we have to see the bigger picture and remember all the good stuff as well.
“I felt like we controlled the game after getting the first goal. They had the ball a lot but they didn’t create too many chances.
“In the end penalties is a tough way to lose.”
Luis Enrique selected 10 of the side which demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in last year’s final as PSG finally lifted the trophy they so badly craved.
In Arsenal’s only prior final 20 years ago German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off in the opening stages as they were defeated.
They got off to a far better start at the Puskas Arena, with Lehmann’s compatriot Havertz firing the Gunners ahead after just six minutes.
Havertz, who scored the winning goal in Chelsea’s 2021 Champions League final victory, could not believe his luck after Marquinhos’s attempted clearance hit Leandro Trossard and bounced into his path.
The forward galloped into open space behind PSG’s defence and from a tight angle rifled into the roof of the net.
It was the worst possible start for PSG against a miserly Arsenal side who had conceded just six goals on the run to the final.
Their disciplined defending kept the Parisians at bay with consummate ease, as Luis Enrique’s side controlled the ball but could not break through Arsenal’s defensive bastion.
Gabriel, who later turned Arsenal’s villain, made an excellent last-ditch challenge to pick Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s pocket. The dynamic Georgian was not allowed room to breathe.
– Fighting back –
PSG were reduced to frustrated pot-shots from distance and after the break moved the ball quicker to try and destabilise Arsenal’s rearguard.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya saved from Achraf Hakimi’s bouncing free-kick before Kvaratskhelia finally had his say. After the winger’s slick one-two with Dembele, Cristhian Mosquera bundled him down in the box with a clumsy foul.
Dembele sent Raya the wrong way with a low penalty to level — their 45th goal of the competition, matching the all-time record.
PSG almost set a new one when Kvaratskhelia hurtled down the left but hit the post, one of several chances for the French side as Arsenal tired.
In extra-time the Gunners pleaded for a penalty of their own when substitute Noni Madueke went down under pressure from Nuno Mendes, but it would have been harsh on the PSG defender whom the winger was pulling.
To a shootout it went, with PSG confident after already claiming three trophies on penalties this season, and winning their last five. They also took the first spot-kick, and at the end in front of their own supporters.
Arsenal blinked first, with Eze firing wide but Raya then saved from PSG’s Mendes. Declan Rice drilled home to level at 2-2.
After Lucas Beraldo put the Ligue 1 winners 4-3 up, Arsenal defender Gabriel was left with the fifth kick for his side and lashed it high over the crossbar to hand PSG the trophy.
“It is our job to pick them up now,” Odegaard said of Gabriel and Eze.
“We know what they have given to this team this season and we wouldn’t be here without them.
“That is a part of football, that is a part of life, it is our job to pick them – and everyone else – up and make sure we come back even better next season.”
Speaking on BBC Sport, former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said: “For (Gabriel) to be the one who misses the penalty that costs them the Champions League final is heartbreaking.
“But I think everyone will rally around him because Arsenal would not have won the Premier League without him. He has been invaluable and, quite rightly, is in the conversation for PFA Player of the Year.
“The pressure is always there in a shootout. You can practice penalties in training, but in a Champions League final you can never truly prepare for that moment. Unfortunately, he has experienced what every player dreads – missing the penalty that decides a final.”
Former Arsenal defender Matt Upson added: “It’s one of those moments that will be remembered for years, a cruel blow for a player who has been a tower of strength for Arsenal.
“Gabriel gave everything for his team. He showed the mentality and courage to step forward and take responsibility, which is all you can ask of any player.
“It is desperately sad for him, but he strikes me as someone who will recover quickly and use it as motivation. He still has a huge summer ahead with Brazil.”
Elsewhere, Chelsea copped some backlash after seemingly taunting Arsenal in a social media post, calling themselves “London’s Home of Trophies”.
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