It was a night that Inter Milan fans will not soon forget—and for all the wrong reasons. On May 31, 2025, the iconic Allianz Arena in Munich bore witness to a UEFA Champions League Final that quickly turned from a hopeful crescendo to a devastating silence for the Nerazzurri. Paris Saint-Germain, long haunted by their own European near-misses, finally seized their first-ever Champions League crown in emphatic fashion, dismantling Inter 5-0 and completing an unprecedented quadruple of trophies for the French giants.
For Inter, this was supposed to be the culmination of a thrilling campaign. After all, just two years prior, they had defied the odds and pushed Manchester City to the brink in a tense 1-0 final loss. This time, the road to Munich had been even more dramatic: Inter toppled European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona, the latter in a wild 7-6 aggregate semi-final decided in extra time. Optimism was high. The squad, led by captain Lautaro Martinez, felt calm and prepared. But football, as it so often does, had other plans.
“I couldn’t speak for five days after the Champions League Final against PSG. I was blocked, a bit distressed, and sad,” Lautaro Martinez told France Football in a candid interview after being nominated for the Ballon d’Or. The Argentine striker’s words paint a vivid picture of just how deeply the defeat cut. “We reached two Champions League Finals in the last three years. We had a great run, but in the last game, we’ve always been missing something to achieve our main goal, which is to win the Champions League.”
Inter’s collapse was as swift as it was shocking. PSG, brimming with confidence and orchestrated by the imposing Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal, seized control from the opening whistle. Within the first twenty minutes, the Parisians struck twice, deflating Inter’s hopes and sending a ripple of disbelief through the Italian contingent. From there, the match turned into a procession. PSG created chances at will, while Inter found themselves stifled, unable to muster a single dangerous attack in their opponent’s penalty area.
“We knew that PSG would be a tough opponent, a solid team with a lot of confidence. But we were strong as well,” Martinez explained. “The last week, we prepared in a calm atmosphere, with a sense of peace and confidence. So yes, ‘helplessness’ is the right word for how we felt, because we couldn’t do any of what we had worked on.”
That sense of impotence, as Martinez described it, was perhaps the most bitter pill to swallow. “Maybe the right word would be impotence, because we weren’t able to show what we’d worked on on the pitch. What we’d worked on in training, we couldn’t put into practice. More than anything, that was the thing that made us angriest.”
For the 28-year-old captain, the aftermath was almost as painful as the game itself. “I didn’t want to talk to anyone for five days,” he admitted. “I wanted to talk to my teammates, but nothing came out, I couldn’t say anything. I was stuck.” The locker room, usually raucous with celebration or commiseration, was instead consumed by a heavy, stunned silence.
Inter’s run to the final had been nothing short of remarkable. After dispatching Bayern Munich and surviving a heart-stopping extra-time battle with Barcelona, hopes were high that Simone Inzaghi’s men could finally deliver the club’s first Champions League trophy since 2010. But the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of PSG proved a bridge too far, and with it came the end of an era. Inzaghi, who had guided Inter to two finals in three years, departed for Saudi club Al-Hilal in the wake of a trophyless campaign.
“They deserved this result, they played a great Final,” Martinez conceded, echoing the sentiments of many neutrals who watched PSG’s masterclass. Indeed, Paris Saint-Germain completed an historic quadruple with this win, adding the Champions League to their domestic haul and finally shaking off the tag of perennial underachievers at Europe’s highest level. Donnarumma, ever the wall between the posts, was a standout, but it was the collective belief and attacking verve of PSG that overwhelmed Inter from start to finish.
For Inter, the defeat was not just a footballing loss, but an emotional and psychological blow. The team had come so far, only to falter on the grandest stage. “In the last three years we’ve reached two Champions League finals. We had a great season, a great run. But we’ve always lacked something to achieve our main objective,” Martinez reflected. That ‘something’—whether it be luck, composure, or simply the ability to rise to the moment—remained elusive.
The match also served as a stark reminder of football’s cruel unpredictability. Inter’s journey through the knockout rounds had been defined by resilience and tactical discipline. They had outlasted Bayern, outscored Barcelona, and displayed a unity that suggested they could go toe-to-toe with Europe’s best. Yet, when it mattered most, they found themselves powerless against a PSG side intent on making history.
For the fans, the pain of the loss was compounded by the manner in which it unfolded. The early goals conceded set the tone, and as PSG’s lead grew, so too did the sense of inevitability. By the final whistle, the scoreline was not just a defeat, but a humiliation—one that will linger in the memories of players and supporters alike.
Yet, amid the disappointment, there remains a measure of pride in Inter’s journey. Few teams can claim to have reached two Champions League finals in three years, and the resilience shown throughout the campaign is something to build on. As the dust settles and the club looks toward the future, the lessons of Munich will no doubt shape the next chapter.
Lautaro Martinez’s honesty in the wake of defeat has resonated with fans and pundits alike. His Ballon d’Or nomination is a testament to his quality and leadership, even in the face of adversity. “We just couldn’t translate that onto the pitch, and that was the thing that annoyed us the most,” he said. But in football, as in life, the greatest setbacks often lay the groundwork for future triumphs.
With Simone Inzaghi gone and a new era on the horizon, Inter Milan faces a period of reflection and renewal. The scars of Munich may take time to heal, but the hunger to finally conquer Europe remains as fierce as ever. For now, the Nerazzurri must regroup, learn from their heartbreak, and prepare for another shot at the trophy that has twice slipped agonizingly through their grasp.
