Manchester City are huge favorites heading into the UEFA Champions League final against Inter in Istanbul, Turkey, as Pep Guardiola’s side aim to finally get their hands on the greatest prize in European club soccer and complete a historic treble.
City have been building toward this moment ever since the transformative 2008 takeover of the club by Abu Dhabi United Group.
They have become England’s dominant force, winning seven Premier League titles in the past 12 seasons and followed their latest triumph by claiming the FA Cup last weekend.
Photo: AP
Now they can match the achievement of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 1998-1999 by beating Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium and securing a treble.
Beaten finalists in 2020-2021, City lost in last year’s semi-finals to Real Madrid, but the addition of Erling Haaland appears to have taken Guardiola’s team to a new level.
The Norwegian has scored 52 goals since arriving from Borussia Dortmund and City land in Turkey having been beaten just once in their past 27 games.
That 1-0 defeat at Brentford came on the last day of the Premier League season, after the title had been secured.
City have not lost in Europe this season and dished out heavy beatings to RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds.
So there is surely nothing to fear in the final against the third-best team in Italy, except perhaps their own past demons in crucial Champions League games.
“We’ve still not won it yet,” Kevin de Bruyne said. “I’ve been here eight years and it’s been incredible. Could I come here and think about all the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight years? Probably not, but it is something we have not won yet and it is something that we want to win. Hopefully, it will be Saturday.”
Yet as Guardiola eyes what would be the third Champions League of his career, City cannot overlook the threat of an Inter team who qualified from their group ahead of Barcelona, before seeing off Porto, SL Benfica and city rivals AC Milan.
They have maybe not faced a team of City’s caliber, but they have a clear Cup pedigree, having recently retained the Coppa Italia.
“I mean, they’re in the Champions League final for a reason,” said John Stones, whose move from central defense into midfield has been key to City’s outstanding form. “They’ve got incredible players, we can all see that. How they played in a big occasion, in a derby game in the Champions League semi-final, is never easy. We know what we’re up against.”
Inter know what they are up against, too, not least veteran 37-year-old forward Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian played for City between 2011 and 2016.
He has scored 14 goals this season and has been an excellent foil for Inter’s Lautaro Martinez.
Simone Inzaghi’s side might not have as many superstars as City, but they have a grizzled back line, dangerous wingbacks and a hard-working midfield in which Nicolo Barella excels.
“We’re talking about a football match, there’s no fear,” said Inzaghi, who was appointed in 2021 after the Nerazzurri had won Serie A under Antonio Conte.
“You are scared of murderers, not football players. It would be a mistake to talk about fear,” defender Alessandro Bastoni said.
Inter are in their first final since winning the trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2009-2010, the last victory in the competition for an Italian side. They have lifted the trophy three times before, while City’s only European silverware to date remains the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, which they won in 1969-1970 by beating Poland’s Gornik Zabrze SA 2-1 in the final.
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