Paris Saint-Germain have been Europe's best team for two years. Now to establish a dynasty

Luis Enrique celebrates PSG's progress into a second successive Champions League final Alex Grimm/Getty Images Share articleThere have not been many dynasties in the history of the Champions League. Great teams have defined certain eras, like Barcelona under Pep Guardiola or Real Madrid’s Galacticos at the turn of the century. But winning successive titles has become incredibly rare. In fact, since the competition’s format changed in 1992, only one club has retained the title; Real Madrid when they won three successive finals from 2016 to 2018. Before that you have to go back to 1990 for consecutive triumphs when AC Milan won back-to-back European Cups. And before that? Well, Nottingham Forest of course (1979 and 1980) who completed a 10-year run of teams retaining the European crown (Ajax 1971 to 1973, Bayern Munich from 1974 to 1976, and then Liverpool in 1977 and 1978). To complete the set, Inter Milan doubled up in 1964 in 1965 and, to kick the competition off from 1956 to 1960,Real Madrid delivered a remarkable quintet of successive European Cups. It may have been commonplace during the European Cup era for teams to create dynasties, mini or otherwise, but in the Champions League it has been very difficult to achieve. In that context, Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain are threatening to at the very least define this era of European football, but potentially even create a dynasty of their own. Perhaps it’s a bit early for talk of legacies, but what is for certain is PSG are just one victory away from joining that exclusive club of back-to-back European club champions. Watching them hold off Bayern Munich with relative ease on Wednesday night, they certainly looked like the most complete team the competition has seen since Zinedine Zidane’s all-conquering Madrid, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale et al. After their never-to-be-forgotten 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in last week’s first leg, there was a lot of “they only know one way to play” kind of talk, seemingly teeing up the second leg for more of the same. Instead, PSG produced something akin to a textbook away performance in the Champions League, racing out the blocks to score early through Ousmane Dembele and, thereafter, suffocating arguably Europe’s best attack — the century goalscorers of Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise — for the next 91 minutes. Bayern, who had scored in all 51 matches they had played this season, were often reduced to hopeful long shots or handball appeals against Joao Neves. Kane’s equaliser on the night, which said more about his unerring ability to find half a yard in a crowded penalty area, came too late to change the destiny of the tie, with PSG’s defence otherwise proving impregnable. But while PSG spent much of the match defending as a team (there were numerous times when 10 blue shirts were behind the ball), it did not make for much less of a spectacle than last week’s glorified park kick-about when both teams attacked like it was first to 10 goals wins. It was intense, it was high quality and it was engrossing. It also felt, despite a couple of rough handball calls against Bayern over the two legs, like the right result. PSG have, as Vincent Kompany conceded afterwards, been Europe’s best team for two seasons now. Except in the autumn when they just take things a bit easier. “We have to acknowledge that we played against great opponents,” Kompany said. “The level of both teams was very, very high. PSG have so much quality. They’ve probably been the best team in Europe in the last two years. We’ve played against them five times now — we’ve won twice, lost twice and drawn once. We tried everything, I have to say. Congratulations to PSG, but we’ll try again.” In a team with no obvious weaknesses, PSG appear to have added two more facets to their game this season; assuredness in big games and endurance. The latter comes from how they can still produce their best after an incredibly long 12 months, with last season not actually ending until July 13 after they reached the Club World Cup final, and then 2025-26 beginning just a month later on August 17. The manner in which they have reached the final has reflected their increasing maturity. They rode their luck on their way to Munich last year, relying on a couple of Gianluigi Donnarumma masterclasses to squeeze past three English teams (beating Liverpool on penalties, Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate and then overcoming Arsenal 3-1 in the semi-final). Progress this year has been more serene and assured (4-0 versus Liverpool this time and 8-2 against Chelsea although, at the moment, that isn’t saying much). They could and should have been more comfortable in their semi-final too, allowing Bayern back into the first leg when 5-2 up. “It’s incredible,” Enrique said. “I think what we showed tonight, and throughout the season, especially in the Champions League, is of an incredible standard. “We played against one of the very best sides in the world, away from home, and we did it with all the maturity and personality necessary. It shows what type of team we are.” With an average squad age of 24 and with just three players older than 28 — Fabian Ruiz is 30, as is back-up left-back Lucas Hernandez, while the imperious Marquinos is 31 — this team can continue to grow and improve together for years to come. They have already achieved greatness. Now for a dynasty. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms