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Gianluigi Donnarumma (1 Paris) in action during the training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final 2025 between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Internazionale Milano at Munich Football Arena in Munich, Germany. Sports Press Photo

Breaking down what could decide Champions League final

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated May 30, 2025 4:43 PM ET

It's been a long season, but it's now coming to an end. The European soccer calendar comes to a close on Saturday with the 70th annual Champions League final. France's Paris Saint-Germain and Italy's Inter Milan survived a grueling nine-month tournament to earn their places in club soccer's biggest game.

But where could this final be won or lost? Here are the three key areas both teams must maximize to take home the trophy:

Aerial duels

The last Champions League final — Real Madrid's composed victory over Borussia Dortmund — was decided by a header. It was an unlikely breakthrough for the Spanish side but one that made all the difference.

As we consider this upcoming final between PSG and Inter Milan, aerial prowess could prove just as important. PSG's central defenders, Ecuador's Willian Pacho and Brazil's Marquinhos, are stellar across most metrics but woefully poor on aerial clearances. They're in the 28th and 44th percentiles for aerial duels in the past year when measured against their peers in Europe's top leagues. Compare that to their percentiles on, say, pass completion—97th and 99th—and it's clear to see that headers aren't exactly their forte.

That's bad news for PSG, because Inter Milan happens to have one of Europe's preeminent header specialists lining up in its back line. Full back Denzel Dumfries is almost the inverse of Pacho and Marquinhos: he's average to poor in pass completion but falls in the 98th percentile at winning aerial duels. You don't want to battle him inside the penalty box. Just ask Barcelona: he scored three goals against it, including one game-tying header, across the two legs of their Champions League semifinal.

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Donnarumma's villain arc

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has the force of narrative behind him in this match. He's an AC Milan youth prospect playing against Inter Milan in a European final. If he performs well and sends Inter packing, he'll be villainized in his native Italy; if he performs poorly and hands Inter a trophy, he'll be... villainized in his native Italy. It sounds like a bad deal, but no one in soccer relishes being a villain quite like Donnarumma does. The unique circumstance he finds himself in here should propel him to his strongest performance of the season.

A battle between French forwards

Soccer is a global game — this final features players from far-flung locations like rural Ecuador, coastal Iran and urban Korea — but it feels fitting that this Champions League final may come down to a battle between neighbors. PSG's Ousmane Dembele and Inter's Marcus Thuram caught the eyes of global scouts while playing just a few kilometers from one another in the northwest corner of France..

Dembele is a fascinating case. The French international has a reputation as an underperformer, but PSG coach Luis Enrique thinks that's because he's been played out of position for most of his career. After nearly a decade as a middling two-footed winger, Enrique put Dembele up front as a proper striker, and the change was breathtaking. Dembele scored three goals in Ligue 1 last season as a winger and 21 this season as a striker. His newfound strength is a major reason why PSG made it to this final at all.

Thuram, meanwhile, has always been in the limelight. He's the son of World Cup-winning defender Lilian Thuram and one of the brightest young prospects on the French national team.

PSG and Inter survived a broad, diverse tournament featuring 36 teams from 16 different countries, but their fates may rest on the shoulders of two boys tied to Northwestern France. Whichever striker is "on" in this final — oft-disappointing but newly reborn Dembele or hyped but unproven Thuram — will tip this tie in his team's favor.

The Champions League final will kick off on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET from Munich, Germany.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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