New Delhi: In their obsession to win the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain bought the moon yet they could only land among the stars. But despite luring in the likes of Neymar, Thiago Silva, Lionel Messi, Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kylian Mbappe, they couldn’t win the holy grail of club football.
Until Luis Enrique took charge and transformed them into Champions League winners for the first time with a 5-0 mauling of Inter Milan in the final. The Spaniard went completely the other way PSG had taken to win the Champions League in previous years, with their quest ending with a beautiful climax in Munich on Saturday.
Not relying too heavily on one attacker for goals, moving as a team, pressing and defending as a unit has been a hallmark of coach Enrique, which enabled him to win the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015.
He has taken it a notch higher at PSG, who passed tirelessly, their forwards dropped deep to defend religiously and wingers protected fullbacks from getting exposed.
When they moved forward with the ball, they had a definite plan on how to hurt opponents, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s trickery and Ousmane Dembele’s pace troubling Inter in the final.
Adding a dash of youth worked wonders as their player of the match in Munich was 19-year-old Desire Doue, who created the first goal and score a brace. Their goal came from Senny Mayulu, another 19-year-old talent who grew up in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.
‘More energy’
On their way to the final, Inter were behind only for 17 minutes in 14 matches. But PSG were so clinical in front of goal and efficient in transitions from defence to attack that the final at times resembled a training session against an amateur side, rather than a high-stakes final against a three-time champion.
“They were better on every level. They had more energy,” Inter medio Nicolo Barella accepted after the game.
PSG had anything but that before Enrique checked in as coach in 2023. With big names and inflated egos, player power reigned supreme as PSG booted in one coach after another after repeated failures in Europe.
Enrique first took control of the dressing room, so Neymar and midfielder Marco Verratti were sold and Dembele dropped not included in starting line-ups to drive home the motto of discipline and dedication.
He also coped with departure of the club’s record scorer Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid by remoulding Dembele into a prolific scorer.
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But significantly the PSG attack wasn’t only about Dembele or the elusive Kvaratskhelia, it had a bit a bit of everything – power, pace, skill and effectiveness.
It took a lot of courage amid criticism from the press to rely on a unit of attackers. Had they got eliminated from the Champions League group stage after trailing 0-2 at Manchester City, calls for his head would had gotten louder.
But overturning that deficit to a 4-1 turned out to be the hallmark of their season as like in that match, PSG’s redesigned attack had four different scorers in the final too.
“This is the time for a great party and to make the most of this moment. I felt this connection with the players and the fans, I think it was a very strong connection throughout the season,” Enrique said, as he rejoiced after joining an elite list of coaches to win the Champions League with multiple clubs.
Luis Enrique joinied an elite list of coaches to win the Champions League with multiple clubs as his PSG thumped Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
