Izuchukwu Okosi
Paris Saint-Germain players and coaching crew lifted aloft the UEFA Champions League trophy decked in blue to the Munich sky Saturday in a one-sided final as they thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 at the Allianz Arena for their first ever European title.
Heading into the final, Inter were considered the favourites for the title.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Serie A side edged Barcelona 4-3 in the semifinals in what was widely accepted as one of the most exhilarating games in the history of the club competition.
Read ALSO: PSG on their part eliminated Arsenal but the manner of their victory was not felt across the globe like the Inter vs Barcelona classic.
The win is the biggest margin in the final of the competition dating back to 1956 – as they claimed a treble after already winning Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.
Morocco international, Ashraf Hakimi opened the goals account in the 12th-minute for PSG against his former club while a brace came from 19-year-old France forward Désiré Doué — who became the first teenager to score twice in a final since Benfica’s Eusebio in a 5-3 win against Real Madrid in 1962.
That goal put PSG in firm control before former Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and 19-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu capped the French champions’ historic victory.
The Qatari-owned PSG had spent over a decade trying to win the Champions League by signing the world’s biggest stars, including Lionel Messi, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kylian Mbappé.
But after abandoning that policy two years ago in favor of signing young players, PSG have now become champions of Europe — ironically in their first season without Mbappé, who moved to Real Madrid last summer with the intention of winning the Champions League.
PSG’s win makes them only the second French club to lift the European Cup, after Marseille in 1993, and coach Luis Enrique made it his second success after guiding Barcelona to victory in 2015.
The Champions League had been elusive to PSG which made them embark on a recruitment drive of some of the world’s biggest players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar etc.
The hierarchy however stopped the top signings and elected to go the route of promising youngsters.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
