It’s been a long season, but it’s now coming to an end. The European soccer calendar comes to a close on Saturday with the 70th annual Champions League final. France’s Paris Saint-Germain and Italy’s Inter Milan survived a grueling nine-month tournament to earn their places in club soccer’s biggest game.
But where could this final be won or lost? Here are the three key areas both teams must maximize to take home the trophy:
Aerial duels
The last Champions League final — Real Madrid’s composed victory over Borussia Dortmund — was decided by a header. It was an unlikely breakthrough for the Spanish side but one that made all the difference.
As we consider this upcoming final between PSG and Inter Milan, aerial prowess could prove just as important. PSG’s central defenders, Ecuador’s Willian Pacho and Brazil’s Marquinhos, are stellar across most metrics but woefully poor on aerial clearances. They’re in the 28th and 44th percentiles for aerial duels in the past year when measured against their peers in Europe’s top leagues. Compare that to their percentiles on, say, pass completion—97th and 99th—and it’s clear to see that headers aren’t exactly their forte.
That’s bad news for PSG, because Inter Milan happens to have one of Europe’s preeminent header specialists lining up in its back line. Full back Denzel Dumfries is almost the inverse of Pacho and Marquinhos: he’s average to poor in pass completion but falls in the 98th percentile at winning aerial duels. You don’t want to battle him inside the penalty box. Just ask Barcelona: he scored three goals against it, including one game-tying header, across the two legs of their Champions League semifinal.
