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.
‘It’s a mix of joy, of all the emotions we’ve spent together. I’ve suffered but I’ve grown up with this team,’ said Marquinhos, the only player who also started PSG’s loss in the 2020 final. ‘I think of all the players who have come through and not succeeded. My idol Thiago (Silva), Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), (Edinson) Cavani, (Angel) Di Maria. So many players who have come through here who deserved this and didn’t succeed. Now we’re here and we’re bringing it home.’
‘I’m thinking of all the supporters who have been with us, those at the Parc and those around the world. I love you, enjoy it and we’re going to enjoy it here. This is the best day of my life.’
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:
Paris erupts in Champions League celebrations
Wild celebrations erupted across Paris on Saturday, with thousands of soccer fans descending on the boutique-lined Champs Elysees boulevard. Inside the club’s Parc des Prince stadium, transformed into a giant fan zone for the night, with giant screens in the centre of the pitch, 48,000 people let out a roar of ecstasy at the final whistle.
‘Total euphoria, crazy atmosphere,’ said Gilles Gaillot who had been watching the game in the Paris stadium. ‘It made up for the wait and the years of disappointment. Finally Paris and its supporters have been rewarded,’ Gaillot added.
Supporters in the French capital set off fireworks and hung out of moving cars waving PSG scarves, delighting in their side’s first victory in European soccer’s top tournament. Nearby, the Eiffel Tour lit up in PSG’s blue and red colors. On the Rue de Rivoli, which runs past the Louvre museum, joyful crowds thronged the street.
Some 5,400 police were deployed across the city for the post-match celebrations.
Police on the Champs Elysees used tear gas and pepper spray to maintain order. A police spokesman said a car was set alight near the Parc des Princes and that several dozen had arrests had been made by the time the match ended.
– Reuters
Doué goal! PSG leads 3-0
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.
60th minute: PSG 2, Inter Milan 0
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.
Desire Doue goal! PSG up 2-0 through 20 minutes
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.
Achraf Hakimi goal! PSG leads Inter 1-0
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.
Champions League final lineups: PSG, Inter Milan team news
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.
Where is the Champions League final?
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.
Linkin Park performs before Champions League final
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.
Paris prepares for Champions League final
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 wearing alternate kit in Champions League final
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
Ousmane Dembélé scoring at will for PSG
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
PSG could win title without Kylian Mbappe
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
Inter Milan tries to salvage season with UCL final
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
Marquinhos ‘not going to go down without a fight’
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
