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Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned champions of Europe for the second consecutive season after defeating Arsenal in a dramatic penalty shootout to win the Champions League final.

Both sides entered the contest as reigning champions of their respective domestic leagues, and the match itself reflected that parity, with neither team able to fully dominate proceedings.

Kai Havertz gave Arsenal an early lead with a powerful strike from the left flank, but PSG levelled the score in the second half through an Ousmane Dembele penalty.

After extra time failed to separate the two teams, the final went to penalties, where PSG edged out Arsenal 4-3. Gabriel Magalhaes’ missed spot-kick proved decisive after both sides had already failed to convert one penalty each.

– PSG fielded the same 10 outfield players in their starting XI in both this year’s and last year’s Champions League finals. This marks only the second time in tournament history that such consistency has occurred, the first being Real Madrid in 2017 and 2018.

– Dembele’s goal saw PSG equal the record for the most goals scored by a club in a single Champions League campaign. Their tally of 45 goals this season matches Barcelona’s record from the 1999-00 season.

– PSG’s 75.3% possession in the final is the highest ever recorded in a Champions League final since data collection began.

– This was the first Champions League final in a decade to require both extra time and a penalty shootout to determine the winner.

– Arsenal became the first English club ever to lose a Champions League or European Cup final penalty shootout to a non-English side. The only other English team to have lost a Champions League final on penalties was Chelsea, against fellow Premier League side Manchester United in 2008.

– Luis Enrique is the first manager since Zinedine Zidane with Real Madrid (2016, 2017, and 2018) to win consecutive Champions League titles.

– With this victory, Enrique joins Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane, and Pep Guardiola in second place for the most European Cup/Champions League triumphs by a manager, each with three. Carlo Ancelotti remains at the top with five titles.

– PSG have become the first club in the Champions League era to win both the tournament and their domestic league in consecutive seasons. Only two clubs achieved this feat during the European Cup era: Real Madrid (1956-57 and 1957-58) and Ajax (1971-72 and 1972-73).

– PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safanov remarkably did not make a single save throughout the match or in the penalty shootout.

– Arsenal were trailing for only 42 minutes and 48 seconds across their entire Champions League campaign — the least amount of time of any team this season.

– From the end of the first half until the conclusion of extra time, Arsenal generated just 0.01 expected goals (xG).

– Kai Havertz became the ninth player to score in multiple Champions League finals and only the third, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic, to do so for two different clubs. Havertz previously scored in the 2021 final for Chelsea, Ronaldo netted for Manchester United and Real Madrid, while Mandzukic did so for Bayern Munich and Juventus.

– Myles Lewis-Skelly, at 19 years and 246 days, became the second-youngest English player ever to start a Champions League final. The youngest remains Trent Alexander-Arnold, who started for Liverpool in 2018 at 19 years and 231 days.

– This season marked Arsenal’s busiest campaign in 46 years, with the club playing 63 matches in total. Their previous busiest season was 1979-80, when they played 70 games.

– Arsenal continue to hold the unenviable record for the most Champions League or European Cup appearances without ever winning the competition. This final was their 266th match in the tournament, and their pursuit of the title continues.