We had never before experienced a penalty shootout in a Champions League final… around 9:00 p.m. It had not yet gotten dark and the biggest title in existence at the club level was decided from the eleven meters. It was the time that UEFA chose to crown what is clearly the new King of Europe. The monarch that everyone will want to dethrone next season. The new dynasty that rules in Europe.
Luis Enrique’s PSG won their second consecutive Champions League in Hungary… the second in their history. Both under the command of ‘Lucho’. And the Parisians, who have finally made a multimillion-dollar project that began a decade and a half ago viable, do the most difficult thing: win, win… and win again. Since Real Madrid (2018), a champion has not repeated the title. Now it’s their turn to try to replicate what Zidane led: win three in a row.
The artist.
The artist is Luis Enrique. The Asturian coach won his third Champions League (one with Barcelona, two with PSG) and joins the select list of coaches with three or more European Cups: Bob Paisley (Liverpool 1977, 1978, 1981), Zinédine Zidane (Real Madrid 2016, 2017, 2018) and Pep Guardiola (Barcelona 2009, 2011; Manchester City 2023) are the only ones with three. Ahead, with five, the king: Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan 2003, 2007; Real Madrid 2014, 2022, 2024).
Incognito.
Special agent ‘Champions finals’. That’s Kai Havertz. The only player from this Arsenal who had played in a European Cup final before Budapest was the one who scored 0-1. The German already decided a Champions League with his 0-1 against Manchester City in Do Dragao… when he was a Chelsea player. And although his level in England surely never reached the levels expected after his departure from Leverkusen, this season he has only scored important goals: against Sporting CP in Lisbon and, precisely, against his former Bayer players in Germany. Only three players have scored in a Champions League final for two different teams: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Real Madrid), Mario Mandžukić (Juventus and Bayern Munich)… and Kai Havertz (Chelsea and Arsenal).
Earth, swallow me.
It was a monumental game by Gabriel Magalhaes… and, however, he will remain in memory as the player who missed the decisive penalty and made PSG champions of the Champions League. The Brazilian, who will be in the World Cup, led a defense that, until Mosquera’s penalty, very successfully resisted the attacks of the best attack in Europe (PSG had 44 goals in the Champions League). For some reason, Arsenal had only conceded six goals in 14 Champions League games this 2025-26. And in Arteta’s compact defensive system, with four centre-backs (Hincapie-Mosquera on the wings), Gabriel excelled: 15 clearances, 100% of tackles won or 100% of duels won. However, after a great season, fate had a bad move in store for him: sky-high penalties… and PSG, champion.
The data.
The Puskás Aréna in Budapest saw the first extra time in a Champions League final (and some penalties) since the 2015-16 season, when Real Madrid beat Atlético from 11 meters at the San Siro. It was not the only notable fact that the match left: Ousmane Dembélé, current Ballon d’Or winner, scored. The seventh capable of doing so while ‘defending’ the crown: he joins Alfredo Di Stéfano (1958, 1960), Johan Cryuff (1972), Michel Platini (1985), Marco van Basten (1989), Lionel Messi (2011) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2014, 2017).
