On the evening of May 20, the final match of the 2026 Champions League took place at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium in Budapest, featuring French PSG and English Arsenal. The Parisians emerged victorious in a tense showdown, winning in a penalty shootout.
This is reported by Finway
Bright Start of the Match and the First Goal
The game began with sharp attacks from both sides, but it was Arsenal who opened the scoring first. In the sixth minute, London midfielder Kai Havertz capitalized on a mistake by PSG’s defense and accurately shot into the near corner of the goal, putting the Gunners ahead – 0:1.
The Parisians tried to equalize in the first half, but Arsenal’s defense acted confidently and maintained their lead until halftime, even despite six minutes of added time.
Key Moments of the Second Half and Zabarnyi’s Role
After the break, Luis Enrique’s team took the initiative and began to increase the pressure on their opponents’ goal. In the 62nd minute, Arsenal defender committed a foul in his own penalty area against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. After reviewing the video replay, the referee awarded a penalty. Ousmane Dembélé confidently converted the spot kick, leveling the score – 1:1.
Both teams then sought to score the decisive goal, but they were unable to change the score in either regular or extra time. In extra time, the coaches made several substitutions, among which the entry of Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi particularly stood out as he strengthened PSG’s defense.
“The teams from Paris and London played two extra times and brought the match to a penalty shootout. As a result of a tense battle, the Parisians won the penalty shootout 4-3, defending their champion title.”
Thus, PSG became the Champions League winner for the second consecutive time, and Illia Zabarnyi entered the club’s history as one of the key players of the final.
It is worth noting that FIFA plans to expand the number of participants in the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, and the Iranian national team has already confirmed its participation in the tournament, which will take place in the USA.