Paris Saint-Germain crushed Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final (5-0) in an unforgettable football exhibition by the team led by Luis Enrique. Desiré Doué was the MVP of the match with a double, but Ousmane Dembélé may be the big winner of the day in the Parisian squad.
And, in addition to the 'big-eared one', their first in history, PSG also won the treble and 'Dembouz', without a doubt, has been the best of the devastating Parisian attack. The '7' closes the 24/25 season with 33 goals and 13 assists in 48 matches, thus assuming the role of new favorite to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
Dembélé, the most supportive forward of PSG in the Champions League final
Against Inter, the 'Mosquito' gave two assists to settle a match in which 'Lucho's' team was master and lord from beginning to end. In the 20th minute, Ousmane masterfully led a lethal counterattack from Paris to overflow on the right and cross a ball that Doué transformed into the partial 2-0 with a shot that deflected off Dimarco to blast past Sommer.
In the second half, Dembélé participated in the second goal of the '14' and the third of the team, setting up a lethal wall with Vininha that allowed the Portuguese to assist Desiré to bury Inter's hopes in the 61st minute.
In the 73rd minute, already with the match settled, the '7' filtered another lethal pass that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took advantage of to put the fourth for the Gauls with an unstoppable left-footed shot to the near post. Sommer, a key figure in the semi-final against FC Barcelona, could do nothing to avoid the Parisian onslaught in Munich.
In total, 'Dembouz' completed 39 of 45 passes (87%), in addition to 4 shots (1 on goal), 3 chances created, 2 assists and 9 passes in the last third of the field. After the match, Luis Enrique praised his sacrifice and physical display.
"He has always been a phenomenon, but you have to know where to touch to get his best version. He is a leader by example, have you seen how he has pressed?", said the coach during the celebrations on the pitch.
Dembélé assumes the favoritism to win the Ballon d'Or
Winning the Champions League, in addition to Ligue 1 and the French Cup, makes the former Barça forward the main candidate for the Ballon d'Or. Dembélé has more discreet records than Raphinha, since the Brazilian participated in more goals (57) than the French international thanks to his 34 goals and 23 assists.
However, although the '11' also won the national treble with the Azulgrana team (League, Cup and Spanish Super Cup), 'Dembouz' still has the extra advantage of playing in the Club World Cup in the United States.
Now, PSG is the main favorite to win a tournament that would allow them to win an unprecedented poker in history. For Barça, Lamine Yamal and Pedri González are also emerging as finalists for the award given by 'France Football', along with Kylian Mbappé, who despite finishing the season without titles with Real Madrid won the Golden Boot.
In 2024, however, winning the Champions League did not help Vinicius Jr. to win the Ballon d'Or. The same happened to Erling Haaland after winning the treble with Manchester City in 2023. Will Dembélé be able to break this 'curse' and emulate Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema, the only French Ballon d'Or winners in history?