We head into the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final this Saturday without the top goalscorer (Raphinha), without the top assister (Raphinha again!) and without the best dribbler (Lamine Yamal).
But Opta are on hand to tell you why that doesn’t matter much, and which players you should still be excited about watching light up the Allianz Arena in Munich. Outside of pre-match headliners Linkin Park, obviously.
Which is what I’ve done below – so let’s start with Internazionale striker Lautaro Martínez who has nine goals in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) this season, the joint-most by an Inter player in a campaign, along with Hernán Crespo in 2002-03.
The Argentine has scored in six of his last seven appearances in the competition, including goals in the last 16, quarter-final and semi-final. Only five players have scored in each of those stages plus the final in one UCL season – Frank Lampard in 2007-08, Diego Milito in 2009-10, Lionel Messi in 2010-11, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14, and Sadio Mané in 2017-18.
That also includes a hat-trick in Martínez’s only previous UCL appearance against French opposition, versus Monaco in the group stage.
Of players to take 15+ shots in the 2024-25 UCL, Martínez has the best shot conversion rate (39.1%), scoring with nine of his 23 shots and hitting the target with 18 of those. His shooting has been as fine as a papercut in Europe’s elite competition this season.
Lautaro Martinez to score first: 21/4
In the French corner is Ousmane Dembélé, who has scored 25 goals across all competitions so far in 2025, a tally only bettered by former teammate Kylian Mbappé (27) among players from Europe’s big-five leagues this calendar year. That is more goals than he managed across 2022 (7), 2023 (4) and 2024 (13) combined (24).
Dembélé is averaging five shots per 90 minutes in the UCL this season, the most by any player to play 1000+ minutes in a campaign since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017-18 (6.3).
PSG ultras will be looking for an encore performance from their French forward this weekend, who has scored (2) or assisted (1) in three of his four appearances in finals for the Parisians. The exception was last weekend’s Coupe de France final against Reims, though Dembélé did have the joint-most shots (4) and hit the woodwork in a 3-0 victory.
Ousmane Demebele to score or assist: Evens
A midfielder who can do it all and underpins hybrid theory, Vitinha, could be integral to PSG winning this Saturday’s final. The Portuguese has put his side one step closer to a first ever European Cup, completing the most passes (1222) and the second-most carries of 5+ metres (301) in the UCL this season, while also ranking third for number of times he has won possession (84). Only Xavi in 2012-13 (1,299) and 2010-11 (1,244) has ever completed more passes in a UCL season on record (since 2003-04).
Vitinha has also completed the most passes under high-intensity pressure from opponents (664) in this season’s UCL, the most essential component of PSG’s ability to keep the ball – the French side have averaged the second-highest possession figure in the knockout stages of this season’s competition (61.9%) behind Barcelona (62.6%).
Vitinha to score or assist: 14/1
Finally, to Inter’s goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, who by diving, crawling and by any means necessary has prevented more goals than any other keeper in the 2024-25 UCL (+5.90) according to Opta’s expected goals on target model.
Meanwhile, among first choice keepers, only Liverpool’s Alisson (88.9%) has a better save rate in the competition this term than the Swiss shot stopper (81.4%), who has also kept the most clean sheets (7).
Even if stats make you numb, you will still probably agree that these four players could in the end have a huge impact on the result of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final.
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