The eyes of the footballing world will now switch to the Allianz Arena, as Paris Saint-Germain and Inter go head-to-head for European glory.
Both teams have been UEFA Champions League runners-up in the last five years. PSG lost to Bayern Munich in 2020, while Inter were defeated by Manchester City in 2023.
Meanwhile, PSG have arguably been Europe’s best performers this season. Just as entertaining Barcelona, who lost to Inter in semis, Luis Enrique’s team are in the hunt for a treble.
PSG already won the French Ligue 1 and have also claimed the Coupe de France last weekend. A victory at Munich will give the French giants a treble success and their first-ever claim of the UCL title.
Les Parisiens’ European success has only been the 1995-96 UEFA Cup title. Although, they remain the last French side to win a major European trophy.
Their European campaign this season has been nothing short of dominant. They overcame Premier League powerhouses like Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal to earn their place in the final.
However, compared to PSG’s second UCL final appearance, Inter will be featuring in their seventh European Cup/Champions League final.
The Nerazzuris have won the trophy three times (1964, 1965 and 2010). However,They did lose their last final appearance, going down 1-0 against Man City in 2023.
With aim to once again bring the coveted trophy back to the San Siro, Inter will hope to replicate their 2010 triumph under Jose Mourinho.
Meanwhile, this is the first ever competitive meeting between Inter and PSG. It is also the first meeting between Luis Enrique and Simone Inzaghi.
Both coaches have overseen 32 Champions League games across their careers. Luis Enrique has the edge, winning 20 matches while Inzaghi has collected 17 wins.
This is also just the second European Cup/Champions League final between an Italian and a French side.
The first meeting came in 1993, when Marseille, the only French team to have won the UCL, defeated Milan 1-0. The final was also held in Munich.
This PSG/Inter showdown will also be the fifth European Cup/Champions League final to be held in Munich. The victors in each of the previous four won the trophy for the very first time.
Enrique’s PSG will be seeking to continue the feat, joining the likes of Nottingham Forest in 1979, Marseille in 1993, Dortmund in 1997 and Chelsea in 2012.
However, French clubs have only won two of their 15 major European finals. They won one out of seven in European Cup/Champions League and one out of three in UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. They have lost in all five attempts in the UEFA Cup/Europa League.
Inter are also unbeaten in their last four matches against French opponents in Europe (W2 D2). A win at Munich will extend their dominance over French sides, since losing to Marseille in the 2011-12 UCL last-16.
While Paris Saint-Germain are desperate to clinch it for the first time in their history, Inter Milan are eager to revive the glory, having not won it for 15 years.
© Copyrights Sixsports. All Rights Reserved.
