The strangest season in the Champions League is about to end

The total number of times PSG and Inter Milan - the two teams preparing to play the final on June 1 (Vietnam time) - have won the title is... 1 time in the last 59 years (since 1965). This is the strangest season in the history of the Champions League.

SURPRISING FROM START TO END

At the start of the quarter-finals, PSG and Inter Milan were two of the three teams rated as the lowest in the championship betting table (the other was Atletico Madrid). Now, PSG are on the verge of winning the Champions League for the first time, while Inter are hoping to return to the top for the first time in 15 years. Whatever happens in the final will be beyond the predictions of observers, betting markets or supercomputers at the start of the season.

PSG surprisingly enters Champions League final

Photo: AFP

Look no further: Inter lost three matches in a row right before meeting Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, PSG also lost two recent matches in Ligue 1. There was no such thing as "giving up", those were all "real losses": Inter lost the top spot in Serie A to Napoli because of the loss and was eliminated from the Italian Cup (losing the hope of "treble"), while PSG's hope of winning Ligue 1 with an unbeaten record was shattered.

Throughout the history of top-flight football, Inter have been the epitome of defensive football, the embodiment of the world- famous catenaccio school (concrete defense). This season, they have conceded only… 1 goal in 8 matches in the "league" stage, a total of 5 goals in 12 matches before the semi-finals. One could predict that the best defensive team in the league, Inter, would beat the best scoring team in the league, Barcelona, ​​but it is difficult to imagine Inter winning despite conceding 6 goals in just 2 matches.

This was already the strangest season in Champions League history: 36 teams playing the "Swiss system", with a crazy schedule and ranking system. PSG were eliminated early if they lost the penultimate match of the "league" phase. They were 0-2 down to the number 1 title candidate Manchester City, but won 4-2. Now, PSG are in the final after beating all 4 English representatives!

C THE VICTORY OF TEAM VALUES

The biggest contrast that has made this season's Champions League so strange is that team play trumps star value.

Manchester City has the "2024 Golden Ball" Rodri and the world's most feared striker (at the beginning of the season) Erling Haaland. Real Madrid added Kylian Mbappe to an attack already packed with stars like Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo. Liverpool and Barcelona have the stars leading the race for this year's "Golden Ball": Mohamed Salah, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha.

On the contrary, PSG coach Luis Enrique himself admitted: he has a team without stars. This "rich" team that once owned Lionel Messi, Neymar, Mbappe has really changed its strategy: investing in young players (PSG is the youngest team on average in the Champions League this season). And Enrique proudly said: "Now, we are a real team".

Inter are no different. Lautaro Martinez is the biggest name in Simone Inzaghi's team. And although Inter have now beaten Barcelona to win the Champions League, Martinez is still not in the top five candidates for this year's Ballon d'Or. Apart from Martinez, Inter have no other players in the top 25 of this list.

In fact, both PSG and Inter are worthy of reaching this season's Champions League final. Despite the seemingly "crazy" scores (3-3 and 4-3), Inter are the team that often leads Barcelona in those strange matches (leading 2-0 in both). PSG played better, dominating even when they lost at home to Liverpool. In the semi-finals, PSG beat Arsenal - the most successful English team in the Champions League this season - in both legs.

The mark of the team-oriented style of play of coaches Inzaghi and Enrique is very clear. This is the second time in 3 years that Inzaghi has led Inter to the Champions League final. And that is the result of the stability that Inzaghi has built over 4 seasons leading Inter. For Enrique, building a team-oriented style of play is a real policy (PSG has more than enough money to buy stars).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mua-bong-ky-la-nhat-o-champions-league-sap-khep-lai-185250508215205001.htm