Gabriel Magalhães was behind the last penalty shot in the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal on Saturday, and his miss, following Eberechi Eze's miss, meant that the English team lost the final and PSG won a consecutive title, despite David Raya stopping Nuno Mendes' shot. And an embrace between him and PSG's captain Marquinhos became one of the most iconic and emotional images of the match.
Instead of joining his teammates in celebration, Marquinhos went straight to embrace his compatriot, friend and teammate at the national team: a long embrace when Gabriel was disconsolate after his mistake.
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The reaction was so raw (and rare) that even a linesman made a gesture towards the PSG captain as he saw him approaching his rival player, perhaps fearing he was going to mock him. Other Arsenal players joined in their embrace to the defender.
What Marquinhos said to Gabriel after missing last penalty
Marquinhos later revealed what he told Gabriel in the moment, as he knows exactly what it feels like: Marquinhos missed the last penalty against Croatia that kicked them out of World Cup 2022. "I told him that I've been through this moment and I know how difficult it is but that he can bounce back from it."
"Gabriel really wanted to win this title and had all that pressure on him, knowing that if he missed, that dream had gone for him and we would be the champions", Marquinhos explained. "So I just wanted to take a few minutes out of my celebrations to reserve this time for him, to hug him, to wish him to get better quickly."
"Gabriel has played an amazing season for Arsenal, proved he is one of the best defenders in the world and shown everyone he's a great player. He did not deserve to have all that weight, of that moment of defeat, on his shoulders. And in Brazil, we need him for the World Cup."