Five players who could define Champions League final: PSG's attackers, Inter's star striker lead way

Saturday's Champions League final (3 p.m. ET on Paramount+) is packed to the rafters with individual talent. Paris Saint-Germain have become something of a surprise favorite among neutrals precisely because they have so many somewhat unheralded names (and a few that have been justifiably garlanded with praise) who have made for a far more effective side than so many of their most illustrious predecessors were.

Inter, meanwhile, have more than proven their quality over three seasons, which have seen them reach the Champions League final twice. In 2022, they fell just short, holding Manchester City to just one goal that ultimately decided the final. Can they go one better this time out? They certainly have plenty of talent at both ends of the pitch, enough to decide tight ties against Barcelona and Bayern Munich in their favor.

How to watch the Champions League final, odds

• Date: Saturday, May 31 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Allianz Arena -- Munich, Germany
• TV: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
• Odds: Paris Saint-Germain +105; Draw +240; Inter +270

Here, then, are five players who could be decisive at the Allianz Arena:

1. Ousmane Dembele, PSG

One of the three or four best players in the world this season, Ousmane Dembele has been the star who best defines PSG's remarkable season. It is not that he was not an elite talent when he shared the field with the likes of Kylian Mbappe or, during his years at Barcelona, Lionel Messi. Injuries didn't help but perhaps Dembele was restricted by his role as, at best, Robin and occasionally even Red Robin. No such troubles now. Dembele has earned both a central role in Luis Enrique's plans and his XI.

Since moving to the center forward role in January, the 28-year-old has been irrepressible. In 19 games leading the PSG line since the turn of the year, Dembele has 18 goals and four assists, averaging a ludicrous 5.15 shots and 0.98 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes. You'll be assuming that these numbers are artificially inflated by his Ligue 1 outings and well, yes, they are a bit. But not a lot. Dembele has been delivering on the biggest stages.

A slow start to the league phase means PSG have been in knockout mode since December, and with the stakes at their highest, Dembele has delivered. He turned the tide against Manchester City, delivered an equalizer at just the moment it seemed Liverpool might impose themselves on the round of 16 and burst the Emirates Stadium balloon. In 10 of the biggest games of PSG's season -- their last 10 in the Champions League -- they have gotten eight goals and three assists from Dembele. Without their No.10 taking the step up from talented but inconsistent star to match-winner on the biggest stage, it is impossible to imagine PSG in final number two.

And when they do take the field at the Allianz Arena, there will be no questioning who the best player on the field is, the one who every other player has to adjust around. Dembele, so often a supporting character, is the headline name of this Champions League final.

2. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, PSG

If anyone might compete with him for that title, it could be the guy who starts out on his left. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a one-man defense buster, the sort who can drive defenders into paroxysms of frustration where they start fouling the Georgian not because it makes sense or slows momentum. They just want to knock the guy who has been humiliating them for the last 20 minutes.

That was rather the experience that Jurrien Timber had in the first leg of the semifinal. The Arsenal right back had been one of Europe's best one-on-one defenders in Europe this season, eviscerating Bradley Barcola when PSG turned up at the Emirates Stadium in the group stage. For 20 minutes, the best he could do was repeatedly foul Kvaratskhelia. Then again, when you see what he did to Aston Villa when they failed to get close enough to him, hack-a-Khvicha seems like a good plan.

It really should not go unremarked that Kvaratskhelia is particularly disciplined for a player of his glorious talents, a hard worker who will be perfectly prepared to track Denzel Dumfries up and down the PSG left. That won't be what catches your eye, though. There's a reason they nicknamed him Kvaradona when he arrived from nowhere -- well, Batumi -- to fire Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years.

There is magic in the Georgian's boots. If anyone is going to give this final its Gareth Bale bicycle kick or Zinedine Zidane volley, it's Kvaratskhelia.

3. Lautaro Martinez, Inter

That we have begun with two PSG attackers should not be read as a reflection on a paucity of quality in the Inter side. Certainly not with Lautaro Martinez in the form he has shown in the Champions League. The Argentine has scored in each round of the knockouts so far, making a remarkable comeback from a muscle injury to play and star in the unforgettable 4-3 win over Barcelona in the second leg of the semifinals.

The 27-year-old typifies this Inter side: battle-tested in the biggest moments, perhaps on the down slope after so many years of top-level performances but with the nous and intelligence to deliver in the biggest moments. His understanding of how to play in a two-striker system with Marcus Thuram will pose questions for PSG that they will rarely have faced at the top level of European football, and Martinez offers no hint of doubt when looking ahead to a second final in three years.

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"We need to look at [PSG's] strengths and weaknesses, which we can take advantage of to make it a great match and final," he said. "Above all, we need to enjoy it, because it's been a tough competition and we've reached the final twice in the past three years, so we deserve it. We've put in the work, are humble and want to continue growing.

"To experience another final of this scale, in this competition, is going to be incredible. It's a dream that is within our reach again, and I don't even want to think about whether I'm going to achieve this goal that we all want, and one that has been missing from Inter for such a long time. I really want to enjoy the moment, this final, this game. Then if it comes to fruition, it'll be a dream come true."

4. Yann Sommer, Inter

Then again, for all the excellence of their attacking players, it is hard to envisage how Inter get as far as they have without Yann Sommer between the sticks. Across the course of 13 Champions League games, he has conceded 11 goals and prevented 5.23, the latter based on the xG value of the shots he has faced. He hasn't just been puffing up his numbers against lesser opponents either. Here are his performances in the semifinals, quarterfinals and against English teams:

• vs. Manchester City: five shots on goal faced, five saves, 1.2 goals prevented
• vs. Arsenal: four shots on goal faced, four saves, 1.65 goals prevented
• vs. Bayern Munich (two-legged quarterfinal): 13 shots on goal faced, 10 saves, 0.21 goals prevented
• vs. Barcelona (two legged semifinal): 19 shots on goal faced, 14 saves, 1.74 goals prevented

It has taken quite something to outshine Gianluigi Donnarumma in this season's Champions League. What Sommer has delivered, well, that is quite something.

As was apparent to anyone who saw him at Euro 2020, this is a goalkeeper who lights up on the biggest occasions. Sommer might already have peaked with the stunning display that saw him hold Barcelona to just three goals in the second leg of the semifinal, the precise dives to his right to deny Lamine Yamal somehow bettered by a close-range block that left Eric Garcia with his head in his hands. For a man of 37 years of age, the lightness on his feet to scurry across his goal and balance himself such that he can get a meaningful glove on an effort that might only have been palmed in otherwise.

Given PSG's ability to control territory and the threat of their attack, this promises to be a busy day for Sommer, who has faced an average of 4.4 shots on his goal per 90 minutes in the Champions League this season. So far he has delivered for Inter whenever they have most needed him. They surely will on Saturday.

5. Achraf Hakimi, PSG

Only one more spot to fill and so many options. Alessandro Bastoni might be the best playmaking center back on the planet. Vitinha might just be the best midfielder in the game. This final might not have a Premier League super team, one of Spain's big two or even some of the stars who have departed the Parc des Princes, but don't think that means it is lacking in the talent stakes. There is more than enough to go around.

Highly ranking among those superstars is Achraf Hakimi, a crucial cog in this PSG side. Inter, for whom he patrolled the right flank before being snared away by Les Parisiens in 2021, will know his qualities only too well. Just as he was in Milan, Hakimi can function as a one-man right flank as required.

Certainly, he is extremely effective on the front foot, trailing only Barcola and Dembele in terms of penalty box touches. Any full back averaging over two shots per 90 is a serious attacking threat, particularly when they're hit as well as the one he scored against Arsenal in the semifinal second leg. Though that came from broken play, it speaks to one of Hakimi's great qualities, his ability to step infield and cause as much danger as he does on the overlap. Plenty of fullbacks can make devastating runs on the overlap, a growing number can also affect the game with underlapping runs and stepping infield. As his touch map below hints at, Hakimi can do both.

As Hakimi, now in his seventh season playing for an elite European club, has developed his defensive chops have greatly improved. That he can effectively counter-press when caught up field goes some way to making PSG one of the most effective out-of-possession elite sides. Only 10 players have won possession in the attacking third more than the Moroccan this season, and it shouldn't surprise you to learn that none of them are defenders. Get him going backwards, and he still has the athleticism to catch anyone. If he can overcome Bastoni and Federico Dimarco, making the latter focus on defending rather than the threat he can pose in the final third, then Hakimi could have as sizeable an impact on this contest as anyone.