UEFA Champions League Final Confirmed as Inter and PSG Punch Their Tickets To Munich

UEFA Champions League Final Confirmed as Inter and PSG Punch Their Tickets To Munich

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign has been a thriller from the get-go, and now we know our finalists. Both Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain punched their tickets to the Allianz Arena showpiece with victories against Barcelona and Arsenal, respectively. Now, all roads lead to Munich as both sides look to lift the famous big-eared trophy.

The Nerazzurri have plenty of pedigree on the continental stage, famously winning the Champions League under Jose Mourinho back in 2010, as well as reaching the final just two years ago. That triumph under the Special One 15 years ago remains the most recent Italian triumph in the biggest club competition on the planet, and they will be aiming to add to their haul of three trophies.

PSG, meanwhile, has never won the Champions League. They did reach the final five years ago, but that particular foray ended in heartbreak in Lisbon’s mini tournament.

Back then, Bayern Munich emerged as the victors thanks to Kingsley Coman’s header against his former club, but online sports betting sites think that 2025 could finally be the French side’s year. A popular online sports betting site currently has them listed as the 1.57 favorites to lift the crown this season, with Inter a narrow 2.37 underdog.

PSG Weather Arsenal Storm in Paris

Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain already had one foot in the final following their 1-0 victory in the semi-final first leg against Arsenal in London. Ballon d'Or contender Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game at the Emirates, netting inside four minutes. In the reverse fixture, however, it was the opposite story.

The Gunners came flying out of the blocks at the Parc Des Princes and could have scored three times inside the first six minutes. Two brilliant saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma firstly kept out Mikel Merino and then captain Martin Odegaard as Arsenal piled on the early pressure. Before that, Declan Rice sent a header wide past the left-hand post when it looked easier to score. And ultimately, those misses would prove costly.

Against the run of play, it was the Parisians that opened the scoring when Fabian Ruiz rifled home from the edge of the area as Arsenal struggled to clear their lines from a free kick. In the second half, PSG doubled their lead as the Gunners once again failed to clear their lines. This time around, Thomas Partey was caught dallying on the ball on the edge of the box, and his hesitation allowed Achraf Hakimi to fire home the French side's second.

Needing three to even take the contest to extra time, Arsenal struck back through Bukayo Saka. The talented English winger then had another golden opportunity to score, but he inexplicably missed an open goal from six yards out, and he took any faint hopes of a Gunners comeback into the Parisian night sky with him. With the 3-1 aggregate victory, the reigning Ligue 1 champions have now reached their second Champions League final in five years, and they will be hoping for a different result this time around.

Inter Beat Barcelona in a Thriller

The first leg of the semifinal between Barcelona and Inter Milan in Catalonia was an absolute thriller, ultimately finishing 3-3 even though the visitors led 2-0 early on. And much like they did in the away fixture, the Nerazzurri once again took the fight to their Spanish rivals in the reverse fixture in the San Siro.

An early goal from captain Lautaro Martinez gave Inter a 1-0 lead, before Hakan Çalhanoğlu's penalty on the stroke of half-time must have led many to think they had secured their spot in the final. But write this Barcelona team off at your peril. Two goals in six second-half minutes from Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo suddenly had the Blaugrana level. Then, Barca had seemingly completed the comeback of all comebacks when Raphinha made it 3-2 with just three minutes remaining.

Somehow, though, Inter weren't finished yet. They equalized in the third minute of injury time through veteran defender Francesco Acerbi. That strike forced extra time following a gripping 6-6 aggregate score, but despite things being level overall, it was Inter who had all the momentum. Nine minutes into the additional period, they made that momentum count when Davide Frattesi struck brilliantly, and a fourth goal was one too many for Barcelona to overcome.

When the knockout round was initially drawn, many thought we would be treated to a clash between two of the planet’s biggest rivals, namely Barcelona and Real Madrid, on the grandest stage of them all. However, the latter were downed by Arsenal in the quarter-finals, and the former has now been beaten by the reigning Italian champions.

In Inter Milan's most recent Champions League triumph back in 2010, they beat Barcelona in the semifinals despite being huge underdogs, before defeating Bayern in the Bernabeu thanks to Diego Milito’s brace. Fast forward 15 years and they have beaten the Blaugrana in the semis again.

Now, they will be hoping to secure the same result in the final, albeit against Paris Saint-Germain rather than Germany’s record champions. And just like under Mourinho 15 years ago, they will once again be the underdogs.