Inter Milan feels pain of another Champions League final defeat but pride remains

MUNICH (AP) — Inter Milan’s heroics against Barcelona make its record Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain all the more disappointing for the Nerazzurri.

Inter staged an improbable comeback to beat Barcelona 7-6 over two pulsating semifinal legs.

But there was no sign of that audacity or confidence on Saturday in Munich, where PSG romped to a 5-0 victory for the biggest winning margin in a European Cup final.

“It shouldn’t overshadow the season we’ve had. You just need to think of the journey we’ve been on in the Champions League,” said Inter president Giuseppe Marotta, whose team also knocked out Feyenoord and Bayern Munich.

Inter suffered its second defeat in the final in three years after losing the 2023 showpiece to Manchester City in Lisbon.

Inter was eyeing a possible treble after getting past Bayern in the quarterfinals. But it was beaten by city rival AC Milan in the semifinals of the Italian Cup, then lost the Serie A title by a point to Napoli last week.

“The image that remains cancels a bit the great season that we have had,” Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella said after the latest disappointment. “Because unfortunately, in life, as in soccer, what happens last is what we are left with.”

That impression was one of a team that simply failed to match PSG’s early intensity. PSG players looked sharper and hungrier, while Inter players gave the ball away with passes that failed to reach their intended recipient.

Inter ’keeper Yann Sommer kicked the ball out of play twice early. It was no surprise when Achraf Hakimi broke the deadlock against his former side. Hakimi didn’t celebrate but the PSG fans did. Their party was just beginning.

Désiré Doué scored twice, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ended the game as a contest, and Senny Mayulu completed the rout three minutes after going on as a substitute.

“They were stronger than us in everything, tactically, in their determination, they wanted it more, so we have to congratulate the opponents,” Barella said. “At times, blows like this happen, you need to get back up, roll up your sleeves and try to take Inter back up to where it deserves to be.”

Marcus Thuram had Inter’s best chances, going close with a header in the first half, then forcing a good save from the otherwise untroubled Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 75th.

There was no spirited comeback, no spectacular “remontada” as against Barcelona.

“We didn’t play a great final,” Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said. “That said, I’ve thanked the players for this season, and I’m proud to be their coach. It’s disappointing, but it doesn’t erase what we’ve done.”

Inzaghi said it was too soon to speak about his future as coach. His team next plays at FIFA's Club World Cup in the United States.

Barella referred to getting to two Champions League finals in three years and exceeding expectations in recent seasons.

“We had a lot of games like against Bayern, like against Barcelona, where we said the heart mattered much more than the tactics," he added. “Today, unfortunately, we lacked an important quality.”

Inter announced before the game that its former club president, Ernesto Pellegrini, died aged 84.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Inter Milan fans react at the end of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries embraces teammate Lautaro Martinez at the end of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez walks in dejection at the end of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Inter Milan's team captain Lautaro Martinez reacts at the end of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)