PSG come of age with Champions League destruction of Inter as pain of Scott McTominay and Napoli multiplied

It has taken owners Qatari Sports Investments - essentially the Qatari state - 14 years and billions of euros to get to this point, their utopia. But on a muggy night in Munich, this swashbuckling PSG team under coach Luis Enrique romped to the title, filleting Internazionale 5-0 at the Allianz Arena and breaking records in the process.

The Italian side have been the masters of getting out of tight spots in this season's Champions League. However, this was a bridge too far. PSG were too good, too lethal in the final third of the pitch, too quick and too powerful. Nobody has been able to stop them this season. The Parisians have won the quadruple: Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Trophée des Champions and now the Champions League.

A little ominously for the rest of Europe, this PSG team is pretty young. Man of the match and double-scorer Desire Doue is still a teenager. There is so much room to grow under Enrique, who has them playing a gorgeous style of football.

Admittedly, Inter helped them. The Serie A runners-up were insipid and barely tested the man-mountain PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The powers of recovery they showed in the semi-finals against Barcelona had waned.

The month of May has ended cruelly for Simeone Inzaghi's Inter. They were pipped to the domestic Scudetto by Napoli and their Scottish duo of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour. Winning the Champions League would have served as a strong consolation but as it is, they end the season trophyless. Fine margins for the Nerazzurri.

PSG’s new superstars

PSG will need a new annexe in their trophy cabinet. There were fears that they would not recover from the departure of star player Kylian Mbappe last summer to Real Madrid. One man does not make a team.

Under the Qataris, PSG have plundered other leagues at great expense to bring in some of the sport's global superstars. Leo Messi, Neymar, Mbappe and David Beckham have all come and gone at the Parc des Princes and not landed Europe's biggest prize. This time, it was the turn of Ousmane Dembele, Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to be the terrible trio.

For Kvaratskhelia, who walked out on McTominay and Co at Napoli in January to chase the Parisian dream, this will further vindicate his decision. The Georgian is such an impressive footballer and he was excellent once more in Bavaria. He is entitled to winners' medals from the Champions League, Ligue 1 and Serie A. Not bad.

This triumph also ends France's long wait for a European champion. The nation's only prior victoire came in 1993, when Marseille prevailed against Inter's city rivals AC Milan. PSG lost to Bayern Munich in 2020, and there was some nice closure that their crowning moment came at the stadium of the team who caused them heartache five years ago in Lisbon.

Inter last won the Champions League in 2010, when Jose Mourinho was at the helm. This time there was no Diego Miltio-esque hero in the first final for 20 years where a Spanish, English or German side was not involved.

The Allianz Arena looked resplendent on its big night. Bayern Munich had hoped to make it on their own turf after ending Scottish champions Celtic's participation in the play-offs for the last 16, but they were put to the sword by Inter a round later.

Inter left numb

Remarkably, this was the first time that PSG and Inter had met competitively. Both teams normally wear dark blue, so it was the Italians who donned their bright yellow third kit. Ahead of the kick-off, Linkin Park put on a show to the crowd. Lamentably for Inzaghi, it was his team who was left numb by the 20-minute mark.

PSG dominated possession early on, hemming Inter back. The breakthrough came after 12 minutes, via a former Inter player. Achraf Hakimi won Serie A during his solitary season at the San Siro. The Moroccan is one of the finest attacking full-backs out there and he breezed into the danger area unmarked to fire home Doue's cross beyond Yann Sommer.

The Swiss keeper was even more helpless eight minutes later when Dembele fed Doue and the 19-year-old's shot took a wicked deflection off Federico Dimarco to nestle into the net.

PSG fans let off red smoke bombs and flares to celebrate. Even at this early stage, the trophy was in their hands. Inter tried to rally, but the closest they came in the first half was when Marcus Thuram headed wide at the back post. The fast start from PSG allowed them to counter dangerously as Inter probed for a way back in. Dembele could have made it 3-0 a minute before the break but he fluffed his lines at the back post after an outrageously good pass from Doue.

PSG put the tin lid on proceedings on 63 minutes. Oh what a magnificent goal this was. Dembele's backheel in the build-up was so clever, setting Vitinha clear. He weighed his pass impeccably to Doue and as he bore down on Sommer, he coolly slotted in at his near post. He celebrated by taking off his shirt. Remember, this kid is just 19.

Now it was a question of how many. Enrique showed Inter some clemency by taking off Doue - although his replacement Bradley Barcola is rather handy too.

The goals that made history

The scoring continued. On 73 minutes, Dembele set Kvaratskhelia clear and he finished neatly, becoming the first man from his homeland to score in a Champions League final.

PSG now had 20 minutes or so to clock up the biggest final winning margin in the history of the Champions League. They continued to squeeze the life out of Inter. Barcola somehow missed on 81 minutes after making a mockery of limp Inter defenders.

It was left to an 18-year-old to ink the record books. On 87 minutes, substitute Senny Mayulu netted via the post. Perfection for Paris. The most fitting of European champions.