Champions at Last: PSG and Their European Breakthrough

Season Context

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), under the guidance of Luis Enrique, embarked on the 2024–25 season without stars like Kylian Mbappé, focusing on a younger, cohesive squad. Their campaign was marked by dominance in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, setting the stage for European success as they attempted to win their first Champions League title and complete a historic treble.

Inter Milan, led by Simone Inzaghi, had a strong campaign in the Champions League and navigated a challenging path to the final, including victories over Bayern Munich (German champions) and Barcelona (Spanish champions). The final presented an opportunity to cap their season with European glory, especially since they had been knocked out of the Coppa Italia and lost the league by 1 point to Napoli.

Match Overview

There is not much that can be talked about in this match. The final at Munich’s Allianz Arena witnessed PSG’s commanding performance. It was one-sided from start to finish, with Inter completely outclassed in every area of the pitch. The statistics back up the performance, with PSG dominating 62% of possession and registering 9 shots on target compared to just 2 from Inter Milan. Achraf Hakimi opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Teenager Désiré Doué emerged as a standout, netting two goals and providing an assist. Further goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Senny Mayulu completed the 5–0 rout.

But why did that happen?

In fact, PSG are capable of playing at both tempos, adapting seamlessly to the flow of the game. They can dominate possession with patient buildup or strike quickly on the counter, making full use of their pacey attackers.

Their first goal is an example of Luis Enrique’s tactical influence: a well-timed through ball splits the defense, finding the right winger Doué positioned on the left, who squares the ball to the right-back, finding himself completely unmarked in front of goal. In a fluid and dynamic attacking move, none of the players are in their starting positions: Hakimi finishes the move as a striker with a simple tap-in, while Dembélé (normally the center forward) is to his right and Kvaratskhelia (the left winger) is just behind him.

The second goal shows how PSG’s blistering counter-attacks have made Inter look exposed. Barella lost the ball while attempting to win a corner, and within moments, PSG sprang into action. Kvaratskhelia quickly moves the ball to Dembélé, who then delivers a pinpoint switch to Doué at the back post. His shot deflected off Dimarco and ended up in the net. In just 13 seconds and with only three passes, PSG moved the ball from the edge of their own half to the back of Inter’s net, a ruthless display of pace, precision, and transition play.

Credit must go to PSG’s pressing, which played a crucial role in their victory. Inter’s build-up relies heavily on goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s distribution, who typically needs time on the ball to manipulate the opposition’s press and find the right passing lanes, allowing Inter to exploit space through their fluid positional rotations. However, PSG’s high-intensity pressing disrupted this rhythm from the start. Dembélé was instrumental in this approach, constantly closing Sommer down and denying him the time to make composed decisions. As a result, Inter were often forced to bypass the build-up entirely by going long toward Thuram and Lautaro Martínez. However, these direct balls led to little threat, as most of the attacks quickly broke down.

With their build-up play from the back and their long balls proving ineffective, Inter found themselves going nowhere in the first half. In response, they attempted to press PSG higher up the pitch in the second half, a risky move that left them increasingly vulnerable to transitions. But this played right into PSG’s strengths. With their pace and precision, they punished Inter repeatedly, scoring three more goals in the second half. The match ended in a historic 5–0 victory for PSG in the Champions League final.

What will be etched in memory after this encounter?

• Achraf Hakimi becomes the first Moroccan player to score in a Champions League final.
• Kvaratskhelia becomes the first Georgian player to score in a Champions League final.
• PSG is the first team to score 2 goals in the first 20 minutes of the Champions League final.
• Désiré Doué becomes the youngest player to win the Man of the Match award in a Champions League final.
• This result marks the largest winning margin ever recorded in a UEFA Champions League final.
• PSG becomes the 9th club to win the treble, including domestic league title, cup title, and the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.
• Luis Enrique becomes the second coach to win two trebles with two different clubs (FC Barcelona & PSG), following Pep Guardiola (FC Barcelona & Manchester City).

These numbers and records are drawn from the competition’s era since its 1993 rebranding (formerly the European Cup).

ChroniBall XI
Where football meets data, stories, and everything in between

Enjoyed this piece? Follow us on X and Tiktok for more insights, visuals, and updates.