Paris Saint-Germain have finally won the Champions League, claiming their first-ever European crown by comprehensively defeating Inter Milan in the final on Saturday. But more importantly, they finally have a team worthy of the trophy.
We’ve seen several attempts from the Qatar-owned club to climb this mountain by acquiring great names in the game – from the likes of Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, through Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, to eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and one of the greatest players ever, Lionel Messi. But what eventually did the trick was something completely different – a team made with well-measured balance between youth and experience, loaded with technical ability, tactically drilled to perfection by a coach with a clear vision. It’s rather symbolic that the success came when the last piece of the previous era – Mbappe, who went to Real Madrid last summer – left the French capital.
Luis Enrique has created a team that has it all. They play with flair and plenty of attacking intent, regardless of the opposition. They topped the Champions League charts this season in shots taken, dribbles and chances created, but what makes them truly remarkable is the fact that while doing all this, they also covered the most ground, showing clearly that they don’t lack hard work either. And if that isn’t enough, they do have one of the best between the posts to fall back on.
Probably the most important aspect of PSG’s style is that no player sees himself above the rest of the team, above doing the basic tasks, or feels even the slightest resentment when another name from the team steals the headlines. You will see their skillful, exciting forwards track back and defend with everything they’ve got, and you will also see defenders appearing in the opposition six-yard box to score simple tap-ins. And however extraordinary those players are, to leave out the midfield section from this praise would be nothing short of criminal.
Against Inter, they ended the match (with all due respect to the Nerazzurri, it cannot be called a contest) with close to 60% possession and a total of 23 shots taken, but even those numbers, while indicating clear domination, don’t do justice to how superior they were to the Serie A side. It’s hard to remember if there ever was a more one-sided Champions League final – even the 5-0 scoreline at the final whistle appeared kind for Inter.
On their way to the final, PSG eliminated three Premier League sides, having already beaten Manchester City in the group stage. The comeback victory against Pep Guardiola’s side was truly remarkable and represented a turning point in what seemed like an hugely underwhelming Champions League campaign, but what caught the eye even more was the way they outplayed Liverpool in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash. Luck really wasn’t on their side in that game, with Alisson Becker in the Liverpool goal delivering a stunning performance to keep them at bay and Harvey Elliot scoring a late winner for his team, but it all came back as they beat the newly crowned English champions at Anfield through Ousmane Dembele’s early strike and then on penalties, as Gianluigi Donnarumma stepped up to show he can do as good as Alisson.
It was, perhaps, easier against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, where a 3-1 victory in Paris outweighed the 3-2 defeat to the side coached by their former boss Unai Emery at Villa Park, and they almost routinely beat Arsenal in both legs of the semifinal.
Having secured the Ligue 1 title a while back, PSG claimed the French Cup by beating Stade de Reims in the final last week. Now they’ve completed the treble, and the work for the 2024/25 is done in a spectacular fashion. Some well-deserved rest is next for Enrique and his men, and then new challenges await in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Enrique and the club hierarchy will, however, already be thinking about the future beyond that. The 2025/26 will come fast, and pondering ways to maintain, and even try to build on, the success of 2024/25 will obviously be high on their priority list.
