The first UCL final to be contested between a French and an English side saw the first blow dealt from north of the Channel, as the red and white end of the Puskás Aréna was sent into pandemonium with just six minutes played.
Marquinhos’ clearance cannoned off Leandro Trossard and fortuitously sent Kai Havertz racing down the left side, before the German cleverly lifted his finish into the roof of the net from a tight angle – his second match opener in UCL finals.
Trusting in a defence that had kept a joint-record nine UCL clean sheets up to this point, Arsenal looked to stand firm and make it a 12th consecutive final in which the first scorers prevailed.
They largely stifled PSG – the tournament’s top marksmen – leading up to the break, with only a pair of off-target Fabián Ruiz attempts and some faint penalty shouts for a potential Bukayo Saka handball to show for their first-half efforts.
A similar trend continued after the break, but the atmosphere turned when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was taken down by Cristhian Mosquera when bursting into the area, leading referee Daniel Siebert to point straight to the spot.
Flares were lit behind the goal as Ballon D’Or holder Ousmane Dembele buried his spot-kick into the bottom-left corner, levelling things up with 25 minutes remaining.
Kvaratskhelia then outlined his intentions to avoid ET by breaking away and having his powerful drive deflected onto the outside of the post by Myles Lewis-Skelly, but even a frantic final five minutes, in which Vitinha whistled an effort onto the roof of the net, couldn’t prevent an extra half-hour.
The first mistake from the spot came when Eberechi Eze placed wide, but David Raya made amends with a brilliant save off Mendes.
But with it level at 3-3 after four penalties each, Lucas Beraldo made no mistake, while Gabriel Magalhães sent his agonisingly over the top.
PSG bounced back from a middling league-phase performance to dominate the knockout stages and score a UCL-record 45 goals in the process, adding Luis Enrique to the illustrious circle of managers to be triumphant in this competition on three separate occasions.
It’s more European disappointment for Arsenal, who have now lost each of their last five finals in continental competition, and remain the side to make the most UCL appearances without ever winning it.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Desire Doue (PSG)
