Champions League Final: PSG and Inter to Clash in Munich for the Trophy
Kyiv • UNN
On May 31st, PSG and Inter will compete for the Champions League title at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The article details the teams' journey to the final, key players, and predictions.
Today, May 31, the owner of the main club European trophy - the Champions League - will be determined, for which the French "Paris Saint-Germain" and the Italian "Inter" will compete at the "Alliance Arena" in Munich, Germany. UNN tells about the teams' path to the final, what to expect from the match, where to watch, who is the favorite of the match.
"Paris Saint-Germain"
The general stage of the Champions League for "PSG" did not go in the best way. By the sixth round, they had only two victories over "Girona", for which Ukrainian winger Viktor Tsygankov plays, and "Salzburg", and two consecutive defeats from "Atletico" and "Bayern" put the tournament prospects of Luis Enrique's team in great doubt.
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"PSG" had no problems with creating chances, but everything was going very badly with the realization - until the memorable comeback in the match with "Man City", in which "Parisians" losing 2:0, managed to win - 4:2.
The victory over "Man City" allowed to take 15th place, which allowed to reach the 1/16 finals, where "PSG" met with compatriots "Brest", in which they left no stone unturned from the French - the overall score - 10:0. In the next match against "Liverpool", the Parisians dominated, however, having not realized many chances, they suffered a minimal defeat in the end. But at "Enfield" they managed to take revenge with the same score, and then win on penalties thanks to two saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Next was a super match against English "Aston Villa", in which the teams gave out a "goal shootout". The Italian goalkeeper of the Parisians, Donnarumma, who made a couple of classy saves, in particular, parried a one-on-one with Marco Asensio, which actually determined the fate of the two-legged confrontation, again proved to be on top. By the sum of two matches - 5:4
In the first semi-final, "PSG" beat "Arsenal" in London thanks to a goal by Ousmane Dembele, and in the return match they won 2:1 and reached the final in five years.
Results in the French Championship
"PSG" confidently won the championship in Ligue 1 this season. In 34 matches, the Parisians won 26 times, 6 matches ended in a draw, and only two defeats. In addition, "PSG" defeated "Reims" in the French Cup final this season - 3:0.
Head coach
Former "Barcelona" player and coach Luis Enrique took charge of "PSG" in 2023, replacing Christophe Galtier. In his first season, he led the capital club to the "golden double" and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. As noted, in the current campaign, his team defended the championship title and has an excellent chance to win the most prestigious European Cup for the first time in its history.
Enrique can also win his second treble in his career. In 2015, Enrique won three trophies at the head of Catalan "Barcelona" - the Spanish Championship, the Spanish Cup, the Champions League.
Who to pay attention to
First of all, "PSG" is quite a young team - the average age of players is 23.6 years. After Kylian Mbappe's departure to Madrid "Real", Ousmane Dembele became a key component of the attack, who, one might say, is experiencing his second youth. Before moving to "PSG", Dembele was tormented by injuries in "Barcelona", which did not allow the French forward to fully reveal himself.
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However, in the current campaign, Dembele scored 33 goals in 48 matches, including 21 goals, becoming the top scorer of Ligue 1.
In general, "PSG" has moved away from the tactics of buying up world stars, to the tactics of youth development. In particular, at the beginning of the current campaign, 20-year-old Zhuan Neves, 23-year-old Vilian Pacho and 19-year-old Dezeri Due were acquired, who immediately became key players of the "Parisians".
In the winter transfer window, "PSG" also acquired the Georgian winger of "Napoli" (to which we will return), Khvichu Kvaratskhelia for 80 million euros.
It is also worth remembering the more experienced players who are key players of "PSG", in particular the captain Marquinhos, who has been playing for the French club for 13 years, Ashraf Hakim, and Donnarumma.
"Internazionale"
In recent years, "Inter" has established itself among the European elite and confirmed its status, conceding only one goal in eight matches of the general stage, although you can't call "nerazzurri" football defensive. "Inter" quite confidently passed the group stage of the Champions League, taking 4th place with 6 wins, one defeat, and one draw, which allowed the "nerazzurri" to break through immediately to the 1/8 finals, unlike "PSG".
In the two-legged confrontation against the Dutch "Feyenoord", the Italians confidently won - 4:1. In the quarter-finals, "Inter" came across Munich "Bayern", for which this Champions League was fundamental, because the final will be held at the home arena of Munich. The bright game of "Inter" allowed to overcome the Germans by the sum of two matches 3:4.
Next was a two-legged confrontation with "Barcelona", which can be called the best matches in the history of the Champions League, giving out a real goal extravaganza, scoring 13 goals for two. In the first match, already by the 40th minute, the score in the match was - 2:2. In the second half, the teams scored one more goal each, and the final whistle recorded a draw - 3:3.
The return match became a real decoration of the current Champions League, which fans will review more than once. By the end of the first half, thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Chalhanoglu, "Inter" was leading in the score - 2:0. Already at the beginning of the second half, Alex Garcia reduces the gap of "Barcelona", and in 6 minutes Dani Olmo equalizes the score. In the 86th minute, Rafinha, who is the top scorer of the current Champions League, puts the Catalans ahead, and it seemed that the match could be finished. However, against this was the 37-year-old (!) defender of "Inter" Francesco Acerbi, who equalized the score on the scoreboard in the 3rd minute added to the main time.
What's interesting. This goal became the first in Acerbi's career and became the third oldest author of a goal in the semi-finals of the Champions League in history. Acerbi's fate was not easy, he struggled with depression, insomnia and sometimes refused to eat. He "treated" emotional pain with alcohol. Because of this, the defender did not succeed in "Milan", playing only six matches in the Italian championship. A cruel turning point came in 2013, when he played for "Sassuolo". The diagnosis of cancer became a death sentence for Acerbi. Six months after the removal of the tumor and 13 matches, he failed a doping test.
Eventually, Acerbi's goal took the match into overtime, in which "Inter" was able to put the squeeze on "Barca", and Davide Frattesi scored the winning goal.
Before the scored goal, Frattesi paused a little, and only after that he accurately shot into the corner.
"I thought that if I don't score now - I'll be fu***", - that's how Frattesi commented on the pause before the shot.
Results in the Italian Championship
The intrigue in Serie A remained until the last 38th round. "Inter" was second in the table, and only one point ahead of "Napoli", so in the final round "Inter" should have only won, and wait for the misfire of "Napoli" in the match against "Cagliari". However, unfortunately for Inzaghi's charges, this did not happen. Although "Inter" defeated "Como" - 2:0, "Napoli" also won over "Cagliari" - 2:0, which allowed the Neapolitans to win the trophy.
Head coach
Simone Inzaghi was appointed coach of the "nerazzurri" back in 2021. Replacing Antonio Conte, he won the Italian Cup and Super Cup in his first campaign. He helped "Inter" defend both trophies and led him to the 2023 Champions League final, and last season added the Serie A title to these achievements.
Who to pay attention to
"Inter", unlike "PSG", is quite an age team. The average age of "Inter" players is 29.6. The Italians, in their inherent manner for Italian football, play according to the 3-5-2 scheme. The extreme lateral Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco properly burn the flanks, and in the attack Marcus Thuram and Argentine captain Lautaro Martinez have perfectly converged.
In the 2023/24 season, the Argentine striker became the top scorer of Serie A for the first time, scoring 24 goals in 33 matches. This was the third consecutive campaign in which he scored more than 20 goals. Lautaro, known for his hard work, smart choice of position and cold-blooded realization, continues to set the tone in the attack as the captain of the "nerazzurri".
It is also worth remembering experienced players such as Nicola Barella and Alessandro Bastoni, who, although they are 26 years old, have long become key players of the team.
Before the match
"Inter" and "PSG" have reached the Champions League final in the last 5 years. "PSG" reached the Champions League final for the second time in history. In the previous final, the club lost to "Bayern" (0:1 in the 2019/20 season).
For "Inter" it will be the seventh final. The Italians won three trophies (seasons 1963/64, 1964/65, 2009/10).
In the Champions League final, "Inter" under Inzaghi met with English "Manchester City", in which they minimally lost, and the only goal in that match was scored by the center-back of the "townspeople" Rodri.
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"The changes and evolution of the team are obvious. Our goal was to gradually create something different, something special that could attract players and make them want to move to PSG. We needed to make the right transfers. We believed in the profile of the players we were looking for, such as William Pacho, Joao Neves and Desire Due, as well as in the academy players. They help us. After my arrival, everyone showed that they were completely confident in me. I have never felt the pressure associated with the need to win titles. Last year we were close to the final, but the owners were in the semi-finals. We won the Championship, Cup and Super Cup of France, and that's great, but the Champions League has long been a priority for the club. I am not one of those who makes a plan on how to win a trophy in three or four years. It's like waiting for the rain to end in my homeland, in Gijon. It will rain anyway, so you need to try to achieve your goal as quickly as possible," Enrique said before the match.
Simone Inzaghi said before the match that the experience of the match in the final against "Man City" was very important.
"Now we are clearly a different team compared to the one I led four years ago. We have all become better, and this is mainly thanks to the players who put in an incredible amount of effort in every training session. We have become a little older, which, as we have seen recently, helps a lot in key moments of important matches. It was a long journey. We went to this final step by step. The two most memorable last matches with "Barcelona", but the quarter-final confrontation with "Bayern" was also very difficult. "Bayern" has a great team, well organized, physically powerful. That quarter-final was like a final for us. The last four matches were very intense," Inzaghi said.
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He stressed that winning the final "would be the crown of a great job that started four years ago"
"We know that this will be a very important final. We really want to make our fans happy and we will do everything possible for this," Inzaghi added.
Where to watch, favorite
The match will start at 22:00 Kyiv time, but fans will have a pleasant surprise before the match. As announced in April, the legendary rock band LINKIN PARK will headline before the final, but in addition, another bright event awaits fans at the Arena Munich and near the TV screens: on the eve of the culmination of the club season, the German violin virtuoso David Garrett will perform an arranged version of the song Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes on the field of the Arena Munich at the moment when the ambassadors of the finalist clubs Javier Pastore and Javier Zanetti will carry out the UEFA Champions League trophy - a moment before the players of "PSG" and "Inter" take the field.
The match broadcast will be available on the MEGOGO media service by subscription Sport, Maximum, Maximum + charity, MEGOPACK XL. Bookmakers give a slight victory to "PSG", the victory of which in the main time can be bet with a coefficient of - 2.2, and the victory of "Inter" - 3.4.