After a year of some great exhilarating football games & with all the league titles won we are now down to the final game of the season, the ‘UEFA Champions League Final’. The Citizens will take on the Nerazzurri on 10th June to claim Europe’s most coveted prize. Istanbul is hosting this year’s UCL Final after hosting that famous final in 2005.
Manchester City
The English champions Manchester City seek to win the treble to become the only second English side after Manchester United in 1999 to achieve this historic feat. In a season where they gave mixed performances earlier and were criticized by their manager Pep Guardiola. Manchester City picked up momentum in the PL title race from January & ultimately denied Arsenal their first PL title since 2004. They also pipped their rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup Final last Sunday to claim their 2nd major trophy of the season.
Inter Milan
The Nerazzuri had a mixed season. They fell 18 points to the top, to finish in 3rd with 72 points with Napoli winning the Series A quite comfortably. But they still ended up winning two trophies in Coppa Italia & Supercoppa Italiana where they triumphed over Fiorentina & AC Milan respectively. To add cherry on the top they are now in the UCL Final as well where initially the goal set by the board was to only reach the Round of 16.
Head to head
It is the first-ever meeting between Manchester City & Inter Milan.
Also read: What went wrong for Leicester City?
Form guide
Manchester City
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLDWWW
Where they finished: Premier League champions, FA Cup winners
Inter Milan
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWLWW
Where they finished: 3rd in Serie A, Coppa Italia winners
UCL Final Pedigree
Manchester City
European Cup final record: P1 W0 L1 F0 A1
Most recent appearance: 2021, Chelsea 1-0 Man City
Inter Milan
European Cup final record: P5 W3 L2 F7 A5
Most recent appearance: 2010, Inter 2-0 Bayern
Players to Watch Out
Manchester City: Erling Halaand, Kevin De Bruyne & Rodri.
Inter Milan: Edin Dzeko, Andre Onana & Bastoni.
What the coaches say
Josep Guardiola, Man City coach: “When you reach the final of the Champions League, you have to celebrate. A final against an Italian team is not always the best gift, honestly. Inter are competitive. After this [semi-final] victory there will be a lot of compliments, but we have time to prepare mentally.”
Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach: “For us, it was a dream but we have always believed in it. I’m proud to be here. Nobody has given us anything, we deserve everything that we have achieved. And now the dream to play the final has come true. It has been an extraordinary path and winning a derby in the semi-final brought particular satisfaction.”
Conclusion
We are hoping to have one of the most spectacular games of the season when these two great teams face off. Manchester City with all their resources & investment have a point to prove this Sunday. With Halaand & KDB in such great form, they go into the match as favourites against the Italian side. Inter Milan in the meantime knows that they are underdogs going into this final but this thing could play in their favour when they face English champions just like when they faced the German giants Bayern Munich in 2012.
Let’s find out this Sunday who comes out on top.
