Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
No Neymar, Messi or Mbappé? No problem for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Champions League title for the first time in club history on Saturday, and they did it in style, routing Inter Milan 5-0 at Allianz Arena in Munich.
More than a decade after its deep-pocketed Qatar owners bought the club and then signed a parade of superstars to try to win European soccer’s most prestigious trophy, a comparatively anonymous cast of prospects and veterans finally delivered a decisive and fully deserved victory over the Italians.
Achraf Hakimi sent the Parisians on their way just 12 minutes in, finishing off a gorgeous team move. Nineteen-year-old Desire Doue added two more goals on either side of halftime. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayuluthen, 18, then provided the exclamation point, scoring PSG’s fourth and fifth inside the final 20 minutes. The lopsided margin of victory for Luis Enrique’s team marks the biggest ever in a Champions League final.
Here’s how the biggest game in global club soccer unfolded.
Play of the game
Hakimi will never score an easier goal in his life; all the Moroccan fullback needed to do to punish his former club was side-foot Doué’s square pass into an open net from close range.
But the play that put Doué in position to set up what turned out to be the game-winner wass a thing of beauty. Kvaratskhelia found Fabian Ruiz, who passed to Vitinha. Vitinha then picked out Doué inside the box for the teenager to tee up Hakimi. It was a sign of what was to come.
Turning point
The early goal stunned Inter, but the second was the fatal blow. It came just eight minutes after the first. And once again, the buildup and Doué cool finish were a sight to behold:
Key stat
PSG is first French club to win the Champions League since Marseille did it all the way back in 1993.
What’s next for Paris Saint-Germain?
It’s a quick turnaround for the Parisians, who will take a few days to celebrate before jetting across the Atlantic for FIFA’s inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States.
PSG opens its group stage slate against European rival Atlético Madrid on June 15 at the iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
What’s next for Inter Milan?
Like PSG, the Nerazzurri are Club World Cup-bound. Inter will have two extra days to recuperate compared to their opponents on Saturday, but their travel schedule is every bit as grueling. Inter also kicks off the competition at the Rose Bowl, site of the 1994 World Cup final, when they face Mexican power Monterrey.
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