We expect a reasonably intense celebration in Paris when the heroes return home after their first ever Champions League title.
Paris Saint-Germain’s brilliant teenager Desire Doué delivered an inspired performance as the team gave a masterclass and crushed Inter Milan in Munich to win the Champions League for the first time.
Paris Saint-Germain 5 – 0 Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena.
Read: Zinedine Zidane rejects extremely well-paid return to football after four years away
The 19-year-old confirmed his status as a new superstar as Luis Enrique’s team finished a fantastic season with the largest margin of victory ever in a Champions League or European Cup final.
And they did it by sweeping Inter aside with explosive attacking football.
Doué made history for PSG
Doué helped PSG on their way to history when he set up Achraf Hakimi for a single goal after 12 minutes, before he himself scored the second goal eight minutes later with a shot that deflected past Inter defender Federico Dimarco.
Luis Enrique, who became only the sixth coach to win the tournament with two different clubs after his triumph with Barcelona in 2015, watched his fearsome team tear Inter apart. All doubts about the outcome were removed when PSG got the third goal their performance deserved after 63 minutes.
Ousmane Dembelé faked free and played Vitinha in, who in turn set Doué up for a calm finishing goal. At 19 years and 362 days, Doué became only the third teenager to score in a Champions League final – after Patrick Kluivert for Ajax in 1995 and Carlos Alberto for Porto in 2004.
PSG’s dominance was total
PSG overrun Inter in devastating style, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia running alone and slotting the ball past Yann Sommer – sending Luis Enrique down the sideline in an ecstatic dance.
But the suffering was not over for Inter, who lost to Manchester City in the 2023 final. PSG substitute Senny Mayulu, himself just 19 years old, became the fourth teenager to score in a Champions League final when he scored the fifth goal four minutes before the end.
Luis Enrique moved as fans pay tribute to his late daughter
Paris St-Germain delivered one of the greatest performances in Champions League history, and Luis Enrique’s brilliant team gave the tournament the winner it deserved.
After growing through the tournament this season, they cut through the Premier League’s elite – beating Manchester City, before eliminating Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in the play-offs.
PSG proved to be the best team of the tournament. And it couldn’t have been more clearly illustrated than when they tore apart an experienced Inter Milan team from the first whistle. The game was practically decided when they took a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
They were ruthless, torturing Inter with precision passing and pressing, as well as the wide attacking repertoire they possess – led by the exceptional talent Doué (voted the best on the pitch) and the young Georgian great Kvaratskhelia.
PSG’s new strategy bears fruit This
was a striking confirmation of PSG’s new strategy – away from the “bling bling” era of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, to a squad of young, hungry players under Luis Enrique’s brilliant leadership.
The Champions League had long been an unattainable dream for PSG, but the curse was broken by a magnificent team that seems to be built to last.
Inter’s new downfall
Inter Milan players and supporters were reduced to tears on a humiliating evening. The tournament’s oldest team saw its limitations when they were overrun by PSG.
With uncertainty surrounding coach Simone Inzaghi’s future, and several players in the veteran stage, this defeat looks set to usher in a new era for the great Italian institution.
This was a brutal experience for Inter, who were torn apart from the first whistle. Inzaghi’s team couldn’t handle PSG’s pace and creativity.
Dangerous Lautaro Martínez never had the opportunity to threaten, and while they had bad luck in the final loss to Manchester City in Istanbul, this was a pure humiliation. In search of their fourth triumph in the tournament, they were overrun.
Youth vs. experience
It became a battle between youth and experience. Inter grew older before the eyes of everyone in Munich, while this young and energetic PSG team performed a footballing destruction.
