Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique described his team’s second UEFA Champions League triumph as “even bigger” than their maiden European title a year ago, after the French club edged Arsenal on penalties in a tense final on Saturday.
“It is even bigger because we knew of the difficulties of playing against Arsenal, and for us as a team and a city it is incredible to win it,” the Spaniard told broadcaster Canal Plus amid on-pitch celebrations at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
PSG won 4-3 on penalties after recovering from conceding an early goal to draw 1-1 over 90 minutes and extra time.
Kai Havertz blasted English Premier League champions Arsenal into a sixth-minute lead in the Hungarian capital but PSG got a deserved equaliser when Ousmane Dembele converted a 65th-minute penalty following a foul on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Kvaratskhelia later had a shot deflected onto the post as Arsenal held on for extra time and then penalties.
Nuno Mendes was the only Paris player out of five to fail to score during the shootout, while Eberechi Eze had already missed for Arsenal before Gabriel blasted over with their last attempt.
“I think we have deserved it over the course of the season even if the final was really close-fought,” added Luis Enrique, as PSG become the first team since Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018 to retain the Champions League trophy.
Having previously led Barcelona to the title in 2015, Luis Enrique becomes just the fifth manager to win three European Cups, after Carlo Ancelotti, Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola.
The Qatar-backed outfit won European club football’s biggest prize for the first time in their history last year with a 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich.
“It is a different emotion this time, it is incredible that we have done it back to back,” said captain Marquinhos, who has been at PSG since 2013.
FIVE TROPHIES
“We showed how much we wanted it. The coach said right at the start of the season that it is hard to win it, but it is even harder to win it twice.
“That was the objective for us and that was the mentality we showed today.”
The first Champions League final in a decade to go to penalties saw a team win having conceded the first goal for the first time since 2014.
“It is exceptional, it’s a great night. We have worked hard this season in order to do the ‘back-to-back’. It is magnificent. We are so pleased and we will savour this tonight,” said Dembele, the Ballon d’Or holder whose strike on the night sees him end the season with 20 goals in total.
“It was difficult. But the whole season has been difficult. We had to deal with a lot of things but in the end we have won another Champions League and we are all delighted,” added the forward.
He will now join up with the France squad for the World Cup in North America, saying that the fitness problem which forced him off at the end of normal time was only cramp.
PSG had already won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Intercontinental Cup and French Champions Trophy this season on penalties.
They end the campaign with five trophies altogether, having also won the French Ligue 1 title.
Saturday’s victory means they will begin next season by playing Europa League winners Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup in the Austrian city of Salzburg on August 12.
