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Paris Saint-Germain claimed the UEFA Champions League title for the first time in club history, destroying Inter Milan 5-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich – the largest-ever margin of victory in the European final.
PSG got started early with Achraf Hakimi scoring in the 12th minute, doubling their lead less than 10 minutes later with a goal from teenager Désiré Doué, who had assisted on the opener. Doué added PSG’s third goal in the 63rd minute to put the game out of reach, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia netted the fourth for the French champions. Substitute Senny Mayulu, also 19 years old, pushed PSG’s advantage to 5-0 with a score in the 86th minute.
PSG’s European crown comes as something of a surprise after falling short with some of the greatest players in the world since Qatar Sports Investments took control of the club in 2011. This season was PSG’s first without Kylian Mbappe, the French superstar who led his country to a World Cup in 2018 and joined Real Madrid last summer.
The Parisians join Marseille (1993) as the only French teams to win Europe’s top club competition, five years after losing the final to Bayern Munich in an empty stadium during COVID.
Here’s how Saturday’s action unfolded:
Désiré Doué may have clinched the Champions League title for PSG, with the 19-year-old scoring his team’s third goal in the 63rd minute. It’s an unbelievable performance from the French teenager, scoring two goals in this final after assisting on his team’s opener.
Not much action through 15 minutes in the second half as Inter Milan tries to get back into this final with time ticking away. Yann Bisseck, Carlos Augusto and Nicola Zalweski have come on for Inter, replacing Benjamin Pavard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Federico Dimarco.
HALFTIME: PSG leads Inter Milan 2-0
PSG seized control of the Champions League final with two goals in the first 20 minutes, leaving Inter Milan shell-shocked at the Allianz Arena in Munich. PSG is now 45 minutes away from its first Champions League title.
While the Italian side grew into the game and applied some pressure in the final 20 minutes of the half, PSG has 12 shots to Inter’s two.
PSG doubled its lead with a goal from Desire Doue, the 19-year-old’s shot taking a deflection past Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer at the end of a sweeping counter-attack.
The 2-0 advantage looks insurmountable right now with Inter Milan struggling to get the ball out of its own half in the early stages of this game.
PSG took the lead just 12 minutes into the final at the Allianz Arena, with wing back Achraf Hakimi pushing forward to score from close range on an assist from Desire Doue.
Hakimi also scored against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals and Arsenal in the tournament semifinals.
PSG: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos (captain), Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz; Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele.
Inter Milan: Yann Sommer; Benjamin Pavard, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez (captain), Marcus Thuram.
What time is the Champions League final today?
Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
The Allianz Arena in Munich is hosting the 2025 Champions League final. Home of German club Bayern Munich, the stadium previously hosted the the 2012 final with Chelsea defeating Bayern in penalty kicks.
Prior to kickoff, Linkin Park performed on the field at the Allianz Arena. The group won Grammy Awards in 2002 and 2006, the latter for a collaboration with Jay-Z.
The French capital was getting ready on Saturday morning for the evening’s Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan, with shops and police tightening security while fans shared excitement.
Although the match will be held in Munich, a PSG victory would be expected to spark celebrations in the club’s home city which could escalate into disturbances, and 5,400 police officers are deployed ahead of the game.
Thousands of PSG fans are expected to gather in the city to watch the match on screens at various locations including the Parc des Princes. France’s famed Le Fouquet’s brasserie on the Champs Elysees avenue barricaded its windows, so did some banks and other shops. Police were preventing cars from parking on the avenue.
– Reuters
Champions League odds: PSG vs. Inter Milan
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook as of 5/31, 11:30 a.m. ET
- Moneyline (regular time)
- PSG: +115
- Draw: +240
- Inter Milan : +250
- To lift the trophy: PSG: -160 // Inter Milan: +130
Inter Milan will dress for the occasion by wearing their third, golden yellow kit in Saturday’s Champions League final when they face PSG in Munich.
Since the Parisians are designated as the home team in the final, they will wear their first-choice kit – navy blue shorts and shirts with a white and red stripe in the centre – so Inter cannot play in their classic black and blue striped jerseys.
The Italians, however, did not opt for their second strip – white shirts with blue details – choosing to wear the third kit instead, a golden yellow shirt with black details and black shorts.
– Reuters
Once the poster boy for unfulfilled potential, Ousmane Dembele has emerged as the unexpected protagonist in PSG’s Champions League run.
Dembele’s scoring renaissance has led to a compelling new chapter in a career previously defined by tantalising glimpses of genius interrupted by frustrating inconsistency. The statistics tell a story of almost alchemical transformation: 32 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions, including 21 in Ligue 1, more than in his previous five seasons combined.
– Reuters
Luis Enrique’s Ligue 1 champions, backed by owners Qatar Sports Investments, have been impressive in Europe with a cohesive brand of football that marks a clear departure from the star-driven, sometimes disjointed squads of PSG’s recent past.
“They (PSG) buy into their coach’s game plan, you can see it, and it shows in everyone’s activity,” former PSG coach Luis Fernandez, who led the club to their only European title in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996, told Reuters. “No-one’s playing the star, even though they’re all stars, and I admire that.”
Since Qatar Sports Investments took control of the club in 2011, big-spending PSG have dominated domestic football but have fallen short in Europe, with their only previous Champions League final ending in defeat by Bayern Munich in 2020.
– Reuters
A season which once promised so much for Inter Milan now hangs on Simone Inzaghi’s experienced side beating PSG, giving Saturday’s decider in Munich the feel of a last-chance saloon for the Italian club.
Inter, hurting from a failed league title defense, also seek redemption for the lost final two years ago against Manchester City in Istanbul and, for many of the club’s elder statesmen, this will be seen as their ultimate opportunity. Inzaghi now has the difficult task of getting his team back on their feet after the players were on their knees only last Friday when the Serie A Scudetto went to Napoli on the final day of the season.
“The championship just concluded left us with something to remember,” Inzaghi told reporters on Monday. “There is a lot of suffering in myself and in the players, it’s pointless denying it.”
– Reuters
PSG captain Marquinhos knows what it is like to lose a Champions League final and is not going to let a second chance slip without a fight when they face Inter Milan in Munich, the Brazilian defender said on Friday.
Marquinhos was a member of the PSG side which lost the 2020 final to Bayern Munich, but has the opportunity for redemption as the club look to secure their first Champions League trophy on Saturday.
“We’ve been through highs, we’ve been through lows,” Marquinhos told reporters. “Tomorrow we’ve got a beautiful opportunity. We could go down in history. This would be great for the club, for the players.
“This is my second chance to win a Champions League final and I’m not going to go down without a fight.”
– Reuters
