Arsenal, beware - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looks unstoppable! Winners and losers as flying Georgian carries PSG to another Champions League final - and deals a blow to Harry Kane and Bayern Munich stars'

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is one of the main reasons why PSG are in a second consecutive Champions League final. The Georgian had a transformative effect on Luis Enrique's team when he joined from Napoli midway through last season, and he's actually managed to take his game to another level during the current campaign.

When he teed up Dembele to break the deadlock in Bavaria, after a wonderful one-two with Fabian Ruiz on halfway, Kvaratskhelia became the first player in Champions League history to either score or assist in seven consecutive knockout games. It's a remarkable record that proves that the 25-year-old isn't just an outstanding dribbler, he's also got an end product.

However, what's truly incredible about Kvaratskhelia is that he's as industrious as he is effective. He never stopped working for his team-mates in Munich and repeatedly popped up in his own area to win the ball back or simply hoof it clear. Basically, when the man Napoli fans christened ‘Kvaradona’ is not beating opponents, he’s constantly closing them down, making him a ninety-minute nightmare for every team with the misfortune to come across him.

Of course, Arsenal will take comfort in the fact that they will arrive in Budapest with the best defence in this season’s Champions League - but containing Kvaratskhelia will be their toughest test yet. He's pretty much the perfect winger.

Michael Olise is also a tremendously talented winger. The Bayern Munich ace showed that at Parc des Princes, where he did something truly astounding by making Nuno Mendes look like an average full-back. Olise glided past the Portuguese time and time again in Paris - and when he did so again just eight minutes into the return clash in Munich, Mendes desperately chopped him down, resulting in an inevitable yellow card.

However, while the defender was subsequently lucky to avoid a second booking for a clear handball (the referee had spotted an earlier handball by Konrad Laimer that the rest of us had missed!), Mendes actually managed to recover from his shaky start and go on to win his hugely influential head-to-head with Olise.

The France international had more touches of the ball than any other player on the pitch (92) but didn't do anywhere near enough with it. Olise did create a couple of chances, and had four efforts on goal, but he never really looked like scoring, while he also only managed to complete three of his 10 dribbles and lost 13 of his 21 duels (the majority of which were against Mendes). Worst of all, he gave the ball away a game-high 29 times.

Granted, players like Olise are risk-takers, so they're always going to make mistakes, but there's no disguising the fact that this was a desperately disappointing night for a potential match-winner who was, rather tellingly, left with his head in his hands at full-time. The biggest game of his career so far had surprisingly got away from him.

Beating Bayern Munich was the ideal birthday present for Luis Enrique, who turns 56 on Friday. The Spaniard labelled the Bavarians "undoubtedly the strongest team" his PSG side had ever faced, meaning elimination was a very real risk at the Allianz Arena. However, Luis Enrique could hardly have managed the match much better.

His bold decision to replace injured right-back Achraf Hakimi with midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery was vindicated by the youngster, who did wonderfully well to frustrate Luis Diaz, while restoring Fabian Ruiz to the starting line-up worked a treat, with the Spaniard releasing Kvaratskhelia to create the opener with a fantastic first-time pass.

More importantly, his team were a constant threat on the counter-attack while they also defended magnificently for almost the entirety of the game (in stark contrast to the first leg).

In the end, PSG were denied victory on the night by Kane's injury-time equaliser but this was the kind of complete performance that will have only strengthened Luis Enrique's belief that PSG can retain their continental crown in Budapest later this month. As he said himself, "The character we showed against a team like Bayern is so positive."

Indeed, PSG proved against their toughest opponent to date that they possess both style and substance, making them something of a mirror image of their manager, a two-time treble-winner who has well and truly earned his shot at joining Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola on three European Cup wins.

Kane has now scored 54 goals in just 70 Champions League appearances. Only Erling Haaland and Ruud van Nistelrooy have managed more in as many games. With his late strike on Wednesday, Kane also matched Cristiano Ronaldo's tournament record of scoring in six consecutive knockout games.

However, none of those impressive numbers offered any consolation to the England international, who had to be consoled by Manuel Neuer after Bayern's bitterly frustrating exit.

Kane is obviously still performing at a ridiculously high level, and he's also ended his trophy drought since moving to Munich, but he's made no secret of the fact that the Champions League is the title he craves above all others - at least at club level - and there's no guarantee that a player who turns 33 in July will get many better opportunities to lift the trophy.

Both Kane and Bayern were in brilliant form and they still came up short. Consequently, this European exit is going to hurt for quite a long time.

Bayern's failure to at least make the final of the Champions League also represents a blow to Kane's Ballon d'Or bid. The England skipper was widely believed to be leading this year's race before Wednesday’s drama in Bavaria, but Dembele has unquestionably boosted his hopes of holding onto the prize he won in 2025 by scoring the goal that effectively booked PSG's ticket for Budapest.

Of course, Kvaratskhelia is also a very live contender now, given he's probably just one more dynamic display away from being named the best player in this season's Champions League. However, this is a World Cup year, and Georgia's failure to qualify means there's only so much Kvaratskhelia can do before the likes of Lamine Yamal, Olise, Dembele and Kane get the chance to impress the judges on the game's grandest stage.

It will also be worth keeping an eye on Declan Rice, though, as the indefatigable midfielder is perfectly placed to win both the Premier League and the Champions League with Arsenal, before trying to help England win their first major honour since 1966.

Even at this late stage of the season, though, there are just so many variables, making it unusually difficult to even name the favourite to win the battle for the 2026 Ballon d'Or - and that’s certainly no bad thing for those that get incredibly excited about the most prestigious individual honour in football.

There was a lovely moment at the end of the game in Munich where the already-subbed Dembele could be seen wildly celebrating a team-mate winning a tackle close to the touchline. It's not something one would have expected to see from the Frenchman even a couple of years ago.

Before his second-season explosion at Parc des Princes, Dembele was rightly regarded as one of the game's great unfulfilled talents. He even admitted himself that he wasted five years at Barcelona. But he took on board everything Luis Enrique tried to teach him at PSG - and now he's looking to win the Ballon d'Or and Champions League for a second consecutive season.

His good friend and former team-mate, Kylian Mbappe, has yet to win either - and he's no closer to doing so two years after leaving the French capital in pursuit of both prizes. In fact, Mbappe’s career is now moving in a very worrying direction.

Admittedly, the France forward has scored freely since arriving at Real Madrid in 2024 but he's yet to win a major honour with Los Blancos. PSG, by complete contrast, are one win away from being crowned champions of Europe for the second consecutive season.

It's not a good look at all for Mbappe. He may be one of the most valuable players on the planet, but his worth is now being openly questioned in the Madrid press - along with his character and commitment.

In the same week that the injured attacker stands accused of caring only about himself by going on holiday during a trying time for his club, PSG's players are being universally praised for a newfound sense of unity - as perhaps best exemplified by Dembele.

So, while eyebrows were raised when Luis Enrique claimed that the Parisians would become a better team without Mbappe, he's long since been proven right.

Click here to read article