Champions League: How Paris St-Germain & Inter Milan reached final

‘The league of farmers?’ How PSG and Inter defied the oddsMedia caption, PSG beat Arsenal go through to finalsWhen Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan step out at the Allianz Arena in Munich on 31 May, it will mark the first Champions League final in 21 years without a Premier League, Bundesliga or La Liga club involved.At least one English, German or Spanish club has appeared in the Champions League final since Jose Mourinho’s Porto beat Monaco in the 2004 showpiece.The past 14 winners of the competition have come from one of those three nations, leading many supporters to often dismiss the quality of other leagues.PSG manager Luis Enrique made a tongue-in-cheek reference to that following his side’s win against Arsenal on Wednesday, saying: “The league of farmers, no? We are the league of farmers!'”The term is used by football fans – typically from England – to dismiss domestic leagues where the quality of football is perceived to be weaker than in the Premier League.While PSG and Inter would argue that is not necessarily the case, they have both defied the odds to a degree to reach the final.What does it tell us about them and the perceived strength of the Premier League? Ditching the ‘Galacticos’Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar spent two seasons together at PSGOnly Luis Enrique will know if he truly believed his own words when he said PSG would be better off without Kylian Mbappe.The France captain, the club’s record scorer, had just made public his decision to leave in May 2024 when Luis Enrique said his side would be better – both in attack and defence.”PSG will continue to be a great team and we’ll get even better. We will bring in players with a strong mentality and players who identify with the club – that’s how life works,” said Luis Enrique.Fast-forward 12 months and few would argue against Luis Enrique’s prediction after his side won Ligue 1 with six games to spare and without losing a game.The ease with which they won the domestic title – and a shortage of tough opposition – could have been seen as a negative in building for success in Europe.Marseille, in 1993, remain France’s only winners of the Champions League.Having finished runners-up in the 2020 Champions League, PSG reached the semi-finals twice and quarter-finals twice in the following four years.But there was an acceptance following Luis Enrique’s appointment in 2023 that something had to change if they were to get over the line.That summer forward Lionel Messi left to join Inter Miami and Neymar was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.It marked the start of the end for the ‘Galactico’ era, with Mbappe’s departure 12 months later bringing it to a close.In their absence, Luis Enrique built an all-action, high-pressing side in his image, based on the collective rather than the individual.In Europe this season PSG started poorly and finished the group stage in 15th place.But, inspired by January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG have beaten four English clubs – Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal – in the knockout stages.Experience counts for InterMedia caption, Inter go through to finals in chaotic seven goal semi-finalInter’s semi-final victory against Barcelona will go down as one of the greatest two-legged contests in Champions League history.Barcelona, led by 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, were outdone by the experience and know-how of Simone Inzaghi’s Inter.Inzaghi named 10 players over the age of 25 in Tuesday’s starting line-up, while Barcelona had six.Francesco Acerbi, 37, became the second-oldest scorer in Champions League knockout history when he netted a 93rd-minute equaliser to take the tie to extra time at the San Siro.Yan Sommer, 36, joined Inter for £5m following Andre Onana’s £44m move to Manchester United in 2023.The Swiss goalkeeper made a number of vital stops to keep Inter in the tie before Acerbi’s dramatic goal.Midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu have a combined age of 67.Like PSG, Inter have faced dismissive comments from fans who mock the quality of Serie A.But Inzaghi’s side knocked out Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals and finished fourth in the group stage table, losing only one of their eight matches.Winners of Serie A in two of the past four seasons, Inter have won the European Cup three times, most recently in 2010 under Mourinho.Champions League struggles but Europa League successArsenal were the only English side to reach the last four of the Champions League, but the Europa League final could be played between two familiar foes from the Premier League.United and Tottenham hold aggregate leads going into the semi-final second legs of the Europa League on Thursday.Should they reach the final in Bilbao on 21 May, they will meet for a fourth time this season.Tottenham, two-time winners of the Uefa Cup, are looking to win the Europa League for the first time since 1984, while United last won it in 2017 and finished runners-up four years later.Much has been made of the fact that two Premier League sides who have languished in the division’s bottom half for most of the season could face off in the Europa League final.Should Tottenham, who are 16th in the Premier League, or United, who are 15th, win the Europa League, they will be the lowest-placed winners in the competition’s history.In the Conference League, Swedish side Djurgarden must overturn a 4-1 semi-final first-leg deficit at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.Chelsea, two-time winners of the Champions League, are overwhelming favourites to win the Conference League.Should they do so, they will become the first club to win the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.More on this story