Champions League Finals: 6 Players To Look Out For

In the next 24 hours, the long-awaited Champions League final pitting Internazionale Milan and Paris Saint-Germain will kick off in Munich. From the 36 teams that began the tournament last July, we’re down to the best two. And by the end of Saturday night, one of the two will be crowned King of Europe. 

Not many would have had Inter or PSG down as favorites at the beginning of the season. Les Parisiens had lost their top marksman and captain to Real Madrid and were not Champions League finals regulars by any stretch of the imagination. They only had one previous finals appearance to boast about. The spectator-less spectacle they lost to Bayern Munich at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Who wins this Champions league showdown?

How Did We Get Here?

Their opponents have lifted the Big Ears three times before, most recently in 2010 under José Mourinho’s stewardship. Having recently surrendered their Serie A crown to Napoli, the Nerazzurri will be extra motivated to reclaim UCL honors. But the French champions will be just as fired up. In addition to winning the tournament for the first time, PSG will be looking to banish the ‘farmers’ league’ tag from Ligue 1. A chance to win their first treble is also in the offing. 

There’s plenty at stake for both finalists, but their fate will rest on the shoulders of the 22 players who take the field tomorrow. Here are the six we feel will play a key role in deciding whether the trophy ends up in France or Italy. 

Achraf Hakimi     

In Achraf Hakimi, PSG boasts arguably Europe’s best right-back. He had already proven his strength in defense and effectiveness in attack while he was still on Inter Milan’s books. Under Luis Enrique, the Moroccan appears to have improved his overall understanding of the game. And his vast experience on football’s biggest stages has made him the mentor a young PSG squad needs. 

Hakimi has been a reliable source of crucial goals for PSG this season. His goal in the return leg of their Champions League semifinal tie against Arsenal sealed Les Parisiens’ passage into the finals. A week ago, he scored one of the three goals against Stade de Reims that won PSG their 16th Coupe de France title.

Ousmane Dembélé

Kylian Mbappé’s departure proved to be just the catalyst required for Dembélé’s potential to be unleashed. Luis Enrique has given the ex-Barcelona attacker license to collect the ball from deep and attack defenses from either flank or through the center. He’s used this freedom to devastating effect in Ligue 1, racking up the 21 goals he needed to scoop the Golden Boot.

The Frenchman has replicated his domestic form in Europe, scoring 8 goals, including the cleverly placed shot that set PSG on the path to semifinal victory. That chance was set up by Khvicha Kvaratshkelia after another of his unpredictable dribbles. Working in tandem with the Georgian, Désiré Doué, and aforementioned Hakimi, Dembélé will be an incessant thorn in the Milanese outfit’s backside.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

PSG’s fluid attack has deservedly been the talk of the footballing world. It took them to the Champions League final. But their goalkeeper has also been quietly enjoying the season of his life. When he traded Milan for Paris four years ago, the 26-year-old was one of the most talked about keepers in Europe. And he proved his worth to Les Parisiens with displays that earned him the Yashin Trophy. However, the seasons that followed were less glamorous for Donnarumma.

But the Italian, like a number of his teammates, has recaptured his best form this season. Arsenal can bear witness to this after he produced four stunning saves to restrict the Gunners to just one goal in the semifinal second leg in Paris. Mikel Arteta called him the tie’s best player in the post-game presser. Lautaro Martinez and his mates will have to be at their most clinical to find a way past the Italy number 1.    

Denzel Dumfries

Inter Milan seems to have a good eye for picking gifted right-backs. After losing Hakimi to PSG in the summer of 2021, Inter signed Dumfries from PSV for what now appears to have been an absolute bargain. Little did the world know he would develop into one of the best wing-backs in the game. The Dutchman is as uncompromising in defense as he is incisive in attack. 

He has flourished this season in Coach Simone Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 system that gives wing-backs license to drive into the opposition box during attacks. This is how he found himself in a position to set up Martinez’s opener in the second leg of the semifinal. He helped Francesco Acerbi put his name on the scoresheet with a similar square pass. 

Dumfries will be up against one of Europe’s best left-backs Nuno Mendes. And the fact that PSG doesn’t employ Barça’s suicidal high defensive line may deny him the kind of space he exploited in Milan. But he is sure to get his chances. If not from counter-attacks, from set-pieces that allow the Inter number 2 to capitalize on his heading ability.

Lautaro Martinez

Tired and lacking full fitness as he was, Inter Milan’s captain was still able to score against an in-form Barcelona. A serious hamstring injury cast doubt on Martinez’s ability to participate in the semis but the decision to rush him back into service proved the right call. Now that he hasn’t kicked a ball since the win against Barça in early May, the Argentine should be well-rested and firing on all cylinders tomorrow in the Champions League final.

He will be up against Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, who have provided Donnarumma with excellent cover all season. They’re not the most physically imposing but they’re agile, aggressive, and have good positional sense. Having said that, El Toro is equally known for his aggression and only needs the slimmest of glimpses to find the back of the net.

Yann Sommer

Were it not for the Swiss stopper, Lamine Yamal would have finished that semifinal second leg with a hat-trick and it would have been FC Barcelona heading to Munich. After spending an eternity at Borussia Monchengladbach, Sommer signed for Bayern Munich as a backup to the injured Manuel Neuer. But there was a sense even then that his best days were behind him. 

Fast-forward to the summer of 2023 and Inter Milan snapped him up for just under seven million Euros to replace Man United-bound André Onana. The 36 year-old has proved an inspired purchase. He helped the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto in that first season, keeping the most clean sheets in Serie A. 

His heroics have helped Inter scrape their way into the Champions League finals this term. With Ousmane Dembélé and Co in the form of their lives, he will no doubt be called upon severally to repel PSG. 

Clash Of styles

The Champions League final will be a tantalizing contrast of styles. Though they also thrive on counter-attacking play, Paris St-Germain can keep the ball. Inzaghi will be happy to let PSG hog the ball but will want his men to show surgical precision whenever they have possession. Systems of play aside, moments of individual brilliance or lapses in concentration can be pivotal in such games. Let’s see which players will prove themselves invaluable, or liabilities, to their side’s cause in the Champions League final.