PSG proved to be no match for Inter Milan, as the French side ran riot and were the deserved victors in the Champions League final, winning emphatically by 5-0.
Champions League Final: Preview
Inter Milan headed into the final after beating the likes of Feyenoord, Bayern Munich, and, more recently, FC Barcelona in a thrilling semi-final. Meanwhile, PSG had a longer route as they had to play a playoff against Brest, followed by knockout ties against Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.
Luis Enrique’s side were not considered as contenders at the start of the season, but proved their mettle as the season went on by playing some smooth and eye-pleasing football, whereas Inter Milan headed into the knockouts, having conceded just 1 goal in the group stage.
Champions League Final: Review
Both managers made a change each to the lineups they played in the 2nd leg. Luis Enrique replaced Bradley Barcola with Ousmane Dembele, and Simone Inzaghi brought in Benjamin Pavard in place of Yan Bisseck.
PSG began the match with real intensity and dominated possession, but found it difficult to break down the resilient Italian defence. However, in the 12th minute, Desire Doue slipped in an intelligent pass to Achraf Hakimi, and the Moroccan made no mistake in slotting the ball home. To make matters worse for Inter, it was Doue again who doubled their lead 8 minutes later, leaving Inzaghi’s side in tatters and left to play catch up.
The 2nd half began, and it was no different – PSG were fired up and the Inter players seemed to lack the pace.
19-year-old Doue continued to have the match of his life as he netted the third of the night, perhaps sealing the title for French side there and then. With this goal, Doue also became the first player to be directly involved in three or more goals in a UEFA Champions League final. The following two goals, by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu, were just icing on the cake to a magnificent UCL campaign for Luis Enrique’s side.
PSG were perhaps the deserving winners of this season’s UCL, as they played some magnificent football from the group stage through to the knockouts – and this was all thanks to Luis Enrique and the way he managed the squad throughout the year.
Inter Milan, on the other side, were just not up to the task last night in Munich. This was the same side that scored 7 goals against FC Barcelona across two legs in the semi-final, but were just a shadow of themselves against PSG.
For PSG, what players of the caliber of Leo Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Ibrahimovic, and Cavani could not do – this bunch of players have done it. So, take it all in the city of Paris, as you can bask in the glory of being European champions for the first time in history.
