A new name on the trophy, and a new star born.
Desire Doue turns 20 on Tuesday, and the outstanding Paris Saint-Germain attacker was the pick of the bunch as his team utterly humiliated Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the very first time in Munich, and by a record margin in a final.
Doue scored either side of half-time after assisting Achraf Hakimi for the opener. The young Frenchman had been withdrawn by the time Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced onto Ousmane Dembele’s pass for the fourth, before 19-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu put the seal on the most dominant major European final victory of modern times.
PSG, who beat all four English teams who had participated in the Champions League this season – Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal – en route to the final, were expected to boss possession in Munich, but their level of domination proved to be quite startling.
Right from the off the Parisians were in complete control, and it was no surprise when they cut open Inter for the first goal inside 12 minutes.
Vitinha picked out Kvaratskhelia on the left, and after the Georgian scurried into the box he found Fabian Ruiz, who laid off to the alert Vitinha again. The Portuguese’s precise pass found Doue, and with Federico Dimarco haplessly playing him onside and losing Hakimi in the process, Doue squared for Hakimi to tap home a goal that was beautiful in its simplicity.
Hakimi, who played for Inter for a season in 2020-21, opted not to celebrate, but after netting against Villa in the quarters and Arsenal in the semis he’s used to the acclaim by now.
Then eight minutes later it was two as PSG showed their power on the break. Kvaratskhelia ran the ball from the corner of his own box, found Dembele who was suddenly on the edge of the Inter one, and the top scorer’s ball across found Doue.
A teenager for three more days, the youngster cut a decidedly calmer figure than the jumpy Dimarco, who inexplicably turned his back and then watched on as Doue’s shot flicked off him and beat Yann Sommer.
Inter, who lost the Serie A title in their final game of the season and were beaten in the Coppa Italia semi-final by rivals Milan, looked absolutely shell-shocked as treble heartbreak seemed inevitable.
Marcus Thuram headed over from a corner when he could have done better, but Inter were the clear second best, and Kvaratskhelia and Dembele could have added to PSG’s lead before the break.
Kvaratskhelia then blazed narrowly wide at the start of the second half, but as an agitated, and booked, Inter boss Simone Inzaghi desperately shuffled his pack, the third PSG goal was imminent.
Dembele released Vitinha with a clever flick, and the former Wolves midfielder burst away and played in Doue, who finished unerringly into the corner of the net for his second. The shirt came off in the celebration, and all bets were off now too.
Doue soon departed to a standing ovation, and it was left to PSG’s other two outstanding attackers to combine for the fourth. The brilliant Dembele set Kvaratskhelia racing away, and the man who was a Napoli player until January wasn’t going to miss.
Substitute Bradley Barcola almost made it five with a superb effort, but he then teed up a delirious Mayulu to wrap it up with a fine finish off the post. Inter were dizzied, dazed and dismantled.
