Paris Saint-Germain meet Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich for the 2025 UEFA Champions League final.
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00:00It's once again time for Europe's most prestigious football match.
00:04Inter will play PSG in Munich in the final, with Champions League glory on the line.
00:10So who will come out on top in Germany and be crowned European champions?
00:20Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:23After two dazzling semi-finals, the pinnacle of the European football season is just around the corner.
00:30On this week's episode, we're taking a look ahead to the UEFA Champions League final,
00:35which this year is being held at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
00:39It's been another thrilling year in what was a debut season for the competition's new format,
00:45and it concludes with Internationale facing Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
00:49It's so nice to not have a Champions League that's dominated by Manchester City and Real Madrid for once.
00:55Even though Inter's been there before, it seems like we're always talking about the same teams in the Champions League latter stages.
01:00And now we're talking about two teams who haven't won it in a very long time.
01:04You see, what was so interesting with Inter-Barcelona is where Barcelona's weaknesses are,
01:08is actually where Inter's strengths are, because they are a team that knows how to navigate the spaces.
01:13They are brilliant on the counter-attack.
01:15And even though I would say that I don't think that they defended very well,
01:19they knew how to navigate the moment within that match.
01:21Luis Enrique has won the treble, and he won it ten years ago.
01:24And I would say that his side is the most complete.
01:27And what PSG can do right now, more than just have a group that plays and fights for each other,
01:32is that they can play a different variety of styles.
01:34And I'm going to be honest with you, I think that maybe Luis Enrique just has enough with this young team to do something special.
01:41After a strong league phase, which saw them finish four from the table,
01:46Inter saw off Dutch side Feyenoord before navigating through some really difficult fixtures against Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
01:53This is their second final in the space of three seasons.
01:56Back in 2023, they were narrowly beaten by the juggernaut that was Manchester City's treble-winning team.
02:04But now Inter are back, looking for their first European Cup since 2010.
02:09So two years on from that defeat in Istanbul, are Inter ready to make that final step and lift the trophy?
02:17I think they were brilliant two years ago in the sense that even in that final,
02:21there was every opportunity that they would be able to win it.
02:24I think that they matched Manchester City and they were brilliant to watch.
02:27But if I was to tell you the determining factor, I would say to Inzaghi's tactics are starting to watch.
02:33I think the way that he has fostered this great climate and that push and that ability to play in the Champions League
02:39and win against such tough opponents, I think he honed in on some of their experience,
02:44which meant that they were capable of winning those 50-50s that Barcelona were complaining about with refereeing decisions.
02:49Veteran experience, experience at the highest level after many years, makes you know how to win those 50-50s.
02:54It shows you how to play that game on the edge, knowing what is allowed and what isn't allowed.
02:59And I think that's what they have as well.
03:01This is the game that they've been looking forward to the most.
03:04They have not cared about the Coppa Italia, obviously knocked out by Milan.
03:07They've lost ground in Serie A. The Champions League is all they've covered.
03:10Not just because they so desperately want this trophy, but also all the money that comes with it,
03:15which will help them rejuvenate this ageing squad.
03:18Inter's opponents, PSG, have made it into what is only the second Champions League final in the club's history.
03:25It was defeat to Bayern Munich during the Covid-19 pandemic back in 2020.
03:30But this season, they've worked hard to earn another opportunity at winning this competition.
03:35After finishing 15th in the initial league phase, PSG have impressively overcome three ties with English teams to make it to Munich.
03:45They saw off this season's top two in the Premier League, Liverpool and Arsenal, as well as Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
03:52Now they face a different test in this Inter's side.
03:56But can their ferocious attacking talents find a way to outscore the Italians?
04:01For me, this season has been exceptional.
04:04Well, it was a bit complicated for the PSG at the beginning, but it's what it makes it so passionately.
04:09The PSG has never met a team like the Inter Milan.
04:12It's just this contrast.
04:13On the other hand, you have a very structured team, capable of covering your defense and exploiting the spaces like the Inter Milan.
04:19And on the other hand, the PSG, which is a bit more fluid to lead to the attack, and on the fast circulation of the ball, so that's what will make the match of this final.
04:30Yes, it will be a real tactical duel.
04:32What a turnaround it has been for PSG. Not many gave them a chance in this season's competition, on the back of Kylian Mbappe, moving to Real Madrid last summer.
04:44Earlier in the year, we reported how the club changed their strategy from buying superstars to developing young talents.
04:51And it's that change in approach that has given the club the opportunity to make it all the way to Munich.
04:57It's like I said earlier, it's an exceptional player, it's an extraordinary player, but I think that his start allowed the PSG to re-centrate, to re-pensate his strategy in deep depth.
05:08Lucien Riquet, he had to be questioned it, and it also marked the end of a cycle based on individuality.
05:13In fact, it's a new era that started, it's the era of the collective, the PSG, and not to build a club on a single player, a single star, or a single star.
05:21Yes, there was a real change of mentality, and it's perhaps that's what defines the new PSG, a more spectacular team individually, but more solid collectively, and it's visible that it works very well.
05:33We're at the end, so what can we say about it?
05:36Another intriguing Champions League final awaits then.
05:40PSG face Inter in Munich, with both clubs desperate to avenge heartbreak on this stage in very recent memory.
05:48Who will finally get their hands on the trophy?
05:51Let us know your thoughts using the hashtag FootballNowCLFinal.
05:56That's all we've got time for though this week here from the Albay Stadium in Qatar.
06:00We'll see you next time.
06:02Bye for now.
06:06Bye for now.