PSG's glory is outlined in the sky and achieved on the field

MUENCHEN, SUNDAY — Paris Saint-Germain continued the new champion tradition of the Champions League, which always occurs when the final match is held in the city of Munich, Germany. Fate indeed seems to favor PSG, but they truly achieved victory thanks to the most dominant performance in the history of the finals.

The final has been held five times in Munich. This includes the peak match this time between PSG and Inter, which took place at the Munich Football Arena on Sunday (1/6/2025) early morning WIB. A new champion has emerged five times as well. This fortune was once experienced by Nottingham Forest (1979), Marseille (1993), Borussia Dortmund (1997), and Chelsea (2012).

This time it was PSG's turn, the youngest squad in the tournament with an average age below 24 years, to experience the championship. Marquinhos and his teammates lifted the "Big Ears" trophy for the first time since the club was established in 1970. They conquered Europe after winning 5-0 against Inter.

“(The trophy) means everything. It is our dream, my dream, and I am happy that we succeeded. This victory shows a lot about this group. This is a very good team, and the result is not due to magic. Now we will celebrate this achievement,” said PSG midfielder Vitinha, who dominated the midfield throughout the match.

Regardless of the myths, as Vitinha stated, PSG truly deserves to be the champion. They excel in every aspect over Inter. The final score adequately reflects that disparity. If it were to be likened, PSG is armed with the most advanced machine guns while Inter relies on a rusty knife.

PSG Head Coach Luis Enrique has experienced the Champions League final only once before. That moment occurred when he led Barcelona to victory in 2015, exactly a decade ago. Interestingly, that final also took place in Germany (Berlin) and was against an Italian team (Juventus).

Ten years later, Enrique became the mastermind behind PSG's success. The "fluid" system with a 4-3-3 formation reminiscent of Enrique appeared too complex for Inter. The high-level technical abilities of the players supported this. They effortlessly navigated through the opponent's midfield, as if playing a game of "cat and mouse" during training sessions.

A small change from Enrique also surprised the team coached by Simone Inzaghi. Dembele, who was supposed to play as a central striker, spent more time on the right wing. Wing forward Desire Doue played more centrally and successfully inspired the first three goals for PSG (two goals and one assist).

Praise for Enrique's approach comes directly from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. "Our coach gives us freedom and keeps us calm. That performance reflects his philosophy. He prepared for this final as best as he could. We witnessed that," said Donnarumma.

Inter appeared awkward in facing the opponent's attacks that were so "fluid." During the first goal, the center forward position was even filled by wing-back Achraf Hakimi, who successfully opened the scoring. This flexibility in positional placement is PSG's greatest luxury this season.

Inter's playing system with a 3-5-2 formation under coach Simone Inzaghi has been developed over the past four years. Their attacking scheme may appear simple, but it is very difficult for opposing teams to stop. This was countered by PSG, who applied very aggressive pressure with a super high block.

The dominance in both offensive and defensive aspects allowed PSG to take a two-goal lead by the 20th minute. The final match seemed to be over at that moment. So difficult was it for Inter to develop their game that they only managed to create a shot on target in the 74th minute, after falling behind by four goals.

Inter is not a bad team. They have proven this during the knockout stage, including when eliminating Barca and Bayern Munich. Another piece of evidence is that before the final earlier, Lautaro Martinez and his teammates had only experienced being in a losing position for 1.2 percent of the total time played.

However, PSG is too exceptional. They are on the best trend with a new system that can be solved by any team. Other major teams, such as Liverpool and Arsenal, have already fallen victim to them. The squad presents itself as a unit, no longer relying on the megastar player Kylian Mbappe as they did before.

"Paris deserves to win this match and the trophy. They were very consistent in dominating possession of the ball. We should have done better. We are disappointed, but the journey so far has been remarkable. I am proud and grateful to the players," said Inzaghi.

PSG's young squad proved that their talent is worth more than the experience of Inter's players. According to Opta, the gap between the average age of PSG's starters (25 years and 96 days) and Inter's (30 years and 242 days) is the largest in the history of the Champions League final.

PSG has been highly obsessed with bringing home the "Big Ears" trophy since being taken over by Nasser al-Khelaifi in 2011. In pursuit of that dream, they have brought in numerous superstar players. From Mbappe, Neymar Jr, to Lionel Messi, all have been part of the PSG project.

However, all those efforts failed. PSG's wait has ended this season, after their icon Mbappe departed last summer. They won the Champions League without a megastar player. PSG's victory is a triumph for the football world. The trophy was achieved through team play, not individual brilliance. (AP/REUTERS)