"This is just the beginning": Doué's serious warning
Paris Saint-Germain made their first Champions League final triumph look easy. Given their young squad, PSG could have ushered in an era—at least, that's what Desiré Doué believes.
Scored twice in the final: Desiré Doué. IMAGO/Alexandra Fechete
Despite three goals, several substitutions, and a treatment break due to Yann Aurel Bisseck's injury, referee Istvan Kovacs decided not to add any extra time to the Champions League final. The fact that the defeated Inter Milan players were likely happy about this can be seen as indirect praise for PSG. The Parisians dominated Milan almost at will throughout the match and, regardless of the result, stuck to their game plan – even when working intensively off the ball.
This earned the capital club not only its first Champions League victory in club history, but also its greatest success in a final ever: Never before had a team won by a five-goal margin; before PSG, Benfica Lisbon had last scored five goals in a final in 1962. "Playing a Champions League final and winning it like that—5-0—against a team like Inter Milan, that's difficult," said Ousmane Dembelé on the Canal+ microphone.
Although it looked so easy, for Vitinha , it was "no magic." Rather, he and his teammates had "worked hard" for it. The rewards were reflected on the pitch – at least in the Champions League – starting in the new year. Only with a 4-2 win against Man City and a 4-1 victory in Stuttgart did the Parisians impressively "save" themselves from fifteenth place in the table and make it into the playoffs .
I said I wanted to lead by example, score goals and defend.
In the knockout phase, Luis Enrique's team then eliminated Stade Brest, Liverpool, Aston Villa, andArsenal . "We managed to improve after a very poor start. We gained confidence and played big games against Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal," explained Dembelé.
His transformation itself is somewhat symbolic of the entire team. The striker's frequent high-speed runs against goalkeeper Yann Sommer would have been unimaginable a year ago. "You have to give 100 percent and defend. I said I want to lead by example, score goals and defend. We're a real team," Dembelé explained.
To single out one player from this team would certainly not do justice to the other players. However, in the final, 19-year-old Desiré Doué shone somewhat over with one assist and two goals – no player before him had been directly involved in so many goals in a Champions League final. "This is my biggest dream, and it's come true here," said the youngster. The Frenchman is one of numerous young players (the average age of the starting eleven was 25 years and 96 days) who are already playing a central role. Therefore, Doué's statement could also be interpreted as a serious warning: "We have made history, and this is just the beginning."
