How does this triumph for Paris Saint-Germain stack up against previous Champions League champions?
When everything is taken into consideration, it will be remembered as one of the best football performances ever. With a score of 5-0 against Inter in Munich on Saturday night, Paris Saint-Germain achieved the greatest winning margin in the history of the European Cup final. And it was well earned.
The way the European Cup finals were won is not how they should have been. In this century, prior noteworthy performances have been achieved with scores that are, by comparison, rather low. For instance, both of Barcelona’s victories against Juventus four years later and against Manchester United in 2011 were ‘only’ 3-1. Although Jose Mourinho’s Porto defeated Monaco 3-0 in 2004, they were on the defense for the majority of the first half.
Due to the fact that Real Madrid has a history of scoring late goals, their performances have been somewhat improved. The only thing similar is Milan’s legendary 4-0 victory over Barcelona in 1994.
However, this was a 5-0 victory that displayed every aspect of PSG’s performance. They proceeded with a beautiful passing play, displayed their superiority in possession, and once ahead, they were unstoppable on the counterattack, blowing by Inter’s midfielders and defenders with ease.
Things can change at an amazing rate in football. Inter entered the game with a genuine belief that they could win the European championship, but now it seems like a distant possibility. Their method seemed antiquated. Their players seemed to have seen better days. It would be silly for Inter to overreact to a single setback, as those things are not always true.
However, this was the kind of overwhelming defeat from which it takes years to recover. Following the conclusion of the game, it was amazing to see hundreds of Inter fans crying uncontrollably, in a way that was reminiscent of Brazil’s 7-1 defeat by Germany in 2014.
From PSG’s point of view, this significant triumph requires that a number of people be viewed in a different way than they were a few days ago. Luis Enrique has now guided two distinct teams to European Cup success, ten years apart, and both his Barcelona team from 2015 and his PSG team from 2025 will be remembered for a long time. Additionally, he was somewhat unlucky not to win Euro 2020 in the interim. Italy defeated his Spain team in that semifinal, but only by a score of penalties.
The man who stopped him at Wembley four years ago is now on his side, as fate would have it. Given his penalty saves in both tournaments and his performance against Arsenal in the semi-final, Gigi Donnarumma, who has won both the European Championship and the European Cup, may legitimately say that he was his team’s top player in both.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia played a key role in ending Napoli’s protracted wait for a Serie A championship, which occurred in 2023, and PSG’s lengthy wait for a European Cup. He has won the Champions League in addition to Serie A and Ligue 1 this season.
As Spain won the European Championship last year, Fabian Ruiz was likely their top performer, and he is now also a European champion at the club level. Possibly just Lamine Yamal has had a better 12 months for both club and nation.
The fact that Ousmane Dembele has become a world-class center-forward is astonishing—both the “world-class” and “center-forward” components of that equation. Luis Enrique stated last night that he should win the Ballon d’Or, not just because of his goals, but also because of his pressure.
Additionally, players like Joao Neves and Vitinha may be able to perform at this level for a number of years in other locations. Who knows, though, about the likes of Desire Doue and Senny Mayulu? Both might become legends in the sport. They will always be heroes in Paris, even if they do nothing else.
However, for the most part, this was not about people. PSG, like all the finest teams, is more than the sum of its pieces. The way they move around in the midfield, in particular, has been captivating to see during this Champions League knockout round. The comprehension in the middle of the field was demonstrated by the manner in which Vitinha initiated a passing play from far out, then broke through the Inter defense to set up Doue for the third goal.
To enable Achraf Hakimi to move forward along the other wing, Fabian frequently fell into defense. Although the right-back’s offensive explosions are dangerous and have almost cost PSG in a few Champions League games this season, he demonstrated his position by scoring the first goal.
The attackers’ position changed constantly at the top, but they never lost their balance. Doue and Kvaratskhelia played as center forwards, while Dembele was effective in both coming deep and drifting wide. Based on less positional play and more on groups of players combining, PSG’s style of football does seem to be somewhat distinct from the front-foot, possession-based style that other teams have mastered in recent years. They are unquestionably the best at it, even if they are not the only ones doing it.
People always claim that young teams that suddenly become champions represent a new era of PSG supremacy, so it’s excessive to say that this is the case. In a sport where tiny margins are the rule, knockout tournaments are ultimately not the way they function. As a matter of fact, PSG needed penalties to defeat Liverpool and numerous saves from Donnarumma to defeat Arsenal. Their performance in the knockout round was subpar, and their league phase results were even worse.
But that doesn’t matter right now, just like nobody remembers Milan only managing to score six goals and win two of their six group matches in 1993–94 before defeating Barca 4-0. What we remember is the performance in the finale, and this one will never be forgotten.
