PSG win first European Cup with record 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan
DPA
Munich
Rampant Paris Saint-Germain won a first European Cup after outclassing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final thanks in part to Désiré Doué's double on Saturday.
Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, at Inter 2020-2021, struck the opener on 12 minutes in Munich and France's Doué scored either side of the interval after the Qatar-backed French champions produced two lighting quick counter-attacks.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu added the gloss for the biggest ever win in a European Cup final, with the margin of victory eclipsing Real Madrid's famous 7-3 success over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960.
'I can't find the words. This is my biggest dream,' Doué said. 'We have written history.' Inter's Federico DiMarco had played Hakimi onside for the first and Doué's shot deflected in off the wing back for the second as the Parisians wrapped up an unprecedented French treble of Champions League, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France.
PSG, who lost their only other final 1-0 to Bayern Munich in 2020, have undergone a change in emphasis under Luis Enrique with big names such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe replaced by solid performers and up-and-coming talents.
The new strategy paid off as a jaded Inter, who beat Barcelona in a dramatic semi-final, lost out on more silverware having surrendered the Italian title to Napoli.
Spaniard Enrique had previously won the title as coach with Barcelona in 2015 - also in Germany in Berlin. He joins an elite group of coaches to win the prize for two different clubs, including Carlo Ancelotti, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes, Ernst Happel, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.
Inter, who had lifted the famous trophy three times but not since 2010, are again licking their wounds having lost to Manchester City in the 2023 final.
Clever interplay The Nerazzurri announced the death of former president Ernesto Pellegrini earlier on Saturday and wore black armbands at Munich's Allianz Arena in tribute.
The starting line-ups were exactly as expected for the world's most watched annual sporting event, with Doué again preferred to France team-mate Bradley Barcola on the wing.
US band Linkin Park entertained both sets of passionate fans before kick off and it was PSG who set the tempo early in the first competitive meeting between the sides.
PSG, who needed a play-off to reach the knockout stages but beat Champions League table winners Liverpool in the last 16, also saw off English sides Aston Villa and Arsenal in the next two rounds of this season's revamped competition.
Those wins prepared them for the physicality of the Italians, who finished fourth in the 36-strong league before edging Feyenoord, Bayern and Barcelona in epic style.
Inter struggled to get into the game and it was little surprise when their former full back Hakimi tapped in after clever interplay involving Vitinha and man-of-the-match Doué.
A break across the entire pitch then provided 19-year-old Doué with a shooting opportunity but his effort probably would not have beaten Sommer without the deflection off Dimarco.
Inter were going to need the sort of remarkable comeback which defeated Barca but Francesco Acerbi, who scored a key late equalizer in that semi-final, nodded over a good first-half opportunity - as did Marcus Thuram.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi had looked furious during the first half but his team-talk at the break failed to make must difference. PSG kept on getting shots away and another swift counter allowed Doué, who has one France cap, to slot home on 63 minutes.
Kvaratskhelia then grabbed a deserved goal 10 minutes later and substitute Mayulu got in on the act as Munich witnessed a masterclass.
Vitinha hinted at PSG's change of strategy in recent years after their Qatari owners, who took over in 2011, abandoned their pursuit of the biggest stars and instead built a team.
'We are a very, very good team. A true team,' he told DAZN. 'It is a lot of effort, a lot work.'d Jose Mourinho.
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