'Defeated' Simone Inzaghi (49), the coach, spoke heavily about the defeat in the final.
Inter was thoroughly overwhelmed by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) with a score of 0-5 in the UEFA Champions League final held at Fussball Arena Munich in Munich, Germany, on Dec. 1 (Korea time) for the 2024-2025 season. Although Inter Milan had shown a solid defense that dominated across Europe throughout the season, they suffered a 'complete defeat' in the final, never having experienced such a thing before.
In the Champions League this season, Inter only trailed for a total of 998 seconds (about 16 minutes and 38 seconds) before the final, but cracks began to appear just 12 minutes into the first half. PSG's promising player, Desiré Duhé, finished off a sharp cross from Achraf Hakimi, resulting in a goal. Hakimi, a former Inter player, restrained his celebrations after scoring, but the atmosphere already tilted in PSG's favor.
Eight minutes later, Duhé scored his own goal, increasing the score. In the 20th minute of the first half, Duhé's shot, after receiving a cross from Ousmane Dembélé, deflected off a defender and was sucked into the net. Inter created several opportunities to recover a goal, but Thuram's header narrowly missed, ending the first half at 0-2.
The situation did not improve in the second half. Inter Milan collapsed helplessly, conceding goals in succession to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Hakimi, Duhé, and Sani Maïulu. In the 63rd minute, Duhé's multi-goal effectively decided the match, and in the 73rd minute, they allowed an additional goal to Kvaratskhelia, and in the 81st minute to Maïulu, resulting in an unprecedented '5 goals conceded' in the history of the finals.
Inter lined up in a 3-5-2 formation for the match. Lautaro Martínez and Thuram formed a two-top, while DiMarco, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, and Dumfries formed the midfield. The defense was composed of Bastoni, Acerbi, and Pavard, while Yann Sommer guarded the goal. However, it was insufficient to withstand PSG's speed and skill.
After the match, coach Simone Inzaghi noted, "We have never collapsed in this way before. PSG was perfect, and we could not respond."
After the match, the statistics firm Opta pointed out, "Inter Milan became the first team in Champions League final history to concede 5 goals. Including the European Cup era, the last team to concede 5 goals in a final was SL Benfica, who lost 3-5 to Real Madrid in 1962."
After the match, the UEFA Champions League reported on its official website an interview with Simone Inzaghi, Inter's coach. 'Defeated' Inzaghi stated, "PSG deserved to lift the trophy. We are disappointed, but the process to get here was excellent. As a coach, I am proud of my players. Of course, the performance in the match was not sufficient for us."
He also added, "I told the players I was grateful for the performance they showed this season. We did not lift the trophy, but I am proud to be the coach of this team."
When asked what can be learned from this defeat, Inzaghi replied, "We need to learn from defeats and become stronger. Today's defeat hurts like the Istanbul final. The match performance was different, but PSG always took the ball first. We should have done much better."
He also stated, "Such a large defeat in a final is heavy. However, we can become stronger through this defeat. We had a similar experience in 2023 and won the league title the following season."
Finally, coach Inzaghi said, "We have poured everything into reaching this point after playing a total of 58 matches this season. It is disappointing and sad. But the players showed everything they had."
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