 "Champions League Final: Mbappe-less PSG look more balanced, hungry and capable, but Inter are dogged and experienced")
188 games of pure theatre, of pitting the very best against the very best, of countless hours and moments of jaw-dropping action, and it has all come down to this. The final of the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Between a team that has spent oodles of cash to stand atop the pedestal but has never been there, and a side many felt had run their race when they came to within ninety minutes of winning the entire thing in Istanbul a couple of years ago.
Much of the discourse for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last summer was around Kylian Mbappe’s departure. PSG could have sulked. They could have thrown their toys out of the pram. Wondered when or if they will ever be able to experience the excitement and ecstasy of being the best in the continent.
PSG a better unit in absence of Mbappe
But PSG did not do anything of that ilk. Instead, they buckled down. And on Saturday, they will play the game that matters in European club football. All while their continental rivals, including Mbappe now, watch in envy.
PSG have more bases covered and have become a more refined unit this season. Mbappe remains perhaps the premier point-of-difference on the planet, but he was often criticised for not putting in the hard yards defensively and for not rolling up his sleeves, especially when push came to shove.
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In his absence, Luis Enrique has created, arguably, the best pressing team in Europe. PSG’s pressing has been scintillating and has suffocated several teams into submission, with the forwards’ increased work-rate leading to lesser gaps appearing.
It is, in fact, no coincidence that the only two times they have not made the quarter-final (at least) since the 2019-20 season, were the two campaigns when they had Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in the side. Their quality is undeniable, but the lack of work rate often stuck out in big, high-pressure games – something this current iteration has steered well clear of.
Their current front line, comprising Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele, are great at interchanging positions too and have infused PSG’s attack with more variation and with another dimension. With Mbappe in the side, that would not happen as often, due to his tendency to stay high and wide on the left.
The midfield trio of Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves and Vitinha are similarly flexible. Each of them can act as the deepest of the midfield triangle, and each is adept at floating into forward areas. Full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are not shabby either, with their buccaneering runs from deep often a feature of PSG’s attacking patterns. And if they stumble into trouble, they have an Italian wall named Gianluigi Donnarumma to bail them out.
In many ways, PSG are what Inter Milan have been for a number of years. In the 21st century, the Milan-based outfit has made the UCL final only thrice, and in each of those campaigns, their solidity and commitment to prioritize the team’s interests over those of individuals, has stood out.
This season, their success has been built on a sturdy defence (surprise, surprise). They have conceded only 11 goals in the UCL, which, if you do the math, comes out to less than a goal-a-game. Inter have been incredibly clinical too, especially as the tournament has run deeper.
Inter have flexibility and experience
Against Barcelona in the semi-final, Inter made the most of their opportunities, ultimately scoring seven times across two legs, despite having an Expected Goals (xG) tally of less than 3.5. This aspect could be particularly key in the final because PSG, for all their improvement, are still a side prone to giving up chances, especially in quick transition situations and when under the pump.
Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have dove-tailed beautifully up front for Inter, with their wing-backs and Nicolò Barella adding to their dynamism and attacking threat. They have also been to a UCL final far more recently and in a contest of fine margins, that experience could come in handy, against a side nervous about climbing the final rung of the ladder.
Enrique and PSG, though, from the moment the season began, have believed. That they could do something special and go where no PSG team has ever gone previously. And with each passing UCL match-day, of PSG either defying odds or flexing their muscles, or through a combination of both, the world has started to believe in it too.
Now, PSG stand at handshaking distance from their holy grail. An evening away from giving the city of love the romance of a footballing fairy tale, and to turn the city of lights into a wild melange of partying, tangoing and of realizing their collective dream. All after years and years of hurt, heartache and heartbreaks.
Inter, though, will not make it easy for them. Because, well, this crowing jewel has eluded them for a while too. They may have whetted their UCL appetite previously, but that hunger has not been satiated since that glorious evening in Madrid in 2010, and remains unsatisfied as they head into Munich fifteen years later.
One of these teams, undoubtedly, will have history in the palm of their hands: Inter, by winning it for the first time in what has felt like an eternity; PSG, by winning it for the first time after what has actually been an eternal and everlasting wait. But the other, as cruel as it may sound, will return home with that crestfallen and caving feeling of regret and what might have been.
This is what you get in the ultimate European club football game: a dizzying prize, accompanied with the danger of steep, sinking jeopardy. All garnished with sub-plots to get immersed in, narratives to get hooked on to, and stories to rejoice, relish and then reminisce in years to come.
This is how a Champions League final should look and feel like. And this is how a Champions League final - for two teams craving a novel chapter in their footballing folklore - ought to be.
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