Road to Munich: How Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain booked their spot in UEFA Champions League final

Internazionale and Paris Saint-Germain would have been a surprise match-up for many predicting the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final at the start of the season, but they are two worthy finalists.

The Italian giants have the chance to win their fourth crown – a first in 15 years – while PSG are in the final for just the second time ever and can claim European domination for the first time.

While both teams have had contrasting journeys to reach the showpiece event in Munich, it is set to be a blockbuster of a finale, which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Saturday, 31 May (kick-off 8pm BST).

Here is how the two teams reached the final…

Inter opened their Champions League account with a 0-0 draw in a repeat of the 2022/23 final against Manchester City, before they enjoyed a thumping 4-0 victory over Crvena Zvezda – their biggest in the competition.

A slim away success at Young Boys followed, which was their first of five consecutive 1-0 wins. They repeated the scoreline against Arsenal and RB Leipzig at home, before beating Bayer Leverkusen and Sparta Prague on the road.

They closed out their league phase with a comprehensive 3-0 win against 10-man Monaco, where Lautaro Martinez netted his first Champions League hat-trick as Inter cemented their place in the last 16 with a fourth-place finish, meaning they were well clear of a knockout play-off.

Last 16: Inter 4-1 Feyenoord

Marcus Thuram and Martinez had Simone Inzaghi’s side racing into the last eight with a crucial away victory.

Despite Jakub Moder’s strike from 12 yards in the second leg, it was no trouble for Inter as another goal from Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty was enough for the Italians to advance comfortably.

Quarter-final: Inter 4-3 Bayern Munich

The first of two epic ties came against Bayern Munich, as Inter continued their incredible away record with a 2-1 victory at the scene of the final, with Martinez and Davide Frattesi earning the Serie A outfit a 2-1 win.

Thomas Muller, in his final season for Bayern, thought he had earned the newly-crowned German champions a draw when he struck in the 85th minute, but Frattesi’s winner three minutes later put the tie firmly in Inter’s control.

England duo Harry Kane and Eric Dier gave Bayern hope of advancing against the odds, but yet another Martinez goal and a rare contribution from defender Benjamin Pavard was enough for a 2-2 draw, and a place in the semi-final.

Semi-final: Inter 7-6 Barcelona

One of the greatest ties in the competition’s history saw Inter dump out one of the pre-tournament favourites after an epic 13-goal thriller which had everything.

Thuram and Denzel Dumfries had Inter in dreamland when they put their side 2-0 to the good in Barcelona after just 21 minutes – Thuram with the fastest-ever Champions League semi-final goal after just 30 seconds.

Teenage sensation Lamine Yamal quickly pulled one back with an excellent strike, before Ferran Torres levelled matters before half-time. Defender Dumfries netted his second of the game with an audacious attempt, but a rocket from Raphinha – albeit an unfortunate own-goal from Yann Sommer – just one minute later had the scores level heading to Milan.

And that gave us the recipe for the match of the season, and one of the greatest in the competition’s history.

Again, Inter found themselves 2-0 up in the first half after goals from Martinez (his ninth of the campaign) and Calhanoglu, but a quickfire double after the break from Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo meant Barca had fought back to level it again.

And they thought they had snatched a remarkable result when Raphinha slotted home three minutes from time, only for 37-year-old centre-back Francesco Acerbi to grab his first Champions League goal in added time to force extra-time with a well-taken finish at the near post.

From that moment, the momentum was with Inter as Frattesi stepped up once more to grab the winner and send the Italians into the final.

All stats courtesy of UEFA

If there was ever a season of two halves, PSG are it. They scraped a seeded spot in the knockout play-off round, on goal difference, after finishing 15th in the inaugural league phase with 13 points – the same as Monaco, Brest and Feyenoord, who all finished in the unseeded spots.

After beating Girona, PSG looked sheepish with a 2-0 defeat at Emirates Stadium against eventual semi-final opponents Arsenal. A draw with PSV followed, before they lost their second and third games in their opening six with defeats to Atletico Madrid and Bayern – another team they would face later on.

But victories against RB Salzburg, Man City and Stuttgart helped their cause with an electric end to the league phase.

Knockout play-off: PSG 10-0 Brest

Last 16: PSG 1-1 Liverpool (4-1 on penalties)

A totally different task lay ahead of them in Liverpool, who managed to pip a 1-0 win at Parc des Princes despite being dominated by the Ligue 1 side. Harvey Elliott’s strike gave the runaway Premier League leaders the advantage heading to Anfield, with PSG’s chances hanging in the balance.

Ousmane Dembele’s 12th-minute tap-in stunned The Reds on Merseyside, as a rejuvenated PSG forced extra-time and then penalties. But heroics from the spot from Gianluigi Donnarumma to deny Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones helped to seal PSG’s place in the quarter-finals.

Quarter-final: PSG 5-4 Aston Villa

PSG would face another English side for a place in the semi-finals when they took on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes had the French side leading 3-1 after the first leg.

Villa put up a good fight and handed PSG their fifth loss of the campaign as Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa scored to overturn earlier goals from Achraf Hakimi and Mendes, but it was not enough as PSG advanced by a single goal.

Semi-final: PSG 3-1 Arsenal

With one obstacle to overcome to reach the Champions League final, PSG made it three wins out of three against Premier League sides when they pipped Arsenal, who were also bidding for their second Champions League final and maiden title.

Dembele’s early strike in the first leg in London gave the Parisians a huge advantage heading to the French capital, but The Gunners came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders with Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard coming close to an opener in the early exchanges.

But PSG held firm – helped by more goalkeeping heroics from Donnarumma – before finding the decisive goal. Fabien Ruiz took advantage of some questionable Arsenal defending to unleash a sweet strike past David Raya, before Hakimi doubled the advantage to all but end Arsenal’s dreams.

Bukayo Saka pulled a goal back, but it would only go down as a consolation as Luis Enrique’s side reigned supreme.

All stats courtesy of UEFA