A characteristic of Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) trip to the European Champions League final this time around is a changed club strategy. Accordingly, under the leadership of coach Luis Enrique, the club has stopped signing big star players. Instead, the club has started to believe in young players who are hungry for success. Even with the Qatari investors coming in, PSG have failed miserably on many occasions.
This time PSG reached the final with a really strong performance. Only on Wednesday, the team beat Arsenal 2-1 in the semi-final second leg and took a 3-1 lead on aggregate. Fabian Ruiz and Acharaf Hakimi scored in PSG's victory. PSG will play the final against Inter Milan on May 31 in Munich.
The French champion PSG defeated four of the biggest clubs in the English Premier League to reach the final. Arsenal was one of them. Before that, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa were also defeated. All this was made possible by a team full of young players. Six of the starting players against Arsenal are aged 24 or under. The oldest player is Marquinhos at 30. In contrast, when Inter beat Barcelona on Tuesday, the Serie A club had two 36-year-old players. One was over 37 years old.
PSG fans celebrate after their victory over Arsenal. This time, PSG lost three of their opening five matches in the Champions League. The team went ahead with the fear of getting out of the competition. That was exactly when Kylian Mbappe left the club. Maybe Mbappe thought at that time, the best opportunity for him to win the Champions League is from Real.
Enrique has made PSG a different team since he took over the club in 2023. He came to the club when Lionel Messi and Neymar left the team. Captain Marquinhos says, "The coach gradually took the team forward step by step. Since his arrival, many changes are needed in the team. The DNA of the club needed a change. The mental state of the team needed to be better and it was not possible overnight.'
When PSG had three big star players. The forward played no role in the team's defense. But now the same PSG plays a game of pressing the opposition, in which everyone plays a defensive role. Marquinhos adds, "When everyone plays with a team spirit, it increases confidence." Everyone should work equally hard.'
