PSG's team of talents retain Champions League title
Paris Saint-Germain were unable to score from open play against a resilient Arsenal but won their second successive title on penalties. Luis Enrique has built
Paris Saint-Germain were unable to score from open play against a resilient Arsenal but won their second successive title on penalties. Luis Enrique has built a team to be proud of at the oil-rich club. As Paris Saint-Germain tightened the screws on Arsenal over two absorbing hours, the drums in the crowd behind the goal matched their relentless intensity. It was enough to push PSG past Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after the Champions League final in Budapest ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday. Players, crowd and coach — PSG are a club united. "Today, we can say we are the best in Europe. We take pleasure in playing with this group. We're all humble, and that makes you want to give more. But we just want to celebrate with the people of Paris," said Vitinha, PSG's Portuguese midfielder who was named man of the match. Arsenal's own brand of collective will dragged the Qatari-owned Parisians to penalties, but the English side will carry over their quest for a first Champions League into next season. PSG, however, have become just the second club, after Real Madrid, to retain the Champions League since it was rebranded in 1992. For all that Luis Enrique's side possesses, sublime attacking talent, smart, physical defenders and nimble, creative midfielders, it is perhaps the Spanish coach's greatest feat that this is a team in the truest sense. "If the stars are at the service of the team, there is preparation and we can play football.
That is our essence," is how Enrique summed it up earlier in the campaign. And while world player of the year, Ousmane Dembele, scored the 65th minute equalizer from the penalty spot after Kai Havertz' opener, he and the other stars play for PSG and not themselves. "We follow him; we trust him," Moroccan fullback Achraf Hakimi said of Enrique. "From day one, he has shown us that the team is more important than any individual player. We're not just a team—we're a family." Enrique reaps rewards of emphasizing the collective That wasn't always the case at the French champions, who are owned by the Qatari state. Their famous former forward line of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe dazzled in moments but often skipped their defensive duties. Unlike PSG's 5-0 mauling of Inter in last season's final, Saturday's matchin Budapest was a tense contest of contrasting styles. PSG dominated the ball. They completed 837 passes to Arsenal's 199. "They are really difficult to play against," Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said. "That's why they are champions two times in a row. And the individual quality they have, the manner of their coach. They are a top, top team." But Arsenal found delight in denying them the room to make that possession count and sought opportunities on the break or from set pieces. Havertz finding form but frustrated It was from the former that they went ahead in the sixth minute. The final's only German player, Havertz, raced on to a block from teammate Leandro Trossard.
The BriefWire