PSG are champions of Europe for the second straight season following their Champions League final win versus Arsenal today. The closely contested match came all the way down to penalties, with a missed Gabriel penalty as the decider for this match.
Mikel Arteta elected to start Kai Havertz up top over the club’s £55 million summer signing Viktor Gyokeres. The choice had an instant payoff as Arsenal struck first, via a 6th-minute Kai Havertz opener. Marquinhos’ botched clearance gave Havertz a clear route to goal, and a tidy finish by the German striker opened the scoring on the night.
While PSG dominated throughout the night, they struggled to create any true chances in the first half. PSG’s goal stemmed from a mistimed tackle by Cristhian Mosquera, leading to a penalty for the French side. Ousmane Dembele took full advantage of the moment and slotted him the penalty in the 65th minute. Once again, PSG struggled to generate many chances following the goal, and Arsenal did not offer much of an offensive threat following their early goal.
After a dull extra time, the match went to penalties. Gonçalo Ramos opened the shootout with a goal, followed by Viktor Gyökeres and Désiré Doué, who both scored their penalties as well. Eberechi Eze was the first player to miss, which was soon followed by a miss from Nuno Mendes. Declan Rice equalized the shootout at 2-2 after three penalties. Achraf Hakimi and Gabriel Martinelli both scored their team’s 4th penalty, and it all came down to the final two kicks of the night. Lucas Beraldo calmly scored PSG’s final penalty before Gabriel missed Arsenal’s final penalty and secured the title for Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG finished the match with 75% possession and 21 total shots. Luis Enrique wins his third Champions League as a manager and second with Paris Saint-Germain.
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