WITH the thrilling exuberance of youth and the vast oil wealth of Qatar, Paris St Germain were finally crowned champions of Europe last night.
In a performance you could hang in the Louvre, Desire Doue staged a teenage rampage through the heart of an elderly Inter Milan defence, scoring twice and assisting once to inspire the heaviest victory margin of any European Cup Final.
AFPDesire Doue stole the show in Munich as PSG won the Champions League final[/caption]
GettyLuis Enrique inspired his men to a rampant win over Inter[/caption]
Luis Enrique’s side laid waste to Inter as they had done to four Premier League clubs en route to this glorious Bavarian night.
His is a team which is everything it didn’t used to be when the Galactico trio Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe held sway at the Parc des Princes.
PSG are the ultimate in high-class, high-octane, highly-selfless teamwork – a combination of beauty and efficiency about everything they do.
Achraf Hakimi, one of two thunderous attacking full-backs, had opened the scoring.
And the Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia hammered the fourth – then typified his team’s approach by sprinting back about 70 yards to half an Inter break with his side 4-0 up in the dying minutes.
Senny Mayulu, another 19-year-old, then sealed the deal with a late strike from Bradley Barcola’s assist.
Doue, the 19-year-old plucked from Rennes last summer, was the headline act but Ousmane Demebele played a major role in three goals to tighten his grip on this year’s Ballon d’Or.
It has been 14 years since the Qatari state seized control of PSG and after one previous final defeat under Thomas Tuchel in 2020, this was their moment.
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PSG had an average age of 23 this season, Inter were the oldest in the competition at a touch over 30.
And anybody who suggested that Inter’s experience and nous would prove a match for this zestful young PSG side was made to look utterly foolish.
AFPAchraf Hakimi got the ball rolling in the 12th minute[/caption]
GettyHe refused to celebrate against his former side[/caption]
So for the fifth time Munich staged a European Cup Final – and for the fifth time, we had brand-new winners – just like Nottingham Forest, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.
And after Marseille at the old Olympic Stadium in 1993, this was only the second time a French club had ever won Old Big Ears.
PSG had performed a demolition job on all four of the Premier League clubs in this year’s competition, while Inter had seen off final hosts Bayern before they accounted for Barcelona in a classic semi-final.
So while this wasn’t the most alluring of fixtures for English audiences, these were two very worthy finalists.
APDoue bagged his first goal just seven minutes later[/caption]
ReutersThe forward was delighted, having assisted Hakimi’s opener[/caption]
Inter might easily have denied Manchester City their Treble in the final in Istanbul two years ago – but this was a bridge too far for Simone Inzaghi
Izaghi’s men seemed content to sit deep, soak it up, let the kids do all the running.
And yet PSG are too good for that sort of passive defensive approach and, after 12 minutes, they scored a goal of gorgeous simplicity.
Vitinha, the tick-tock man at the base of the Parisian defence, picked out a cute pass which released Doue, who squared for Hakimi to tap in at the far post.
GettyDoue then netted his second goal in the 63rd minute[/caption]
GettyHe ripped off his shirt in wild celebrations[/caption]
It shouldn’t have been so easy to baffle a bunch of brutish Italian defenders with two straight-line passes but that was what Enrique’s men did.
And on 20 minutes, it was 2-0. At the opposite end, Inter staged a set-piece long throw and then got caught with their pants down within seconds.
Willian Pacho stopped the ball going out of play behind Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia released Dembele, who sprinted down the left and picked out Doue with a crossfield pass.
Doue chested down and rifled a shot which deflected off Federico Dimarco to leave Yann Sommer motionless on his knees.
ReutersKhvicha Kvaratshkelia got involved 10 minutes later[/caption]
ReutersThe winger only joined PSG from Napoli in January[/caption]
Enrique’s chief selection call had been over whether to choose Doue or Bradley Barcola. Within 20 minutes, Doue had one assist and one goal. It hadn’t been a bad shout to pick him.
Inter had some enterprising moments themselves but, the thing is with PSG, they can defend as well.
Pacho is one hell of a defender. From Ecuador via Belgium and Frankfurt, he is such a gem that you just assumed that Brighton would have bought him and sold him for an immense profit years ago.
Still, Franceso Acerbi and Marcus Thuram were both off-target with headers.
GettySub Senny Mayulu came off the bench to net PSG’s fifth[/caption]
ReutersThe teen secured history for PSG in the 86th minute[/caption]
Yet before, Paris ought to have tucked this match in and kissed it goodnight – Doue centring for Dembele, who somehow shot in entirely the wrong direction.
Then Doue tested Sommer and Kvaratskhelia was narrowly wide with a deflected shot, before he headed wide from the resulting corner.
It was extremely one-sided stuff.
After the break, Kvaratskhelia squandered a glaring close-range chance but it didn’t matter.
GettyBoss Luis Enrique was the man of the moment as he celebrated his second UCL win[/caption]
GettyInter Milan players appeared distraught after the disastrous result[/caption]
Doue had just executed a sumptuous pirouette on the touchline to embarrass Alessandro Bastoni when he netted his second.
This time it was Dembele who conjured the sorcery, with a back-heel to Vitinha who fed the teenager for a firm, well-placed finish.
Enrique decided enough was enough and replaced Doue with Barcola, perhaps out of clemency.
But Kvaratskhelia soon rifled home at the near post from a Dembele pass before Mayulu rubbed salt in the wounds.
Alan Hansen once said that you can’t win anything with kids.
But then he’d never seen this bunch of youths.
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