New-look PSG make history on emotional night for Luis Enrique

BBC News

2 days ago

Luis Enrique wept tears of joy and emotion as Paris St-Germain delivered the performance of a lifetime to win the Champions League for the first time on a remarkable night in Munich.And, as PSG outclassed Inter Milan for a historic 5-0 victory, brilliant teenager Desire Doue confirmed his status as one half of a new duo of young superstars - alongside Barcelona's Lamine Yamal - who have the genius to dominate the game for years to come.The poignant human story was PSG coach Luis Enrique, who became only the sixth coach to win this tournament with two different clubs after his triumph with Barcelona in 2015.The sporting story was one of the finest team displays in the history of this tournament, in this and its previous guise of the European Cup, with generational teenage talent Doue as its centrepiece.On the most important night of a career, Doue made the biggest stage in European club football his playground.This was also a win heavy with significance and meaning for 55-year-old Asturian Luis Enrique, beyond the glory of the brutal beauty of this PSG triumph that finally brought the giant Champions League trophy to The City Of Light.The man who has transformed PSG has spoken about how he helped his daughter Xana plant a Barcelona flag in the centre circle after that 2015 triumph over Juventus in Berlin. He said he hoped he might make the same gesture here in her memory after she died from a rare form of bone cancer aged nine in 2019. In the afterglow of victory, he pulled on a t-shirt bearing an image of himself and his daughter planting a PSG flag.And then, in a moment of raw emotion, PSG's "Ultras" unfurled their own tribute - a giant flag emblazoned with an image of father and daughter, in the French club's shirt, planting a flag.It was a wonderful gesture on a joyful night for PSG in Munich, when all their agonies as they chased the Champions League were washed away in one of the greatest displays any team has produced in a European final."I'm very happy. It was very emotional at the end with the banner from the fans for my family. But I always think about my daughter," said Luis Enrique."Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies, and Paris had never won the Champions League. We did it for the first time. It's a great feeling to make many people happy."
And the inspiration was 19-year-old Doue, now a fully-fledged superstar, a far cry from the vulnerable youngster who only lasted 64 minutes before being replaced in the 2-0 loss at Arsenal in October.It was after 63 minutes here on this humid night in Munich that Doue applied another flourish to a magical performance, steering home his second goal and PSG's third after making the first for Achraf Hakimi in the 12th minute then adding the second eight minutes later.When he was taken off moments after scoring his second, football had watched a generational talent who will grace the game for years to come.He is only the third teenager to score in a Champions League final after Patrick Kluivert for Ajax in 1995 and Carlos Alberto for Porto nine years later. The forward was also the first player to be involved in three goals in a Champions League final, with an assist and two himself.And, at 19 years and 362 days, Doue became the youngest player to score two goals in a European Cup or Champions League final, overtaking Eusébio who was 20 years and 97 days old when he did the same for Benfica against Real Madrid in 1962.He was part of a complete PSG performance, their incremental improvement throughout the Champions League, when they took a swathe to the Premier League's elite by beating Manchester City then knocking out Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in the knockout stage, climaxed in the most stunning, emphatic fashion.If Inter Milan had a plan, PSG gave them no opportunity to implement it.Doue smiled broadly as he lifted the trophy, a career in its infancy but with golden years ahead. And even though 17-year-old Yamal was stopped at the Champions League semi-final stage by Inter, it does not take a leap of the imagination to see the young Barcelona forward and Doue as the shining lights contesting the game's major prizes in years to come.
As they have done throughout this Champions League campaign, PSG's "Ultras" unfurled a giant tifo with a message for the players they hoped would finally put them at the pinnacle of European football.It read: "Ensemble, Nous Sommes Invincibles" – Together, We Are Invincible.And they were here, the notion that the youngest team in the Champions League might falter against the oldest was exploded from the first whistle.This was football played at another level, pace and intensity matched by the highest quality. PSG looked younger and faster as the game went on while this experienced Inter side grew older before the very eyes.The statistics built a monument to just how good PSG were.The five-goal victory margin was the biggest in any European Cup or Champions League final.Even after Doue went off, the relentless punishment continued as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and 19-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu added further goals.PSG were the best team in the Champions League. The competition got fitting winners, but rarely have winners played like this, sweeping aside supposedly formidable opposition in a manner that will live forever in the memory of all who witnessed it.The final scoreline almost did a kindness to a bedraggled Inter, such was PSG's dominance and the sheer number of chances they created.This was thrilling, progressive football that will set the standard for every side in Europe who have designs on the Champions League.
All done after a switch of strategy away from the "bling bling" days of France forward Kylian Mbappe, Brazil's Neymar and Argentina's Lionel Messi.What must Mbappe have felt watching this?Luis Enrique seized his chance, convinced club president Nasser al-Khelaifi and football advisor Luis Campos that he could build a better PSG side in the post-Mbappe era, and there could be no more compelling proof than this."This season is best season ever and we are so proud," Al-Khelaifi told CBS. "We are building the team for the future. Whatever the outcome was today, we are not going to change. The real work starts today. We need to be humble and down to earth."I am so proud, for the fans, for France. I think it is amazing for France, not just for Paris, because France deserves better. We have a good league, good historic clubs and we are sure it is going to be getting better."It has been hard. We have been criticised a lot. We have been trying to work for French football and people were criticising what we were doing. It really hurts of course, but for me I was focused on our goal."This year was not planned as the year. Today, thanks God that the team proved we have the best manager in the world, the best coach in the world, the best players and amazing fans."
It was, quite simply, one of the all-time great performances in a European final.Chris Sutton, in Munich, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Luis Enrique was the final piece in the jigsaw to get them here. In terms of top European managers of all time, he has to be in that category. "The age profile of the team, we mentioned Doue, Vitinha, Joao Neves, Willian Pacho and Hakimi. It's where they go from here."This is a team that are just at the start of their evolution. The main thing for me is the work ethic. This is a team who are prepared to run and they put the graft in and that's why they were successful."And former Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Sport: "It's the best performance I can remember in a Champions League final, or pretty much in any final."
Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.