Paris St Germain retained the UEFA Champions League (UCL) title by beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties on Saturday after the game ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French side’s status among Europe’s modern greats.
Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonov’s crossbar at the Puskas Arena.
His miss confirmed PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.
The game, played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, saw Arsenal taking the lead in the sixth minute through Kai Havertz.
The German lashed on a shot past PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov.
PSG found it difficult to get an equaliser as Arsenal’s defence remained rock solid.
But the defending champions were gifted the equaliser when Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskelia in the box.
Ousmane Dembele buried the resulting penalty in the 65th minute.
Both teams couldn’t find the winner for the rest of the 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, leading the tie to a penalty shootout.
PSG came out top in the shootouts with only Nuno Mendez failing to score, while Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhães missed their kicks for Arsenal.
With the win, PSG now joins the list of clubs that have won the Champions League back-to-back.
Reuters/NAN.
