Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties to win their second consecutive Champions League title after a tense final in Budapest that featured more grit than flair, cementing their status among the giants of European football.
Paris Saint-Germain won back-to-back Champions League titles by beating Arsenal on penalties in a cagey final that culminated in a dramatic penalty shootout at the Puskas Arena on Saturday.
A year after ripping apart Inter Milan 5-0 with an attacking master class, the Parisians this time found another way to the title after bashing into a solid red wall for 120 minutes.
They did so by fighting back from a goal down against a resilient Arsenal side that successfully smothered their game after opening the score at the first opportunity with a brilliant strike by Kai Harvetz.
Long dismissed as glamorous underachievers despite breaking all spending records, the Parisians have now forged a dynasty under Spanish coach Luis Enrique, marrying attacking brilliance with clinical efficiency to establish themselves as the dominant force in European football.
"It's stronger than last year because we knew before the match just how difficult it would be to play against Arsenal," said Luis Enrique, who has now won three Champions League titles as manager, including one with Barcelona, a feat bettered only by Carlo Ancelotti.
"As a club and a city, it’s incredible to win, and I think we deserved it over the course of the season," he added. "The final was a real battle."
Read morePSG hold on to Champions League title after dramatic shootout win over Arsenal
Eleven days after celebrating their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal were heading for a maiden triumph on Europe's biggest stage after Havertz’s sixth-minute opener and a first hour spent thwarting PSG’s vaunted attack.
The defending champions dominated possession but struggled against a superb Arsenal defence, until Ousmane Dembélé levelled from the penalty spot in the 65th to take the final to extra time for the first time in 10 years.
Lucas Beraldo scored the last of PSG's spot kicks in a dramatic penalty shootout, meaning Gabriel had to convert to take it to sudden death. But he blasted high over the bar to spark celebrations from PSG players and fans inside Puskas Arena.
PSG's armada smothered
After brushing aside Chelsea and Liverpool on their way to the final, PSG were facing a much sterner test against an Arsenal team playing their second Champions League final after losing to Barcelona in 2006.
Mikel Arteta's side took the lead when Marquinhos' clearance bounced off Arsenal's Leandro Trossard into the path of Havertz, who raced into the box and fired into the roof of the net to become the fourth player to score in two different European Cup or Champions League finals with two different clubs.
It was the nightmare scenario for PSG – trailing after six minutes against the best defence in the competition.
Arsenal lived up to their reputation as the best team without the ball and looked perfectly content with the script, doubling up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and suffocating the usual danger brought by the Georgian magician on the left flank.
PSG's Fabian Ruiz was unable to impose his usual rhythm in midfield and, despite monopolising possession for long spells, Luis Enrique’s side struggled to carve out clear-cut chances.
By halftime, PSG had attacked 32 times, Arsenal three times.
Arsenal, however, were flirting with the boundaries with their challenges and Cristhian Mosquera brought down Kvaratskhelia in the area, with Dembélé converting the penalty to level with his eighth goal in the competition.
Momentum shifts
The momentum had shifted.
Jurrien Timber and Viktor Gyokeres replaced Mosquera and Martin Odegaard and Arsenal had a more attacking mindset but were exposed to PSG's counter attacks and at the end of one of them, Kvaratskhelia sped into the box, only for his left-footed effort to crash onto the outside of David Raya's post.
After controlling the tempo in the first half, Arsenal played into PSG's hands as the pace increased significantly, giving too much space to Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola, who replaced the Georgian winger with seven minutes left.
In the 89th minute, PSG came close to giving the final an abrupt end as Vitinha's attempt went just over, grazing the top of the net. Barcola also shot over the bar after a counter attack with what would have been the last kick of the game.
With both teams having run out of steam, extra time was a cautious affair and when referee Daniel Siebert blew his whistle Arsenal had only managed one shot on target.
To a shootout it went, with PSG confident after already claiming three trophies on penalties this season, and winning their last five.
Arsenal blinked first, with Eze firing wide, but Raya then saved from PSG's Mendes. Declan Rice drilled home to level at 2-2.
Eberechi Eze missed his penalty before Raya saved Nuno Mendes' attempt. After Lucas Beraldo put the Ligue 1 winners 4-3 up, Gabriel was left with the fifth kick for his side and his shot went flying over the crossbar, handing the French side the trophy.
(With Reuters, AFP)
