UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester City v Inter preview - can Guardiola and Erling Haaland complete the treble?
After clinching their second English league and cup double, Pep Guardiola’s men are one win away from finally winning the biggest prize in European club football.
Football
The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League winners will be crowned in Istanbul, Türkiye, next Saturday (10 June).
That Manchester City have reached their second Champions League Final is no great surprise given their latest English Premier League success.
And Pep Guardiola’s men are heavy favourites to defeat Inter and finally claim the most lucrative prize in club football.
The Italians emerged from a hugely competitive Group C, finishing second to Bayern Munich but ahead of Barcelona, and have benefitted from a slightly easier pathway in the knockout stages.
While City had to get past Bayern and defending champions Real Madrid to make the final, Inter beat Portuguese sides FC Porto and Benfica before defeating city rivals M****ilan to make the final.
They will somehow have to stop top scorer Erling Haaland from adding to his 12 goals during the campaign, and Kevin De Bruyne who leads the tournament with seven assists.
Victory over Manchester United in last Saturday´s FA Cup Final saw City complete their second domestic league and cup double four years after their first.
If they triumph in the Ataturk Stadium, they will become just the second English side in history to win a famous treble, matching United’s feat of 1999.
Manchester City close in on Champions League destiny
When the Abu Dhabi United Group took over Manchester City in 2008, this is what they had in mind.
With substantial investment which may or may not have complied with financial rules - the club has been charged with over 100 breaches by the Premier League - City is now arguably the most powerful club side in the world.
Since the appointment of manager Guardiola, who guided Barcelona to an unprecedented sextuple in 2009, they have dominated English football with five league titles in seven years.
Their financial muscle has enabled them to sign some of the best players in the world with Haaland’s arrival last June adding further firepower to what was already a formidable attack.
Arsenal threatened to wrest the title from their grasp but the side coached by Mikel Arteta, who had previously worked under Guardiola at City, lost their way in the New Year and suffered defeat in both fixtures against the reigning champions.
In the Champions League, City cruised to top spot in Group G ahead of Haaland’s former club Borussia Dortmund and subsequent Europa League champions Sevilla.
In the last 16, they ruthlessly dismantled RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg for an 8-1 aggregate victory before crushing Bayern 3-0 at home to all but book their spot in the semi-finals.
Then came holders Real Madrid who were perhaps fortunate to hold the English side to a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Their luck ran out in the second leg at the Etihad as Bernardo Silva’s first-half double put City on the way to a comprehensive 4-0 win, exacting revenge for the semi-finals 12 months previously when Real equalised in the last minute at the Bernabeu before winning the tie in extra time.
Had it not been for Thibault Courtois somehow denying Haaland on at least three occasions, it could have been a humiliation for the Spanish giants.
Guardiola talked previously of that second leg being “a final”, but he will not be taking anything for granted as he bids to go one better than reaching 2021 when City went down 1-0 to English rivals Chelsea.
City’s strength in depth is nothing short of frightening with the likes of Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez more than capable of turning a game from off the bench.
Inter plan to upset the odds
Inter are bidding for a fourth Champions League crown and their first since Jose Mourinho masterminded their 2010 triumph.
To achieve that, they would have to pull off an almighty shock with the bookmakers giving them just a 20 per cent chance of returning to Milan with the trophy.
Inter’s greatest attacking threat comes courtesy of Argentinian World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez with either on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku or former City forward Edin Dzeko, very much a veteran at 37, partnering him up front.
Having failed to make much of an impact in England for Manchester United or Arsenal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan became a key player for Roma before joining Inter at the start of this season.
The 34-year-old Armenian attacking midfielder has been pivotal to Inter’s season, helping them to third in Serie A and scoring in the semi-final first leg win over Milan.
Also vital to their style of play are wing-backs Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries.
With the exception of two defeats to Bayern Munich in the group phase, Simone Inzaghi’s men have made serene progress to the final although whether they can contain the English double champions is another matter.
When is the 2023 Champions League Final?
This year’s UEFA Champions League Final takes place at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday 10 June.
Kick-off is at 2200 local time (TRT, UTC+3).
How to watch the 2023 Champions League Final
The Champions League Final will be free to watch in most European countries with UK rightsholder BT Sport streaming the match live on its website and YouTube channel.
In the United States, CBS and TUDN holding respective England and Spanish-language rights.
You can check your local rightsholder on the UEFA website here.