The decisive moment came when Arsenal earned a penalty shortly after the hour mark, but Dembélé stepped up to restore parity and break a historic deadlock. The last time both finalists scored was in 2018, when Real Madrid edged Liverpool 3-1. Before that, no Champions League final had featured goals from both teams since the mid-1990s.

a rare pattern in champions league finals

This unusual sequence had persisted through seven consecutive finals. In each of those matches, one team failed to find the back of the net:

• Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham (2019)
• Bayern Munich 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain (2020)
• Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City (2021)
• Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool (2022)
• Manchester City 1-0 Inter Milan (2023)
• Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (2024)
• Paris Saint-Germain 5-0 Inter Milan (2025)

historical echoes and statistical milestones

The current streak mirrors another unusual period in Champions League history. Between 1988 and 1996, eight consecutive finals saw at least one team fail to score, highlighting how rare it is for both finalists to find the net in these high-pressure showdowns.

With this latest final, Paris Saint-Germain secured their second consecutive Champions League title, a feat that underscores their growing dominance in European football and ends years of near-misses in continental finals.