If it’s crossed your mind that European Champions League football doesn’t represent value for money, think again. One of last week’s semifinal ties was finalised only in extra time after both legs, with the Barcelona vs Inter Milan match netting 13 goals. Inter snuck through 7-6 on aggregate to book their place in the Munich final.
Statistics tend to be dull, but one is significant: Inter booked their place in the final with only 29% possession in the second leg. That suggests a masterclass in counterattacking football by a team who know their defensive system and how to transition to attack. Also worth noting is that Inter are old in European footballing terms. Their Armenian midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is 36, while defender Francesco Acerbi turned 37 in February. Acerbi scored Inter’s third goal against Barca to send the tie into extra time.
The other semifinal, between Paris St-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal, was the crabbier affair, producing only four goals over the home and away legs. But get this: the match also proved that all goals — to adapt George Orwell — are equal but some are more equal than others.
Take Fabián Ruiz’s left-footed strike halfway through the first half in Paris. Coming after a series of great saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma in the PSG goal, Ruiz’s crisply struck shot represented heartbreak for Arsenal. They were now two goals down on aggregate and would need to score three to reach the final. Suddenly a hill looked like a mountain.
There was a story behind Ruiz’s goal. It came because of a Declan Rice foul on the edge of the Arsenal box. From the resulting free kick, the ball was defended by Arsenal before floating to the former Napoli midfielder, who hit a sublime shot past David Raya in the Arsenal goal.
Rice would have, well, kicked himself for the clumsiness of the indiscretion because it was widely assumed that he was beyond such things. Wasn’t Rice the hero in Arsenal’s two victories over Real Madrid in the quarterfinals? Didn’t his two free kick goals in the second leg have every boy in England practising free kicks?
Now here he was, hero turned villain. Rice wouldn’t be human if he didn’t have a couple of sleepless nights in the next few weeks.
It isn’t often that an Italian team plays against a French team in the Champions League final. You have to go back to 1992/1993, when Marseille beat Inter’s neighbours, Milan, 1-0 in Munich. The deadlock in that final was broken with a rare goal from Marseille defender Basile Boli. The Munich final, scheduled for Saturday May 31, is likely to be a similarly watchful affair.
Both Inter and PSG had close-but-no-cigar moments in last season’s competition. Inter lost in extra time in the round of 16 to Atletico Madrid, who then lost to Borussia Dortmund in the quarters. In the semis, Dortmund accounted for none other than PSG, so both Inter and PSG have experienced the ups and downs of the walk without arriving in the fabled secret garden.
And both have lost finals in recent years, which will add to the pressure on coaches Simone Inzaghi (Inter) and Luis Enrique (PSG). Inzaghi was coach when Inter lost to Manchester City in the 2022/2023 final in Istanbul, and will be desperate to avoid a repeat.
When PSG lost the 2019/2020 final to Bayern Munich, Thomas Tuchel was coach, not Enrique. But it would not have escaped his attention that PSG have come perilously close twice in recent years, last year’s semifinal defeat by Dortmund being a case in point. As they say in the classics, now is the time.
Of the two coaches, Inzaghi is the more colourful. He cut a slightly Mr Bean-ish figure on the touchline against the infinitely sexier Barca in the semis, gesticulating, sulking and arguing for all he was worth. Saturday night on May 31 will be a long one for him and those who love him.
Inter, extended, stands for Internazionale, and Inzaghi has assembled an international side featuring Turks, Armenians, Argentinians, Dutchmen and, of course, Italians. They might lack for utter star quality — there is no Lamine Yamal in their midst — but here is a team of nous and savvy.
PSG are no slouches. With their sturdy roster of Portuguese professionals and Moroccan fullbacks, they are a team of hidden depths, as Arsenal discovered. The final will be a slugfest and, very possibly, one of the most exciting in years.
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