Paris Saint-Germain vs Inter Milan

Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena set the stage for the most heavily anticipated fixture in the European football calendar as Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the UEFA Champions League final. 

Despite establishing an unparalleled dominance in Ligue 1 since the Qatari funds entered the club in 2011, Les Parisiens have yet to wrap their hands around the famous ‘Big Ears.’ Indeed, they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in their only previous appearance in the Champions League final in 2020. Manager Luis Enrique will aim to go one better than Thomas Tuchel five years ago after inspiring PSG to a 3-1 aggregate win against Arsenal in the semi-finals. Enrique’s side comfortably dispatched Reims 3-0 in last weekend’s Coupe de France final, giving themselves a chance to win an unprecedented quadruple. Though this is their first-ever official match against Inter, the French giants boast extensive experience against Italian opposition. Indeed, they had avoided defeat in ten consecutive UEFA meetings with Serie A clubs (W4, D6) before a 2-1 defeat at AC Milan in last season’s Champions League group stages.

On the other hand, Inter Milan claimed a stunning 7-6 aggregate triumph over Barcelona in their epic semi-final tie to book their second appearance in the Champions League final in three years. Manager Simone Inzaghi will aim to atone for a 2023 heartbreak against Manchester City in Istanbul and inspire ‘I Nerazzurri’ to their first title at Europe’s top table since 2010. Inter dismantled PSG’s fellow Ligue 1 Monaco 3-0 in this season’s league phase, posting only their fourth win in the past 13 encounters against French opponents (D5, L4). However, Inzaghi’s charges have set a new club record for the most wins in a single Champions League campaign this term (10). It’s also worth noting that they’ve drawn first blood in 11 of their 14 outings in the competition.