PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN and Inter Milan will lock horns in Saturday’s Champions League final with the French side hoping to win European club football’s biggest prize for the first time and the Italians eyeing their fourth title.
The match, which kicks off at Bayern Munich’s 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena at 9:00pm (1900 GMT), pits an experienced Inter against a PSG team appearing in their second final since the transformative Qatari takeover of the club in 2011.
Whoever wins will succeed Real Madrid as champions, and excitement is notably at fever pitch back in Paris, where around 40,000 people will watch on giant screens at PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium and a huge police presence is planned around the city.
The climax to the European season has thrown up a mouthwatering clash of opposing styles and ideas of how to build a team, a contest between one of the continent’s old guard and one of the state-owned modern superclubs.
Despite enormous spending, PSG have never won the Champions League before, coming closest when they got to the final in 2020.
That was during the pandemic, when they lost to Bayern behind closed doors in Lisbon, despite the presence of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar up front.
The addition of Lionel Messi a year later did not help them in their quest to claim the trophy, and their brilliant run to Munich has come in the season after Mbappe followed the South American superstar duo out of the exit door.
‘Do something historic’
“There have been great times, difficult times, but we have a glorious opportunity to do something remarkable and historic for this club,“ captain Marquinhos said on Friday.
Under Spanish coach Luis Enrique, an exciting young Paris side has taken Europe by storm in recent months, with a comeback win in January against 2023 champions Manchester City proving the catalyst.
Since then PSG have knocked out three more Premier League sides — Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal — en route to the final, and have completed a French league and cup double.
Ousmane Dembele has been their star player with 33 goals, ably assisted by fellow forwards Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Others like Achraf Hakimi, formerly of Inter, and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma have also been superb.
“My biggest motivation is to make history for Paris and give the city and club something to celebrate,“ said Luis Enrique, who is looking to win his second Champions League title, 10 years after leading Barcelona to glory.
Victory for PSG would make them just the second French winners of the competition — Marseille’s 1993 triumph also came in Munich, at the old Olympic Stadium, and against Inter’s city rivals AC Milan.
Italian experience
Inter were the last Italian winners, when Jose Mourinho’s side defeated Bayern in Madrid in 2010. They also won it twice in successive years in the 1960s.
Coach Simone Inzaghi was already in charge when the Nerazzurri got to the final two years ago and lost narrowly to City.
As many as eight of the team that started that night in Istanbul could do so again here, and an experienced line-up should feature three players aged 36 or over.
Inzaghi’s side beat Bayern in the quarter-finals before getting the better of Barcelona in an epic tie in the last four.
Captained by star Argentinian forward Lautaro Martinez, they will set up in a 3-5-2 formation that contrasts sharply with the 4-3-3 of PSG.
“Last time against Manchester City we produced a top-class performance but didn’t win, so this time we hope to be a bit more switched on,“ said midfielder Nicolo Barella, recalling the 2023 final.
“These matches come down to fine margins, but we will try to bring home the trophy, that is the dream for all of us.
“After a season like this one I think we deserve to win this final,“ added Barella, whose side missed out to Napoli for the Serie A title on the last day of the campaign.
It is, remarkably, the first ever competitive encounter between the teams.
While fans flooded into the German city on Friday, back in Paris fanzones have been set up at three locations beyond PSG’s stadium.
Police will deploy more than 5,000 officers in the city and its suburbs during the final after violence erupted following PSG’s last-four victory against Arsenal.
In Milan, meanwhile, tens of thousands will also watch the game at Inter’s San Siro stadium.
