It certainly wasn’t as entertaining as the 5-4 meeting against Bayern Munich in Paris in the Champions League semifinals, but Paris Saint-Germain reigned victorious in the final against Arsenal in Budapest via a penalty shootout after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. Kai Havertz’s early goal was cancelled out by Ousmane Dembélé‘s second half penalty after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was brought down in the box by Cristhian Mosquera as PSG’s dominance was mounting throughout the second half.
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media would tell you most of the footballing world that doesn’t support Arsenal was on a desperate “hate watch” on Saturday evening due to the nature in which Mikel Arteta often has his side play, but it’s hard to argue that the better side on the night, and on the season, won in Budapest.
Speaking on the Champions League final and the competition as a whole this season, former Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he felt that PSG and Bayern played the most attractive football across Europe, showcased during the semifinal clashes between the two sides. “Paris Saint-Germain were ultimately deserving winners because, together with Bayern Munich, they played the most attractive football of this Champions League season. Football is a game, and it should be enjoyable and bring people joy. PSG did exactly that. In my view, Arsenal missed a huge opportunity yesterday when many of PSG’s star players were no longer on the pitch in the second half of extra time. That was the moment when Arsenal should have pushed harder, and in the end, that is where they lost the match. A penalty shootout is always a lottery, and Arsenal’s players simply needed to hit the target in the end, especially since the PSG goalkeeper appeared to be struggling physically,” Rummenigge explained to Tz’s Philipp Kessler (via @iMiaSanMia).
It was certainly an opportunity missed for Arsenal, though many would argue that they played far too passively after Havertz’s goal so early on that controversially struck Leandro Trossard’s arm in the buildup. Bayern were certainly left to rue missed chances from the semifinals legs they played against Luis Enrique’s side but perhaps offered Arsenal a blueprint as to just how lethal PSG’s attack is and the necessity to be able to negate them to have any chance of beating them.
After over a decade of failing in their project to try to win the Champions League after the Qatari takeover, PSG have now won it in back-to-back season on the heels of, at one point, having all of Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappé in their team.
The Ligue 1 giants have always rostered players with large egos, but what they currently have right now clearly works under Enrique. Rummenigge has taken notice of that sentiment. “The lesson for Bayern Munich is that you don’t have to spend the most money on the transfer market, but that you have to be the smartest. PSG only became truly successful once they evolved from an expensive collection of stars into a genuine team. There’s also no need to constantly orient ourselves to certain English or Spanish clubs. We have an excellent coach, a clear sporting vision, and we should continue down this path with Vincent Kompany in a consistent and determined way. For me, the best and most attractive match of this Champions League season was unquestionably our 5–4 semifinal game in Paris. That was football at its very finest,” he explained.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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