Paris Saint-Germain underlined their pedigree as one of modern football's great sides by retaining the Champions League title on Saturday night – and boss Luis Enrique believes they can go one step further.
Their 4-3 win on penalties over Arsenal following a 1-1 draw in the final in Budapest backed up their 5-0 win over Inter Milan in Munich 12 months ago.
In doing so, they became the first side to defend the crown since Real Madrid's three-peat between 2016 and 2018, and only the second to do it since 1993 and the start of the Champions League era. Only 10 clubs have managed the feat in the competition's 71-year history.
“I'm mixed,” Luis Enrique told the BBC after the game. “Excitement, fatigue – everything. But this is the best moment of the season. We are still champs, two in a row, it's amazing.”
Asked about winning a third title, he told TNT Sports: “We try to be there again next year. Why not? When you have a lot of quality players ... we still need to renew the squad. We need to have players for the position, get new players, and that is normal for a team like PSG.
“It's amazing. I think maybe both teams deserved to win, but the way we played the whole season, I think we deserved to win it.”
Faith in Luis Enrique has paid off
There was a time when PSG were a punchline in the Champions League. The Qatar-backed club were like the Harlem Globetrotters of football with Neymar and Lionel Messi among the headline acts but they always fell short in the Champions League.
The competition became a holy grail for the club but was always out of reach with their superstar team lacking the cohesion and gumption when the competition intensified in its closing stages.
That all changed under Luis Enrique. The Spanish manager tore up the plan and the departure of Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid appears to have been a turning point for the club.
PSG Beat Arsenal - in pictures
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Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain lifts the Uefa Champions League trophy after his team's victory over Arsenal in the final at Puskas Arena in Budapest. Getty Images -
PSG captain Marquinhos, right, prepares to lift the Champions League trophy with teammates after their penalty shoot-out win over Arsenal. Getty Images -
PSG players celebrate winning the shoot-out 4-3 after the match had finished 1-1 after extra-time. AFP -
PSG players Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrate after defeating Arsenal in the Uefa Champions League final. Getty Images -
PSG coach Luis Enrique celebrates after winning the Champions League. Reuters -
PSG's Brazilian captain Marquinhos consoles his countryman Gabriel Magalhaes after he missed the crucial spot-kick for Arsenal. EPA -
Gabriel of Arsenal misses from the spot in the shoot-out to hand PSG victory in the final. Getty Images -
Paris Saint-Germain attacker Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring to make it 1-1. PA -
Ousmane Dembele scores from the spot for PSG. Getty Images -
PSG substitute Bradley Barcola misses a chance. Getty Images -
PSG players celebrate after Ousmane Dembele, left, scored from the spot. AFP -
PSG's Ousmane Dembele sends Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya the wrong way to score a penalty in the 65th minute. PA -
PSG winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is fouled by Cristhian Mosquera of Arsenal which results in a penalty being given. Getty Images -
Kai Havertz fires Arsenal into an early lead. Getty Images -
Kai Havertz of Arsenal celebrates after scoring in the sixth minute. Getty Images -
Arsenal's Declan Rice and Vitinha of PSG battle for possession. EPA -
Referee Daniel Siebert shows a yellow card to Arsenal's Cristhian Mosquera for time-wasting. PA -
PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov gets his hand to ball ahead of Arsenal's Leandro Trossard. Getty Images -
Kai Havertz thunders a shot into the roof of the net to put Arsenal 1-0 up. Getty Images
A viral video from the 2023/24 season of the PSG boss attempting to inspire a nonplussed Mbappe to run more and work for the team hasn't aged well for the striker but was instructive as to what the manager was trying to achieve.
By investing in young, talented players and curbing the obsession with star names, PSG have helped realise his vision.
“Legend? I'm not interested in that,” the Spanish boss told the BBC. The PSG fans will beg to differ. With three Champions Leagues, including one with Barcelona (2015), only Carlo Ancelotti (five) has more.
Pain will fuel Arsenal
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admitted defeat was “very tough to accept” – and claimed his side could “easily” have been awarded a decisive extra-time penalty.
With the game in the balance, Noni Madueke was bundled over by Nuno Mendes. However, referee Daniel Siebert waved away Arsenal’s appeals and the VAR took no action. Arteta and Declan Rice were both booked for protesting in the aftermath.
And when Arteta was asked to explain his emotions, he said: “Pain. It is very tough to accept when you are so consistent all the way to the final and in the end you lose the trophy on penalties.”
Reflecting on the decision not to award his side a spot-kick in the closing moments of the first half of extra time, he added: “I watched all the penalties in the competition in the last 72 hours to understand what a penalty is and what is not, and that easily can be a penalty.
“But it is if, if, if ... It is not what happened. We need to do better, we have to improve and find different margins to get the outcome that we want.”
In the shoot-out, Eberechi Eze dragged his spot-kick wide before David Raya provided Arsenal with a lifeline when he saved from Mendes. Lucas Beraldo then sent Raya the wrong way before defender Gabriel, quite possibly Arsenal’s best player on the night, blazed over and Arsenal’s dreams of following up their Premier League title with a first Champions League triumph came to a crushing end.
Arteta continued: “He (Gabriel) wanted to take the fifth penalty. We have prepared and trained for this moment. Normally the penalty takers would be (the already substituted) Bukayo (Saka), Martin (Odegaard) and Kai (Havertz), and we knew that if it goes to extra time, the penalty takers would be different players.
“In training, [Eze] doesn’t miss any penalties. But then you have to do it in this moment. And we’ve been unfortunate not to have the same precision and efficiency that PSG had and that’s the reason that we haven’t won it.”
On Sunday, Arsenal will stage an open-top bus parade in London to mark their first Premier League title in 22 years.
And Arteta concluded: “First of all you have to go through that pain, digest it and turn it into fuel to improve and to reach a different level because it will demand a different level with the quality that is around Europe.
“I want to congratulate PSG, Luis (Enrique) in particular, because they are, in my opinion, the best team in the world.”
