Key events
The PSG fans unveil a huge banner of Luis Enrique and Xana planting a PSG flag. Enrique, smiling broadly but also awash with emotion, clearly appreciates the gesture. His t-shirt, which has a cute cartoon representing him and Xana with a PSG flag, comes with the caption: We are the champions! What beautiful and touching tributes.
Luis Enrique is lifted high into the air, along with the cup. He’s beyond delighted. Quite a few PSG suits in the middle of the melee, getting in the road quite frankly. President Nasser Al-Khelaifi one of them. The players grab the trophy and race off towards their fans. Up the other end, barely populated now, Inter defender Denzel Dumfries takes his time to console some tearful supporters. That’s a lovely touch.
PSG: Champions of Europe! The officials receive their medals. Inter, dejected and grim-faced, receive their silver medals. And then PSG, delighted, euphoric, queue up to get their gold ones. A kiss of the cup as it sits on the plinth. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia even gives it a bear hug! Last man up, the captain Marquinhos, who takes the trophy from Uefa chief Aleksander Čeferin, saunters over to the podium where his team-mates and manager await … and hoists it high into the sky as the gold and silver ticker tape rains down!
Luis Enrique pulls on a new t-shirt. On the front, a homage to his daughter Xana, who passed away in 2019 aged just nine. When Enrique won this competition with Barcelona back in 2015, he celebrated with Xana on the pitch, and she planted a Barcelona flag in the ground. Enrique’s shirt depicts her planting a PSG flag as well. He’s smiling. Fond memories. Such a sweet, sweet, bittersweet moment.
“I remember an incredible photo I have of her in the Champions League final in Berlin, after winning the Champions League, putting the flag of FC Barcelona in the pitch,” explained Enrique during this week’s build-up. “I have the wish to be able to do the same with Paris Saint-Germain. My daughter won’t be there, but she will be … she won’t be there physically, but she will be spiritually and that, for me, is very important … my daughter loved parties and I’m sure where she is, she’s still having parties.”
Vitinha speaks to TNT. “It means everything … the fans are the main reason we wanted to win this trophy … it is our dream … everyone’s dream … my dream … it’s incredible … the team is a very good team … the result is not by magic … we are very happy that we did it like this, and we are going to celebrate!”
Luis Enrique and his men – some of them still kids, really – leap around in joy and relief! Old Big Ears is coming to Paris at last! Inter captain Lautaro Martínez staring into the middle distance. Freed From Desire blasts out of the speakers. Of course it does. Everyone PSG-minded springing around in delight. Enrique with a huge hug for the two-goal hero Désiré Doué … then everyone else in his team. They’ve all earned one. To a man – some of them still kids, really – they’ve been exceptional. They’re all going down in history. They deserve this, one and all. Who needs galacticos?!
FULL TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 5-0 Internazionale
PSG are finally champions of Europe! And in record-breaking style!
90 min: Marquinhos is booked for hauling back Bastoni. And it’s the last action of the match, because three seconds after the 90-minute mark, the referee István Kovács has mercy on Inter and blows the whistle!
88 min: This is now the biggest margin of victory in any European Cup or Champions League final. PSG have been worth every goal. It’s been a match too far for an aging Inter.
GOAL! PSG 5-0 Inter (Mayulu 86)
PSG probe hither and yon. Mayulu suddenly one-twos with Barcola down the left, then lashes a shot into the top left from a tight angle! The young academy player races off with a wide smile of joy and disbelief! What a finish! What a celebration! What a performance by PSG!
85 min: PSG stroke it around in the clock-management style. “Here in Italy, the former Inter defender Beppe Bergomi, now TV commentator, is seriously distraught as he watches the dismantling of Inter who were so near to Serie A and Champions League glory and yet so far,” reports Colum Fordham.
84 min: Zaïre-Emery, Gonçalo Ramos and Mayulu come on for Neves, Kvaratskhelia, and Ruiz.
83 min: PSG pass it around to a rousing chorus of olés. For a second, it looks like it’s showboat time … but suddenly Barcola is sent scampering into acres down the right. He drags another shot wide left.
81 min: Barcola twinkle-toes into the PSG box down the left channel. He sits Acerbi down with an elegant feint. He has to score, but instead of rolling across Sommer and into the unguarded right-hand side of the net, gives the keeper a look and tries to beat him at the near post. One trick too many. He drags it wide.
80 min: … mind you, that doesn’t stop Barcola fuming with Kvaratskhelia, the latter failing to send him clear with a simple pass. And Donnarumma has words for Dembele, too, as he ships possession and gives Zielinski the chance to shoot from distance. Straight at the keeper. He wants his clean sheet!
79 min: Dumfries threatens to break into space down the right but Kvaratskhelia races back to win the footrace, get on the ball, and draw a foul. That’s astonishing work, and another example of how this all-new PSG side are a proper team.
78 min: Mendes is replaced by Hernandez.
77 min: Inter, to their immense credit, push for a consolation. A couple of corners in quick succession. Some pinball after the first one. Asllani curls the second one high and Donnarumma claims unfussily. Plenty of tears in the Inter end.
75 min: A little bit of space for Thuram, found by Barella just inside the PSG box on the left. He opens his body but doesn’t get enough behind his sidefooted effort. Donnarumma parries and the loose ball is hacked clear. The PSG keeper finally called into action.
GOAL! PSG 4-0 Inter (Kvaratskhelia 73)
Kvaratskhelia is sent clear down the inside-left channel by Dembele’s perfectly weighted pass. He enters the box and slots into the bottom-left corner. Not where Sommer thought he was putting it. A wonderful goal from PSG’s point of view, but where was the Inter defence? They’re done. This is now a rout, and PSG are celebrating like they mean it. They know this is over.
71 min: Asllani comes on for Çalhanoğlu. Then Acerbi is booked for wrestling Ruiz to the ground.
70 min: PSG are hunting a fourth. Barcola crosses low from the right. Mendes tries to back-flick home at the near post but doesn’t connect properly. The ball’s returned from the left to Barcola, who blazes over. He should have hit the target at least.
69 min: Thuram is booked for a frustrated late studs-up lunge on Ruiz. “I’d imagine the engraver can crack on and have an early night,” suggests Matt Dony.
67 min: Martinez crosses from the left. Augusto can’t connect, six yards out at the near post. Half a chance there.
66 min: No hat-trick for Doue. Just the two goals and an assist! He’s replaced by his not-quite-as-young-but-still-young pal Barcola.
65 min: Darmian slips Dumfries into space down the inside-right channel. There’s a bit of contact from Neves from behind, and he goes over, but he’s not getting the penalty he wants.
64 min: Doue is booked for stripping off his shirt during the celebration, and he won’t care a jot. Doue isn’t a superstar in the making; he’s already a superstar.
GOAL! PSG 3-0 Inter (Doue 63)
Dembele back-flicks Vitinha into space down the middle of the park. Inter are light at the back. Vitinha rolls a pass just in front of Doue, romping down the right channel. Doue meets it first time, and slots into the bottom right. Easy as that. And as pretty as it sounds.
62 min: Poor Bisseck can’t continue. He’s replaced by Darmian, while Augusto comes on for Mkhitaryan.
61 min: Doue diddles Bastoni with a cute trick out on the right touchline, turning his back on the defender before flicking the ball down the flank. Exquisite. Hakimi is the beneficiary, and he enters the box before sending a low shot across goal and wide left.
60 min: Bisseck falls over while running at speed. He crashes to the ground in spectacular style, glances over at the bench with a worried look in his eye, then gets up holding the back of his leg. He’ll continue for now.
59 min: Barella flays a dreadful effort miles off target. A bit early to get this desperate. Inter are, at least, now seeing a bit more of the ball in enemy territory.
58 min: Thuram attempts to spin into space only to be blocked by Pacho. A garden-variety foul in the centre circle. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi doesn’t see it that way, and waves his jacket around in frustration, all the while telling it as he sees it. The referee comes across and books him.
56 min: Zalewski has only been on a matter of seconds, and he’s already in the book. That’s because, having cut inside from the left only for his shot to be blocked by Mendes, he then clips Ruiz late while trying to recover the loose ball.
55 min: Donnarumma flaps at a ball sent in from the Inter right. It’ll be a corner from the left. That one drops to Barella, who attempts a drive through the crowded box, but it’s blocked and cleared. Better from Inter, though the bar is set low.
54 min: Inter make a double change, hooking Pavard and the hapless Dimarco for Bisseck and Zalewski. Meanwhile Gavin White has a word for half-time correspondent John Honig: “If Rafa was doing the half time team talk, he would be trying to put on 12 players. True story.”
52 min: PSG are pressing for the third goal that would surely put this game to bed. Dembele waltzes down the inside-left channel, enters the box, and opens his body for the curler. The shot is always wide of the right-hand post. Sommer wasn’t getting there had it been on target.
50 min: Ruiz and Kvaratskhelia exchange quick passes down the left. The ball pinballs around, then sits up for Kvaratskhelia on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Kvaratskhelia leans back and hoicks over. He’s been wasteful so far this evening.
49 min: Barella crosses from the right. Hakimi heads back towards Donnarumma, but the keeper wasn’t expecting it and the ball flies out for a corner. It’s sent in from the left. The ball pings off Marquinhos’ thigh, then Martinez’s arm. The pressure off PSG.
48 min: Thuram makes good down the right and is upended by Pacho, who is fortunate not to go into the book. But it is a free kick just to the side of the PSG box. Inter load it. Çalhanoğlu then hoicks the set piece straight over it. Goal kick. That’s dismal under any circumstances, but especially when you need a goal, fast, in the biggest game of the season.
46 min: So, those huge gaps in the Inter midfield … that’s not been sorted. Ruiz ambles into one and sends Kvaratskhelia dancing down the inside-left channel. Kvaratskhelia enters the box and aims for the top-left corner. Wide and high.
Inter get the second half underway. No changes. “No wonder Inter are nervous,” writes Kieran McHugh. “They’re playing for the right to face Spurs in the Super Cup.”
At 19 years and 362 days, Désiré Doué has become the third youngest scorer in Champions League final history. The only lads ahead of him: Patrick Kluivert, who scored for Ajax against Milan in 1995 aged 18 years 327 days, and Carlos Alberto, who opened the scoring in the 2004 finals for Porto against Monaco aged 19 years 167 days.)
Half-time postbag. “Freeing themselves off Mbappe is the best thing that PSG has done. Real can pick up some clues here” – Krishnamoorthy V
“I imagine that Giuseppe Bergomi is somewhere in the VIP seats. Mightn’t be bad idea for Inzhagi to invite him down to have a chat with the team at half time. What his views are on the defending so far would be worth hearing” – Charles Antaki
“If Rafa Benitez is at the final, he needs to get to the Inter dressing room at half time” – John Honig
“I have to admit that despite links to a despotic regime (in reality, both PSG and Inter have links with Qatar), I slightly prefer (less dislike) PSG. Partly because I am an English Napoli fan and both Kvara and Fabian Ruiz are much-loved former Napoli players. However, I do admire Dimarco who has had an amazing season as left back for Inter so rather sad to see him charged with responsibility for both goals. Here’s hoping for an Inter goal to ensure a more exciting final” – Colum Fordham
“Nothing is new really. Alf Ramsey used full backs to generate overloads – though, to be fair, not on the edge of the six yard box” – Gary Naylor
“When did David Tennant become PSG’s left winger?” – Neil Thomson
HALF TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Internazionale
A half of football that flew by, totally dominated by PSG. And yet Inter have spurned three fine scoring opportunities. PSG have had a couple of near misses themselves, mind.
45 min +2: Kvaratskhelia spins and shimmies down the inside-left channel before shooting low and hard. The ball pings off Dumfries’ ankle and nearly creeps into the bottom right. Sommer was rooted to the spot, beaten if that was on target. And from the resulting corner, Kvaratskhelia wins a free header six yards out, but his attempt to guide it into the unguarded top left flies over the bar. Another huge chance!
45 min +1: Doue advances down the inside-left channel and tries to thread a shot across Sommer and into the bottom right. Inches wide, though the keeper had it covered.
45 min: There will be two additional first-half minutes.
44 min: Doue flashes the ball across the face of the Inter goal from the left. Dembele, having sashayed away from Dimarco at speed, simply has to trundle the ball home at the far stick, but somehow manages to flash it back across goal instead. That could have put PSG almost out of sight.
43 min: Now it’s PSG’s turn to calm things down a bit. Which they do, by hogging the ball, passing this way and that across the back.
41 min: Dumfries crosses low from the right. The ball pinballs towards Barella, who should have an opportunity to shoot from ten yards – he’s got space and time – but takes an awful heavy touch and the chance is gone. That’s three good opportunities for Inter now, despite the overall picture being nearly all Paris. Next goal could change everything.
39 min: That’s another big miss by Inter. Two very inviting headers sent high and wide. They’ve been utterly outplayed so far, and yet they’ve given up two huge chances, and it could easily be 2-2. If nothing else, that’ll give Inter some much-needed encouragement, and PSG pause for thought. Funny old game, football.
37 min: Another Inter corner down the right. Çalhanoğlu hits it long. Thuram leaps miles above Kvaratskhelia, a complete mismatch at the far stick. He’s got to score, but slams his header wide left.
36 min: A little bit of space for Thuram down the right. But he’s only got Dumfries up with him, and he’s forced to turn tail. “Disappointed with Inter so far,” begins Krishnamoorthy V with heroic understatement. “There is a purpose to PSG’s moves but Inter seems to be kicking the ball haphazardly. I am worried for Simone Inzaghi though – he may rupture a few arteries by half time.”
34 min: … Marquinhos heads harmlessly wide left. But at the risk of belabouring the point: Inter can’t keep on like this. Their midfield is ludicrously easy to play through.
33 min: Again one simple ping out from the back and the PSG midfield is away. Ruiz sends a pass down the right for Dembele, whose shot-cum-cross is deflected out for a corner. From which …
31 min: There are huge gaps in the Inter midfield. One simple flick-on out of the PSG defence releases Hakimi to make big yards down the middle. Dembele wins a corner that comes to nothing, but Inter can’t keep on like this.
29 min: Dimarco nicks the ball off a snoozing Hakimi, and tries to execute a one-two with Barella down the inside left. It nearly comes off, but Hakimi regains his composure to return and barge Dimarco off the ball, and then the flag goes up for offside anyway. Inter are doing absolutely nothing up front.
