Paris Saint-Germain have finally ended their long wait for European glory by winning the Champions League for the very first time.
Luis Enrique’s side, who lit up the knockout stages with their flair and ruthlessness, delivered another scintillating performance to sweep aside Inter Milan in a one-sided final.
Achraf Hakimi opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing into an empty net after a cutback from teenage sensation Desiré Doué. It was the Moroccan right-back’s third goal in consecutive rounds, having already scored in both the quarter-final and semi-final.
Doué, 19, then turned goalscorer himself just eight minutes later, when his half-volley took a deflection off Federico DiMarco to wrong-foot goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Doué became only the third teenager in history to score in a Champions League final.
PSG’s attacking movement and fluid play proved far too much for Inter to handle, and the mismatch grew even starker in the second half. Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 63rd minute when Doué struck again, latching onto a perfectly weighted pass from Vitinha and finishing first time into the bottom corner.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added a fourth in the 72nd minute, lifting the ball over Sommer at the near post after a clever assist from Ousmane Dembélé.
With just minutes remaining, 18-year-old homegrown talent Senny Mayulu made it 5-0, firing home in the 86th minute to cap a historic night.
The final scoreline equalled the record for the biggest ever win in a Champions League final.
Luis Enrique once again demonstrated his credentials as a manager for the big stage. Remarkably, the Spaniard has now won all eight of the major finals he has overseen in club football. That record includes three Copa del Rey triumphs with Barcelona, the 2014/15 Champions League title against Juventus, and the 2015 Club World Cup victory over River Plate. Since taking over at PSG, he has added two Coupe de France trophies to his collection — the most recent coming just a week ago in a 3-0 win over Stade de Reims.
Saturday’s dominant win in Europe’s biggest club competition now cements Enrique’s legacy in Paris. Having previously secured a treble with Barcelona in 2015, he has now achieved the same feat with PSG. This young and vibrant team — whose starting XI in the final averaged just 25.3 years of age — looks set to remain a force in European football for years to come.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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