PSG 1-1 Arsenal (4-3 on pens) 

©TM/IMAGO

PSG have made Champions League history by winning the trophy for a second season in a row after defeating Arsenal in a tense penalty shootout. The French champions completed a historic treble after winning 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of play.

The French giants have etched their name in the record books, becoming only the second team to retain the Champions League crown since the competition was founded in 1992. Only Real Madrid, who won three consecutive Champions Leagues between 2015 and 2018 under Zinedine Zidane, have managed to hang onto their silverware. They made tougher work of it this time around, having demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2024/25 final.

Head coach Luis Enrique also joined the exclusive club of elite coaches including Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola by winning his third Champions League trophy, having done so with Barcelona in 2014/15 and PSG last year. As for Mikel Arteta, he fell short in his bid to become the first Arsenal coach to lift the trophy in the club’s history, with Arsene Wenger also losing in the final in 2005/06 with a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.

2025/26 Champions League final – As it happened

The final got off to a flying start as, with their first attack, Arsenal stunned the Parisian faithful into silence through Kai Havertz, who has now scored in both of his Champions League final appearances after scoring for Chelsea against Manchester City in 2020/21. The 25-year-old is the only German player to score in two different finals and the second player to score two goals in finals after Karl-Heinz Riedle, who bagged twice in the 1996/97 edition for Borussia Dortmund.

But PSG came roaring back in the second half and when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was fouled by Cristhian Mosquera in the penalty area and Ousmane Dembélé scored from the spot to take the game to extra-time. As the game went to a penalty shootout, Lucas Beraldo was the hero after he put PSG 4-3 and Gabriel missed from the spot. It means Luis Enrique has become only the ninth coach in history to win three European titles.

Other teams to have won back-to-back European Cups

Real Madrid
Winners: Champions League 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18

Real Madrid’s history-making run over the course of three seasons firmly entrenched Zinedine Zidane into the coaches Hall of Fame. Yet the LaLiga giants were hardly dominant on the pitch, just incredibly efficient and clinical in front of goal. They overcame city rivals Atletico Madrid in 2015/16, then came from behind to thrash Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff before Gareth Bale’s wonderful overhead kick downed Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv 2018.

AC Milan
Winners: European Cup 1988/89, 1989/90

Arrigo Sacchi’s side were a deadly force, combining defensive strength and athletic pressing to turn Milan into the most dominant team in Italy and Europe. The Rossoneri were spearheaded by Dutch superstars Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, who each scored twice as they brushed aside 1985/86 winners Steaua Bucharest 4-0 at Camp Nou in 1989. The following year proved to be a tougher clash but Frank Rijkaard’s goal from the halfway line was enough to beat Benfica.

Nottingham Forest
Winners: European Cup 1978/79 & 1979/80

Brian Clough performed miracles at the City Ground when he not only guided Forest to Division One success in 1977/78, but took them to the dizzy heights of retaining their European Cup crown between 1978 and 1980. Trevor Francis was the only goalscorer in a 1-0 win over Swedish outfit Malmo in the 1979 edition, and then John Robertson repeated that achievement against Hamburg the following year.

Liverpool
Winners: European Cup 1976/77, 1977/78

Forest picked up where Liverpool left off as far as European success goes. In six seasons of English domination, Liverpool began that run in 1976/77 when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in the final. Bob Paisley’s men retained their title when Kenny Dalglish’s second-half goal saw off Club Brugge at Wembley a year later. They have gone on to add another two Champions Leagues to make it six European Cups in total, the most of any English team.

Bayern Munich
Winners: European Cup 1973/74, 1974/75, 1975/76

Bayern Munich, captained by Franz Beckenbauer and starring German icons such as Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness, won three in a row from 1973 to 1976. In the days of finals replayed, they beat Atletico Madrid in the second edition in a 4-0 thumping of their Spanish opponents, with a 2-0 win over Leeds a year later. And they completed the hat-trick when Franz Roth netted the only goal at Hampden Park against Saint-Etienne in 1976.

Ajax
Winners: European Cup 1970/71, 1971/72, 1972/73

The indomitable Johan Cryuff led Ajax to a period of utter domination from 1970 to 1973 as they won three finals without conceding a goal. They first beat Panathinaikos 2-0 in 1971 at Wembley before Inter Milan suffered defeat by the same scoreline the following year. And against Juventus the next year, Ajax triumphed 1-0 in Belgrade to seal the three-peat.

Inter Milan
Winners: European Cup 1963/64, 1964/65

Most remember Jose Mourinho’s Champions League triumph as part of the unprecedented treble in 2009/10, but Helenio Herrera’s side planted the seed 45 years earlier. Not only did they beat the much-fancied Real Madrid, Herrera’s excellent team defeated Benfica too the following year on their home turf at the San Siro.

Benfica
Winners: European Cup 1960/61, 1961/62

Bela Guttmann’s Benfica fought from a goal down to beat Barcelona 3-2 in 1961 before stunning Real Madrid the following year, with Eusebio’s brilliance making the difference. They have since played five European Cup finals without success, as well as losing three times in the UEFA Cup/Europa League.

Real Madrid
Winners: European Cup 1955/56, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60

No team has achieved what Real Madrid did between 1955 and 1960, where European success became an expectation rather than a desire for the Spanish giants. With 14 titles overall, five of them came in the first five seasons of the competition’s existance before Benfica broke the mold. And it’s no surprise considering they had Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas scoring left, right and centre, with the pair bagging all seven goals between them in a 7-3 mauling of Eintracht Frankfurt in the last of those five finals.