Inzaghi awaits his tryst with greatness

Looking for a season-end high

- Dhiman Sarkar

KOLKATA: As much as Saturday's Champions League final is a contest between teams old and young, football's established order against a club bankrolled by a state, it is also about breaking down a stereotype: that Inter Milan are a typically defensive Italian team.

That label cannot stick against a side that scored seven against Barcelona over two matches and 79 goals in Serie A which they failed to defend by one point. New Italian champions Napoli scored 59.

Inter's first goal against Barcelona came from a Marcus Thuram back-heel and after 12 touches, the second came off an acrobatic volley from a wing-back. Lautaro Martinez is a club legend who has scored 20 goals or more in five of his last six seasons and 19 in the one he did not. His partnership with Marcus Thuram, aiming for a medal his father Lilian does not have, had yielded 13 goals in as many Champions League matches in 2024-25. Thuram has got to his season's best of 14 goals and seven assists. Heck, even centre-back Francesco Acerbi has ended his goal drought.