On a festive afternoon at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, Paris Saint-Germain celebrated retaining their honour as ṭhey took home the 2025-26 Champions League title by defeating Arsenal in an exhilarating penalty shootout, winning 4-3 after the match ended 1-1 following extra time. Unlike the previous season, when they dominated Inter Milan with a 5-0 victory to secure their first title, this match was far more challenging for Luis Enrique's squad. Arsenal took an early lead with Kai Havertz scoring just five minutes into the game. PSG struggled to create significant chances during the first half, while Mikel Arteta's side displayed the defensive solidity and organisation that had brought them to this final. The holders managed only one shot on target during this period.
However, remaining faithful to their attacking style, PSG was rewarded when Kvicha Kvaratskhelia earned a penalty, leading to Ousmane Dembélé equalising from the spot in the 64th minute. In normal time, PSG had opportunities to secure the win, while Arsenal were aggrieved when a penalty appeal following a challenge by Nuno Mendes on Noni Madueke was dismissed by the referee in the second period of extra time. Despite Mendes missing his spot-kick in the shootout that followed, PSG did not have any more moments to worry about as they dispatched all other penalties perfectly, while Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães skied his penalty, which became the deciding factor as they clinched the prestigious silverware again.
For years, Paris Saint-Germain chased European greatness with endless investment, superstar signings and crushing heartbreaks. However, they have now won the competition back-to-back to prove they are not simply contenders anymore but have created a dynasty and become one of the super teams the competition has ever seen. The victory cemented PSG’s place among European football’s immortals. More importantly, it signalled the arrival of a new dominant force in the continent’s premier competition. For Arsenal, who won the Premier League just a week ago, it was another teary end to their quest to win this competition, the only trophy missing from their cabinet. It was also their second-ever Champions League final after reaching the 2006 showpiece under Arsene Wenger, losing to Barcelona, having also taken the lead back then.
Here are the records that were set in the Champions League 2025-26 final, which will remain in the memories of both PSG and Arsenal for different reasons:
PSG Join The Great Dynasties
Since the UEFA Champions League was rebranded in 1992/93, only two clubs have successfully defended the title, Real Madrid and now PSG. Real Madrid achieved the feat during their remarkable three-peat under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018. PSG have now followed them by lifting consecutive titles in 2025 and 2026, an achievement that instantly elevates this current generation into historic territory. Their success becomes even more significant when considering the broader European context. PSG are only the third side ever to win both their domestic league title and the European Cup/Champions League in consecutive seasons. The only other clubs to accomplish this feat were Real Madrid in the 1950s and Ajax during the Johan Cruyff era of the early 1970s. The scale of their dominance is perhaps best reflected in the astonishing trophy haul accumulated over the last two seasons. Since the start of the 2025 calendar year, PSG have won eight major honours, more than any other team in that period.
Consistent Performer
PSG are now a team built on continuity with ṭhe French side naming the same 10 outfield players who had started last year’s Champions League final victory against Inter Milan. Only Real Madrid had previously fielded the same ten outfield players in consecutive Champions League finals, doing so in 2017 and 2018. Such continuity is increasingly rare in modern football, where squads constantly evolve due to transfers, tactical changes and financial pressures. PSG instead chose stability, and that trust has transformed them into one of Europe’s most cohesive units. Centre-back William Pacho, their world-class fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, alongside midfielder Vitinha and Balon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, were among the players who received the most minutes in this regularity.
Legacy Etched
At the heart of PSG building an empire in Europe’s premier club competition is their star manager, Luis Enrique, whose achievement cannot be overstated. The Spaniard has now won three Champions League titles as a manager, moving level with Bob Paisley, Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane. Only Carlo Ancelotti, with five titles, remains ahead of him in the all-time rankings. More remarkably, Enrique has become the first Spanish manager since José Villalonga in the 1950s to win consecutive European Cups and the first since Guardiola to win it three times. Statistically, Enrique also boasts the highest win percentage of any manager with at least 50 Champions League matches, standing at an extraordinary 63.3%.
Running the Show
If there was one player who embodied PSG’s control, it was Vitinha. The Portuguese midfielder delivered one of the greatest individual performances ever seen in a Champions League final and deservedly walked away with the Player of the Match award. Vitinha completed 141 passes against Arsenal, equalling Xavi’s record for the most completed passes in a Champions League final, set against Manchester United in 2011. His overall numbers were staggering as he took 162 touches, maintained a 94% pass accuracy, 13 final-third entries, four shots in the game and three chances created. Vitinha has now completed 1,589 passes in this Champions League campaign and recorded 100 or more completed passes in nine different matches. The only other player to achieve that feat in a single campaign was the Barcelona icon during his club’s sensational 2010/11 season.
Kvaradona
While Vitinha controlled the rhythm, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia supplied the chaos. The Georgian winger produced one of the finest knockout campaigns in recent Champions League history. Across the knockout rounds alone, he recorded ten goal contributions, seven goals and three assists, the highest tally by any player in this season’s competition. Incredibly, that equals Lionel Messi’s best-ever goal contribution tally in a Champions League knockout campaign. Overall, Kvaratskhelia finished the 2025/26 Champions League season with 17 goal contributions, making him the competition’s most productive attacking player. The former Napoli man won that crucial penalty for the PSG equaliser, while his constant movement and incisiveness proved a handful for Arsenal's defence.
Class Act
In the biggest stage of all, Ousmane Dembélé delivered once again. The French forward sent the joint-most clean sheet holder in a season, David Raya, the wrong way from the spot to get his much-awaited goal in the Champions League final after strikingly not being among the goal scorers in the 5-0 title triumph last year. His penalty conversion in the final also means he has now scored 16 Champions League goals across two seasons, netting in every round of the competition. For years, Dembélé’s immense talent was overshadowed by injuries and inconsistency. Under Luis Enrique, however, he has rediscovered both confidence and efficiency. His movement stretched Arsenal repeatedly, while his composure in decisive moments highlighted his evolution from unpredictable winger into elite match-winner.
Agony Continues
For Arsenal, this final added another painful chapter to their complicated relationship with the Champions League. The Gunners have now played more matches in European Cup/Champions League history than any other club without ever winning the competition, with 226 games. Even more cruelly, Arsenal became the first team in Champions League history to complete an unbeaten campaign without lifting the trophy. Twelve teams before them had gone unbeaten and won the competition, including three English teams with Liverpool and Manchester United doing it twice, while the last team from the nation to do it was Manchester City in 2023. The most recent team to achieve the record was Real Madrid in 2024.
Solid Runners-up
Despite not getting their hands on the trophy that could have helped them complete a historical double, Arsenal’s campaign deserved admiration. Mikel Arteta’s side were behind for only 43 minutes across the entire competition, illustrating how organised and defensively resilient they had become. The final itself highlighted both Arsenal’s discipline and probably being the best side in the world without the ball, averaging just 24.7% possession, the lowest ever recorded by a team in a Champions League final since 2003/04, holding a free-scoring side like PSG for vast swaths of the showpiece. This was also Arsenal’s 63rd match of the season, more than any other club from Europe’s top five leagues. The cumulative workload became increasingly evident as the game progressed into extra time. The disparity in league minutes played by the starting elevens was remarkable as PSG's starting XI received 15,377 minutes this season, while that of Arsenal was 21,458 minutes. They did not lose a single game in normal or extra time throughout the tournament, yet left empty-handed.
Havertz History
Although Arsenal fell short collectively, Kai Havertz etched his name into Champions League history. By scoring in the final, Havertz became only the fourth player ever to score for two different clubs in European Cup/Champions League finals, joining the likes of Velibor Vasovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mario Mandzukic. He became only the second player to start for two different English clubs in the Champions League final after Ashley Cole, also for Chelsea and Arsenal, while he became the first player to score for multiple clubs from the nation in the competition’s final. Havertz is also only the second Arsenal player ever to score in a Champions League final after Sol Campbell in 2006. Already remembered for scoring Chelsea’s winning goal in the 2021 final, the German once again delivered on the biggest stage.
A Final Worthy Of The Occasion
Beyond individual records, the match itself delivered a memorable spectacle. This was the first Champions League final since 2016 to require extra time and only the 12th to be decided by penalties. It was also the first final since 2018 in which both teams scored, ending a recent trend of low-scoring title deciders. Historically, the occasion carried another unique distinction. The meeting between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal became just the fourth European Cup or Champions League final contested between clubs representing different capital cities, PSG of Paris and Arsenal from London. The previous examples are Benfica vs Real Madrid (1962), Real Madrid vs Partizan Belgrade (1966) and Ajax vs Panathinaikos (1971).
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