Just hours before Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain took to the pitch in Munich, Simon Yates left Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz in his wake to write one of the most glorious chapters in the history of the Giro d’Italia.

The Briton started the penultimate stage in third place in the GC standings, 1 minute and 21 seconds and 38 seconds behind Carapaz, but finished it as the overall leader with a four-minute advantage over the pair.

There was something beautifully poignant in the way Yates sealed his first Giro d’Italia, attacking on the unpaved roads of the Colle delle Finestre, the highest peak in this year’s race.

It was on this most brutal of climbs that his dreams had crumbled seven years ago, when Yates, then leading the GC, imploded to allow Chris Froome to take the pink jersey off his shoulders.

Two years after losing the Champions League final to Manchester City, Inter were seeking their own redemption at the Allianz Arena.

Instead, it was PSG who climbed the highest mountain in European football for the first time. Based on what they have shown this season, it may not be the last.

For Inter, however, this 5-0 humbling will hurt far more than defeat in Istanbul against Pep Guardiola’s Treble-winning machine. The psychological impact, too, will be far greater and far more wide-reaching and not just because this was a thrashing of historic proportions. 

Two years ago, the Nerazzurri arrived in the final with the odds firmly stacked against them. Inter were not supposed to beat City. 

They were the better team for an hour and should have taken the game to extra time, but there was little room for regret in the aftermath for they had exceeded everyone’s expectations, including their own. 

After all, this was a club that in three years under Antonio Conte had never made it out of the group in the Champions League. 

Before that, they missed out on the competition altogether between 2012 and 2018.

Reaching the Champions League final in Simone Inzaghi’s second season was extraordinary progress, so much so that Guardiola predicted Inter “would be in the final again in a few years”.

His forecast proved prescient, with Inter back just two seasons later, underdog tag well and truly shedded. 

Which is why the defeat against PSG will be far harder to stomach.

This was not supposed to happen. Inter had all the experience, the grizzly veterans out to right the wrongs of Istanbul.

Instead, they succumbed to PSG’s youthful exuberance, legs heavy after a season that promised the lot but will now be remembered as a collection of near misses. It would take a brave soul now to suggest Inter will be back on this stage in the foreseeable future.

Up until Saturday night, Inter had been behind for 13 minutes in 14 Champions League matches this season. Here they conceded twice in the first 20 minutes, Achraf Hakimi converting the simplest of tap-ins before Desire Doue doubled the advantage.

Suddenly, Inter looked every bit what they are – the oldest squad in the Champions League, with four of their starters on the wrong side of 30.

The sight of 19-year-old Doue running at 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi crystallised the difference between the two sides. One team at the start of a journey, the other at the end of its cycle – which, lest we forget, has delivered six major trophies under Inzaghi.

Decked in their yellow third kit, Inter resembled traffic cones. And they may as well have been, for traffic flowed at pace around them, always in the same direction. 

After half an hour Nicolo Barella had 10 touches, Lautaro Martinez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan seven apiece. Federico Dimarco, one of the pillars of this side under Inzaghi, was at fault for both goals.

This was the most one-sided first half of a Champions League final since AC Milan tore Liverpool to shreds in Istanbul.

But there was no miracle redemption this time, PSG adding to their advantage in the second half through Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – a slice of Napoli coming back to haunt Inter in Europe – and Senny Mayulu.

A month ago, Inter were on course to repeat their historic Triplete from 15 years ago, when they won the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League under Jose Mourinho.

But they are left with nothing. Out of the Coppa Italia against the worst AC Milan side in a decade, pipped to the title by Conte’s Napoli and thrashed by PSG, a season that promised so much eventually delivered nothing.

And it leaves Inter with more questions than answers. 

Inzaghi put off any decisions over his future until after the Champions League final, but hinted he was happy to continue at the San Siro “if the conditions were right”, despite a reportedly huge offer from Saudi Arabia. 

With or without Inzaghi, a major rebuild is inevitable as the Nerazzurri have the oldest squad in Serie A with an average age of 29.

With 11 players – Francesco Acerbi, Marko Arnautovic, Yann Sommer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matteo Darmian, Stefan De Vrij, Mehdi Taremi, Raffaele Di Gennaro, Hakan Calhanoglu, Piotr Zielinski and Joaquin Correa – over 30 in their squad, new blood is desperately needed.

Inter are unlikely to overhaul their team by throwing money at players either. In total, they have spent just under £230m since Inzaghi took over, while selling players for more than £310m. 

Their wage bill this season came in at £260m, PSG’s stood at more than £600m. The financial playing field has shifted dramatically and Serie A clubs no longer shop on the high street.

During the week, Fabio Capello urged Inter to channel the spirit of his AC Milan side that thrashed Barcelona in a famously one-sided final 31 years ago.

The former England manager recalled how, seeing a picture of Johan Cruyff resting with his head on a football as Barcelona trained, he urged his players to “kick that football away so his and Barca’s head would hit the turf.”

On Saturday, it was Inter who came down to earth with a brutal thump.