After the 1-1 draw in regulation time, the final went to extra time and then to a penalty shootout, where the French side won 2-1 over Mengão
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Europe continues to dominate the world. Despite the fact that it fought until the end, taking the match to penalties after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes, Flamengo lost 2-1 on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain, which had its goalkeeper Safónov as the standout in the shootout, who saved 4 shots. This way, PSG was crowned 2025 Intercontinental Cup champion.
During the opening minutes, the Parisian side showed its typical dominance of the game through pure pressing and quick passing, and it left Mengãosubdued and afraid of making mistakes. In that sense, João Neves had the first clear chance of the match with a shot that went just wide.
In the 8th minute, De Arrascaeta put Rossi in trouble with an awkward back pass that the Argentine goalkeeper, trying to avoid the corner, cleared to the middle, gifting the ball to Neves, who with a header assisted Fabián Ruiz so that from distance he could score the 1-0. However, after a review, the goal was disallowed, since the ball had gone out of play.
Although it managed to recover a bit, the Brazilian side resorted to rough play to stop the advances of the French team. Consequently, Jorginho and Sandro saw yellow in the 20th and 24th minutes, respectively, and they were put under pressure very early. Meanwhile, on PSG's side, Fabián Ruiz was booked for a dangerous kick on Sandro himself while he was controlling the ball with his head.
Later, in the 35th minute, the Korean Lee Kang-in had to come off due to injury after a previous collision with Gonzalo Plata. In his place, the young player Mayulu came on.
Just three minutes later, the Champions League holder took advantage of the spaces left at the back by the Copa Libertadores champion to score the first goal of the match. Doué broke down the right and sent a low cross into the box that Rossi, trying to neutralize the attack, deflected weakly to Kvaratskhelia's feet, who only had to tap it in to put his team ahead on the scoreboard.
Toward the end of the first half, Bruno Enrique and Vitinha, who moments earlier had been warned, had a strong accidental collision that left both lying on the field. Fortunately, neither was injured.
Already in the second half, just like in the run of play, PSG continued its dominance. Therefore, Filipe Luís turned to the bench to bring on fresh legs, taking off Carrascal and bringing on Pedro.
In the 60th minute, Flamengo received the best news so far: a penalty. Marquinhos committed a foul on De Arrascaeta in the box and, after a VAR check, the American referee Ismail Elfath awarded the spot kick. Jorginho stepped up and did not disappoint, leveling the match at 1-1.
Shortly afterward, Pulgar saw the third yellow card for the Carioca team for a foul on Kvaratskhelia. Meanwhile, after the knock, Luis Enrique made the first change in his team: Barcola for the recently introduced Mayulu.
In the 74th minute, Fla made three more substitutions to face the final minutes: De la Cruz, Saúl, and Everton for Pulgar, Jorginho, and De Arrascaeta. The Parisian side did the same by bringing on Dembélé for Doué in the 78th minute.
PSG, which suffered its third yellow card for a foul by Pacho, had several chances to go back in front, the most important being a missed shot by Marquinhos from close range in stoppage time. Despite that, Flamengo, with a key performance from Rossi, managed to hold on, even creating some isolated chances, and sent the decision to extra time.
Before the end of the 90 regulation minutes, Fla made its fifth substitution (Araújo for Bruno Enrique) and received a new booking (Gonzalo Plata).
For extra time, Luis Enrique again turned to the bench, bringing on Mbaye for his goalscorer of the night, Kvaratskhelia. Once the match resumed, the fatigue on both sides started to show, producing fewer and poorer attacks, but PSG still had more opportunities. On the other hand, the recently introduced Saúl saw yellow for a hard tackle from behind on Nuno Mendes.
With few thrills, the match entered its final 15 minutes. Both teams used up their remaining substitutions with the introduction of Ndjantou for Fabián Ruiz on the Parisian side and Lino for Plata on the Brazilian side. Ndjantou himself came on firing with a shot off Rossi's right post that went just wide.
In the 115th minute, Dembélé, who received The Best Award yesterday, missed a very clear chance. The French forward got past several of Mengão's defenders and shot almost alone in front of Rossi, but his effort went over the bar. With the score once again unchanged, the final went to a penalty shootout.
The Penalties
1. Flamengo: De la Cruz opened the shootout with a powerful shot to Safónov's right
1. PSG: Vitinha sent his shot across Rossi and tied it 1-1
2.Flamengo: Safónov saved Saúl's shot
2. PSG: Dembélé missed his kick
3. Flamengo: Safónov saved Pedro's shot (controversial because it seemed that he moved off his line early and it was not retaken)
El adelantamiento de Safónov que no tuvo consecuencias
3.PSG: Mendes put the French team ahead
4. Flamengo: Safónov saved Pereira's shot down the middle
4. PSG: Rossi saved Barcola's shot
5. Flamengo: Safónov saved Araújo's final shot and PSG is the champion
With this new title, Paris Saint-Germain reached its sixth trophy of the year. Previously, the French team had won the Trophée des Champions, Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Champions League, and UEFA Super Cup.
