All you need to know about Saturday’s Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan

MUNICH (AP) — European club soccer reaches its crowning moment in the Champions League final in Munich on Saturday.

The showpiece pits French champion Paris Saint-Germain against Italian runner-up Inter Milan, with the former striving for its first European Cup title, and Inter going for its fourth.

Success for PSG would make it the first French champion of Europe since bitter rival Marseille in 1993, and finally reward years of huge investment from its Qatari backers, who bought a majority stake in the club in 2011.

Inter faces the prospect of a trophyless season after seeing Napoli pip it to the Serie A title. But Inter has shown it’s a threat on the European stage after epic wins over Barcelona in the semifinals and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Here’s your guide to the final.

When is the Champions League final?

— Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local time in Germany on Saturday. That’s 3 p.m. EDT, 1900 GMT.

How to watch the final on TV?

— In the U.S., on Paramount+. DAZN will show it in Canada.

— Other countries are listed here.

Players to look out for in the final

— Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé have all left PSG but that doesn’t mean there aren’t players to watch. Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has starred for the team since joining from Napoli in January. Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembelé are chipping in the goals that Mbappé’s no longer scoring, and the team has one of the world’s best goalkeepers in Gianluigi Donnarumma, formerly of AC Milan.

— Inter counts on Argentina star Lautaro Martínez to lead the team with his captaincy and goals.

Which stadium is hosting the final?

— The match will take place in Bayern Munich’s 75,000-capacity home known as Allianz Arena for sponsorship reasons since it opened in 2005, though UEFA refers to it as Munich Football Arena during its competitions. The usual lettering and sponsor’s logo were taken off the stadium exterior for the final.

Key facts

— PSG could become only the second French champion. The closest it came beforehand was the 2020 final lost to Bayern after a tournament restructured in the pandemic.

— Inter’s last success in 2010 ended its long wait since wins in 1964 and ’65. But it lost on its last appearance in the final, to Manchester City in 2023. This will be its seventh final altogether. It has won three and lost three so far.

— This will be the fifth European Cup final in Munich. Each of the previous four produced a first-time winner: Nottingham Forest in 1979, Marseille in 1993, Borussia Dortmund in 1997, and Chelsea in 2012.

More reading

— Dembélé’s incredible transformation has PSG on the verge of Champions League glory

— Inter Milan’s last shot at glory: Can the Nerazzurri overcome PSG and keep their coach?

— Champions League title has remained agonizingly out of reach for PSG. That could be about to change

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer