Paris Saint-Germain retained the UEFA Champions League with a 4-3 penalty-shootout win over Arsenal in Budapest, becoming only the second club to defend the trophy in the Champions League era and the tenth to win consecutive European titles in the competition’s 71-year history.
The final ended 1-1 after extra time before the French champions held their nerve from the spot, backing up their 5-0 win over Inter Milan in Munich 12 months ago. They are the first side to successfully defend the title since Real Madrid’s 2016–2018 three-peat.
“I’m mixed. Excitement, fatigue — everything. But this is the best moment of the season. We are still champs, two in a row, it’s amazing,” coach Luis Enrique told the BBC. The Spaniard, in his third year at the club, joins Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane as the only managers to win three Champions League/European Cup titles.
All ten of PSG’s outfield starters were the same eleven who started the Munich final last year — only goalkeeper Matvey Safonov was new, after Gianluigi Donnarumma joined Manchester City last summer. The team scored 45 goals across this season’s campaign, equalling Barcelona’s 1999-2000 record for the most in a single edition, with NewsFirst noting that the back-to-back run cements PSG’s status alongside European football’s greatest sides.
Since the start of last season, Luis Enrique’s PSG have won eight of the ten trophies available to them. They could become only the fifth side ever to win three successive Champions League/European Cup titles next season, although Real Madrid’s record of five in a row between 1956 and 1960 still stands.
