Round 90 minutes earlier than kick-off within the Champions League last on the Allianz Area on Saturday, the group sheets had been revealed.
Luis Enrique, bidding to change into simply the second coach to win a treble of a home cup, league title and the Champions League with two totally different golf equipment, named the youngest ever beginning XI within the last of the competitors within the twenty first century.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, in the meantime, was aiming to atone for a 1-0 defeat to Manchester Metropolis two years in the past, when Pep Guardiola turned the primary coach to win the treble with two totally different sides.
Inzaghi, who might be heading for Saudi Arabia, with Al-Hilal reportedly eager to safe his providers, went with expertise.
Six Inter gamers who began in Istanbul featured from the off in Munich, and Inzaghi turned the primary coach to pick no less than three gamers over the age of 35 in a Champions League last.
The common age of PSG’s beginning line-up was 25 years and 96 days, 5 years and 146 days youthful than Inter’s – the most important age hole between two beginning XIs in a Champions League last.
5y 146d – The common age of PSG’s beginning lineup this night (25y 96d) is 5 years & 146 days youthful than Internazionale’s (30y 242d), the most important ever age hole between two beginning XIs in a UEFA Champions League last. Opposites.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) Could 31, 2025
If the query was which strategy would come out on high between youth and expertise, the reply was emphatic in a record-breaking, 5-0 victory for PSG.
The youngsters are alright
Luis Enrique made a daring declare earlier within the season. With Kylian Mbappe having adopted Lionel Messi and Neymar out of the door, PSG had been going through the prospect of a brand new period.
The Galactico strategy hadn’t paid off in PSG’s quest for European glory. That they had reached just one last, shedding to Bayern Munich behind closed doorways in 2020.
However PSG swiftly set about guaranteeing they banished these ghosts in model, happening to report the most important ever victory in a European Cup/Champions League last.
Need Doue lit it up. Having coolly teed up Achraf Hakimi’s opener, the 19-year-old then struck twice to change into the primary participant to be concerned in three targets in a Champions League last.
Doue is simply the third teenager to attain in a Champions League last after Patrick Kluivert in 1995 (for Ajax v Milan) and Carlos Alberto in 2004 (for Porto v Monaco), whereas he’s the youngest to web a brace within the match’s showpiece match.
He additionally turned the youngest participant to attain and help in a Champions League last, and simply the sixth participant total.
Doue’s elegant show was backed up by the brilliance of Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Dembele supplied two assists, together with taking part in Kvaratskhelia – a winner of the Champions League, Coupe de France, Ligue 1 and Serie A this season – to make it 4-0, earlier than substitute Senny Mayulu, on the age of 19 years and 14 days, turned the third-youngest participant to attain in a European Cup/Champions League last after Kluivert and Brian Kidd.
Whereas Luis Enrique trusted youth and that religion was repaid, Dembele is a participant in his prime years.
At 28, Dembele is lastly dwelling as much as his potential. He could not have scored on Saturday, however he was the primary participant to supply two assists in a Champions League last since Marcelo in 2018, whereas the ahead’s 14 purpose contributions within the competitors this season (eight targets, six assists) is the second-most for a French participant in a single marketing campaign, after Karim Benzema (17) in 2021-22.
Luis Enrique: Treble specalist
Soccer shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all. Luis Enrique misplaced his daughter, Xana, to most cancers in 2019. She was 9 years outdated.
A touching banner, depicting Xana planting a PSG flag within the pitch, was unfurled by the PSG followers. Luis Enrique wore a shirt depicting the identical factor as he celebrated turning into the sixth coach to win the Champions League with two totally different groups.
Xana’s passing got here 4 years after Luis Enrique’s first Champions League triumph, and his first treble. He received that one with Barcelona, and it got here towards an Italian group (Juventus).
“Making historical past has been a purpose because the starting of the season,” Luis Enrique informed Canal + at full-time.
“It’s time to have an enormous celebration! I felt an actual connection between the gamers and the followers. I feel we deserve it. It’s tough to play at this degree, however we knew how one can deal with the stress.”
However this was a becoming finale to what has been a outstanding season from PSG. They’ve been the most effective group in Europe, not simply on this competitors.
Positive, Barcelona may additionally lay a declare to that, however they fluffed their strains in that thrilling semi-final defeat to Inter.
PSG, who will quickly jet off to the US for the Membership World Cup, finish 2024-25 having scored 152 targets in all competitions, trailing solely Barca (174) amongst groups in Europe’s high 5 leagues.
They high the European charts for anticipated targets (145.7), non-penalty xG (137), photographs (1,097), photographs on track (458) and large possibilities (288).
PSG turned solely the third facet to attain no less than 5 targets in a European Cup/Champions League last after Actual Madrid towards Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 (7-3) and Benfica towards Madrid in 1962 (5-3).
And what’s it about Munich that makes it the place the place maiden European champions are minted?
This was the fifth European Cup/Champions League last to be held in Munich. The victors in every of the 5 finals had been profitable the trophy for the very first time, with PSG becoming a member of Nottingham Forest (1979), Marseille (1993), Borussia Dortmund (1997) and Chelsea (2012).
It was Bayern who denied PSG in Lisbon 5 years in the past, however this Bavarian metropolis will without end maintain a particular place in Parisian hearts, and in Luis Enrique’s coronary heart, too.
What now for Inter?
A season that promised a lot for Inter has pale out horrendously. In mid-April, they had been gunning for a treble. However they misplaced to AC Milan within the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, earlier than ending second behind Antonio Conte’s Napoli in Serie A.
Their unimaginable defeat of Barcelona within the semi-finals provided a glimpse of what this group can do on their day. But a group that had been constructed on strong foundations was carved open time and time once more.
Coming into the ultimate, Inter had trailed for simply 1.2% of their Champions League matches, falling behind in three video games however by no means for greater than 370 seconds in any of them.
That they had additionally spent the best proportion of their time profitable (50.8%), but PSG’s spellbinding attackers ensured Inter turned the primary group to concede two targets contained in the opening 20 minutes of a Champions League last to place the Nerazzurri firmly behind the black ball.
Certainly, Inter trailed for 81 minutes and 7 seconds, greater than of their 14 earlier video games within the competitors this season mixed (16 minutes and 38 seconds).
2 – For the primary time, a group have conceded two targets within the first 20 minutes of a UEFA Champions League last. Shock. #UCLfinal #UCL pic.twitter.com/qWUFnw79NG
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) Could 31, 2025
Francesco Acerbi, the fierce warrior, was the epitome of Inter’s points.
One in all Inter’s heroes towards Barca, Acerbi turned the fifth-oldest outfield participant to begin a Champions League last (37 years, 110 days), behind Paolo Maldini for Milan in 2007 (38 years, 331 days), Lothar Matthaus for Bayern in 1999 (38 years, 66 days) and Ryan Giggs for Manchester United in 2011 (37 years, 180 days).
He was made to look his age, although, by Doue, Dembele after which Barcola, who sat the veteran campaigner down at one stage late on, solely to slice broad.
Barcola made amends, although, with a neat one-two to play in Mayulu – the static Acerbi was the person taking part in {the teenager} onside as Inter turned the primary group to concede 5 targets in a Champions League last.
It felt like a final probability for this Inter group to actually go away their mark. If Inzaghi, who’s the ninth coach to lose two or extra European Cup/Champions League finals, is to depart, then he bows out on a low be aware, and getting over this blow goes to be some job for a squad that would do with a refresh.
Inter, like PSG, are that includes on the Membership World Cup. When requested if he could be accountable for the Nerazzurri or Al-Hilal at that match, Inzaghi merely mentioned he “didn’t know how one can reply that”. Time will inform.
