To say the year 2025 was a wild one in the sporting world is a bit misleading. This year, perhaps more than others in the recent past, saw some of the biggest upsets, greatest comebacks and a whole host of firsts. Nothing ever is certain in sports and no one can script how any single match plays out. Whether it is any individual sport or the team game, each match has its own unique charm.
Let’s take a look at some of the most talked-about sporting moments from 2025: Paris Gets Its Crown (Football) Very few moments in football get more talked about than the UEFA Champions League final every year, unless it is a FIFA World Cup year. 2025 is no different! The 2024-25 Champions League season saw a new champion being crowned in a grand final. This was the first time under a new format
All the teams were ranked in a joint group. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) finished 15th in the group stage and had to play fellow French team Brest in the knockout phase play-offs. They won the two-legged affair 10-0 on aggregate.
In the Round of 16, PSG were drawn against the then in-form team of Europe in Liverpool, who had finished first in the group stages. After outplaying the English team, they lost the first leg 1-0 at home.
They then won the away leg 1-0 to tie the aggregate score. The French side then won the ensuing penalty shootout 4-1 to progress to the quarterfinals. They faced Aston Villa and won 5-4 over the two matches.
PSG again met another English team Arsenal in the semifinals. They won both matches to have a 3-1 aggregate scoreline. It was in the final where they showed their true potential. Ever since PSG were bought by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, they have underachieved in football’s top European competition despite having a seemingly unlimited budget. They had reached the final only once before in 2020 and had lost to German giants Bayern Munich. They faced Italian team Inter Milan in the 2025 showdown in Munich on May 31. Inter had overcome much superior teams in Bayern and Barcelona en route to the final. They had experience on their side too as they had lost narrowly to Manchester City in the 2023 final.
But PSG, coached by Spaniard Luis Enrique, produced an absolute masterclass in the final. Inter didn’t know what hit them and kept getting hit again and again. The French champions ran out 5-0 winners. It was the biggest winning margin in a Champions League or European Cup final till date. What was most intriguing was PSG had sold or discarded all their so-called ‘superstar’ players prior to the season’s start. A young team, coached by an enigmatic manager, defied the odds to create history and win club football’s greatest prize.