PSG’s star forward Ousmane Dembélé playfully captured the sheer joy everyone is feeling after winning Europe’s top crown for the first time.
Fresh from making history, PSG has just begun their celebrations. But amidst the excitement, some of the club’s French players will soon have to join the national team. Dembélé jokingly said that France coach Didier Deschamps will find them in a “strange state” because they won’t have shaken off the Champions League victory high yet.
On Saturday at Munich’s Allianz Arena, PSG demolished Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final, lifting their first-ever trophy in the competition under coach Luis Enrique.
The city of Paris erupted in wild celebrations. However, the excitement has also seen some unfortunate incidents, including two deaths. Still, the party is far from over for PSG after finally tasting this long-awaited glory.
Despite the triumph, some PSG players won’t get much time to savor it. They must join the national squad by Monday to prepare for Thursday’s Nations League semifinal against Spain. Joining the French team will be PSG’s Luka Hernandez, Warren Zaire-Emery, Bahli Barkola, Digier Doue, and Dembélé.
In a TV interview with French channel M6, Dembélé expressed the joy and pride felt by the entire nation and city:
“We’ve made the whole nation, the entire city proud. And as they say, the celebration has only just begun. Didier (Deschamps) will find us in a strange situation.”
PSG came very close to Champions League glory in 2020 but heartbreakingly lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the final. This time, the French champions wiped away that disappointment by finally lifting the elusive trophy.
PSG’s dominant 5-0 win over Inter Milan set a record in the competition’s long history — no team has ever won a final by such a large margin before. The previous biggest margin was four goals, achieved only four times by Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan (twice).
Dembélé said the victory over the Italian side has doubled their joy:
“What just happened was unbelievable. Winning a final is always amazing, but to win like this is even more fantastic, even more thrilling.”
“To be honest, we deserved this. After so many years of hard work and struggle, I think PSG truly earned this victory.”
While PSG fans’ wild celebrations have sadly led to two deaths and injuries to 193 people, with over 500 arrests made by police, Dembélé urged everyone to celebrate peacefully.
