GOAL US writers debate the Champions League final, ask who can win it, and whether PSG are actually better without Kylian Mbappe
So, it all comes to a head. In the end, the two best teams are probably squaring off in the final. PSG can claim, with some validity, that they have been the best side in Europe this year, tearing through Ligue 1 and making Europe look remarkably easy.
Yes, they took a bit to get going, but did away with the two best sides in the Premier League. Inter, meanwhile, have been on this journey for a some time, and were about the better side in an enthralling semifinal tie with Barcelona. It could be their time to win this thing.
Either way, it's a tasty matchup. PSG are all attack, ferocious athleticism and real technical quality in the final-third. Inter are smart, strong, and more defensive. But they, too, have their attacking weapons.
Perhaps most crucially, though, both of these teams are also deeply flawed. The Parisians can be exploited on the break and Inter sometimes have a hard time finding the back of the net. Finals are supposed to be cagey; this one might be a good chance for chaos.
PSG have dominated domestic football but have fallen short in Europe, with their only previous Champions League final ending in defeat by Bayern Munich in 2020. Inter won the Champions League in 2010, after also lifting the European Cup in 1964 and 1965, while Olympique de Marseille are the only French club to have won the trophy, back in 1993.
So who will actually win it? Is Ousmane Dembele the main man with Kylian Mbappe now playing his football in Madrid? Who from Inter can make things happen? And from an American point of view, who will be the next USMNT star to play in Europe's biggest game?
GOAL US writers debate all of that and more in a Champions League edition of… The Rondo.
Getty ImagesWho will be the biggest difference-maker in the final?
Tom Hindle: If Inter are to do the thing, their midfield will really have to step up. Nicolo Barella has been one of Europe's worst-kept secrets in the midfield for a few years now and seems poised to play a key role in whatever the Italian side do on Saturday. A good game from him bolsters their chances infinitely. Watch this space. If a 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi can turn into prime R9 again, that would be cool, too.
Jacob Schneider: For PSG, it's absolutely Ousmane Dembele. If he REALLY wants to say he's worth a top-3 finish for the Ballon d'Or, this is his stage to prove it. For Inter Milan, it's got to be be either Federico DiMarco or Denzel Dumfries. The attacking prowess each brings, while offering defensive capabilities as well, is crucial to how Inter move the ball up. If their service is on, Lautaro Martinez will have opportunities to find the net.
Ryan Tolmich: It's not the fun answer, but it's the right one: Gianluigi Donnarumma. There are games at this level that goalkeepers can win single-handedly – and this could end up being one of those games. Donnarumma, at his best, is a trophy-winner, having proven it time and time again since he burst onto the scene as a teenager. Yes, there is attacking talent on both sides. Yes, tactics will come into play. Donnarumma, though, is the type of player that makes none of that stuff matter by simply keeping the ball out of the back of the net.
AdvertisementGettyAre PSG in the final because Kylian Mbappe left for Real Madrid?
TH: Si. Yes. Oui. 1000 precent. Anyone who watched PSG for the last few years could tell that Mbappe was holding them back. For every goal he scored, the Frenchman was making them worse by virtue of his complete apathy towards the concept of "defense." It is absolutely zero coincidence that this team has improved so much in his absence, although the hefty spend last summer certainly played a role, too. They are not a fairytale for spending hundreds of millions on extremely talented footballers.
JS: They absolutely are and anyone who argues otherwise doesn't understand the professional game. There is no centerpiece in this PSG team; they are a unit who thrive off the success of each other. Mbappe needed to be the focal point. It doesn't matter who lines up in the attack, whether it's Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – they play for each other, not for themselves. Mbappe moving to Madrid was the best possible outcome – PSG moved on from a star who needed a bigger stage, and it allowed them to become whole as a unit.
RT: In basketball, they'd call this the Ewing Theory (shoutout Bill Simmons). Team's best player goes down or leaves, and those that formerly catered to said player come together, find a new level of mental toughness and get the job done. It's hard to say that hasn't happened with PSG, who lost a big piece but replaced him with the pieces. They're not in the final just because Mbappe left, but they are in the final because, minus Mbappe, they've become a better team.
ImagnWho will be the next American to play in a UCL final?
TH: Uh, barring a transfer, it ain't happening any time soon. Perhaps if Antonee Robinson goes to Liverpool, he could end up playing in the final next year. Outside of that, it will be one of the other lads as part of a long-term project. How about Weston McKennie and a dream run in a couple seasons? Seems unlikely. Bank on a barren spell. And no, not hearing any of this Cavan Sullivan or Diego Kochen madness.
JS: So here's a hot take: if Caleb Wiley makes it at Chelsea, it could be him. In terms of Europe's elite, he is best positioned within a club that in 2-3 years time could compete for the UCL title. Christian Pulisic would need to leave Milan, same with McKennie or Tim Weah at Juventus, if they actually wanted to fight for it. Big picture, consider Cole Campbell. He has the tools to make it at one of Europe's top clubs. And in five years time – if Cavan Sullivan is in the Man City senior team – there's easily an opportunity there.
RT: Let's take a wild swing and go Kochen. First of all, you need to be at one of the best five-to-10 clubs in the world to even have a shot, and Kochen already checks that box. Folks on both side of the Atlantic are very high on him and, while we don't know if he'll ever be Barca standard, it does seem he has the potential to be very good. It all depends on how the club goes about its imminent goalkeeping transition but, if everything goes his way – and by everything we mean – you could someday see Kochen in net for Barca on the biggest stage.
AFPPrediction time: Who's going to win?
TH: Inter. PSG are really very good at this sport, and were immensely impressive against Arsenal. But lads, it's Arsenal. Inter beat a better team and have been here before. They're also infinitely more likable, so there's that. Grit over vibes.
JS: PSG are the more fun team to watch; there's a certain appeal to their attack if you enjoy a through ball, a slick skill move, a rabona of sorts. There's a carefree, yet serious, appeal to them that's reminiscent of some of the best clubs of the mid-to-late 2000s – it makes you want to root for them. With that, though, Inter Milan are a never-say-die program built on resiliency. It's hard to see this group, if they're at their best, letting it slip away.
RT: PSG has the sauce this year. The soccer gods have watched on with delight as they finally learned how to build a team that functions because of its stars, not caters to them. They have several of the best young players on the planet, and they have shed the "young" part of that in recent months. Inter, meanwhile, are good but seemingly not great. Bet on one last bit of PSG magic to solidify the club atop the European mountaintop.