May 31, 2026

The African Tribune

Bold, independent reporting on Africa's most important stories, in English, every day.

Psg and arsenal both score in champions league final, first time in eight years

Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal both score in Champions League final, first time in eight years

Ousmane Dembélé’s 65th-minute equalizer for Paris Saint-Germain against Arsenal (1-1) ended an eight-year streak in the Champions League final where both teams failed to score.

When Ousmane Dembélé converted the penalty won by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia just after the hour mark in Saturday’s showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal (1-1, 65th minute), he brought an unprecedented streak to a close. For eight years, no Champions League final had seen both teams find the back of the net.

The last time this happened was in 2018, when Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the final. The seven finals that followed saw one of the two competing teams fail to score at all.

Results of the past seven finals
Liverpool vs Tottenham (2019): 2-0
Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint-Germain (2020): 1-0
Chelsea vs Manchester City (2021): 1-0
Real Madrid vs Liverpool (2022): 1-0
Manchester City vs Inter Milan (2023): 1-0
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund (2024): 2-0
Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Milan (2025): 5-0

This is not the first time such a streak has occurred in the competition. Between 1988 and 1996, eight consecutive finals saw at least one team fail to score.