Bill Connelly May 7, 2026, 10:30 AM ET

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Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.

The defending champs against this year's most consistently strong challenger. If you can come up with a more fitting matchup for almost literally any final in any competition, I'd love to hear it, and it's exactly what this year's Champions League final will offer: On May 30 in Budapest, Hungary, the 2025 winners Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal , a team that is unbeaten in 14 Champions League matches this season.

On Tuesday, Arsenal survived a physical battle against an Atletico Madrid team that has tripped up countless Champions League hopefuls through the years. On Wednesday, PSG made one burst of attacking brilliance hold up and survived 90 minutes in Munich with their advantage intact.…