Champions League Final preview: What shade of blue will the ribbons be in 2023?
Man City vs Inter: All of the talking points
The BIGGEST match in any European club season is almost upon us. Let’s take a closer look at Manchester City vs Internazionale of Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday 10th June, 2023.
Pedigree at the top table
Inter have been European Champions on 3 occasions, having most recently held the trophy aloft in 2010. City have never had that honour, coming closest in 2021 when they lost to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in Porto. However, City under Guardiola are arguably the best side on the planet in 2023 and enter this contest as favourites.
Chasing a historic treble
Having already scooped the Premier League and FA Cup titles this season, City are looking to emulate rivals Manchester United who won their own treble all the way back in 1999. If Pep’s charges can complete the job in Istanbul on Saturday, the debates will rage as to whose was better and more memorable.
Treble the trouble
The Nerazzurri have been here and got the t-shirt before, completing their own sensational treble under José Mourinho some 13 years ago. Time really flies, but legacies live forever and the class of 2023 will be desperate to emulate Samuel Eto’o, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito and co by getting their hands on the BIGGEST prize in European club football.
Road to the Final
City demolished RB Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16, and they’ve made a mockery of extremely difficult consequent assignments, dispatching Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals and then Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semis.
Inter’s new-found defensive solidity was on show when they got the better of an excellent Porto side 1-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16. A 5-3 aggregate win over Benfica in the quarter-finals followed, and they were far too strong for city rivals Milan in the final 4, advancing to the final 3-0 on aggregate.
Tactical approaches
Manchester City no longer as vulnerable in transitions
City’s season transformed when they started deploying 4 centre-backs from the start of matches, with John Stones inverting into midfield alongside Rodri when they’re in possession and Nathan Aké’s formidable 1v1 capabilities stifling right-sided attackers. With that solid basis, Kevin De Bruyne and İlkay Gündoğan can join attacks at will from midfield. Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva are both experts at retaining and recycling the ball in wide areas behind the ultra-efficient and ruthless Erling Haaland. He doesn’t have many touches, but he doesn’t really need to. The Norwegian has 12 goals in the competition this season and needs 5 in the final to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time single-season record. Overall, he’s struck a ridiculous 35 goals in 29 UCL appearances.
Italians rely on width, crossing and physicality
A key difference between the sides is that Inter’s width is provided by the full-backs rather than the wide attackers, and they deploy 2 physical strikers. With no dedicated ‘number 6’ holding midfield for Inter, the players in their engine room share the defensive workload. Hakan Çalhanoğlu is the creative fulcrum with the players on either side getting ahead of the ball.
Latest team news
Manchester City
It’s unlikely Pep will make too many changes from his side which finally dispatched Man United 2-1 in the FA Cup final. If he does, Kyle Walker’s invaluable experience could see him get the nod ahead of Manuel Akanji. That just illustrates the ridiculous depth City have at their disposal, with Aymeric Laporte also providing central defensive cover. Guardiola did, infamously, leave Rodri out of his starting XI in the aforementioned 2021 UCL final against Chelsea, but a repeat of that piece of mind games is extremely unlikely.
Inter Milan
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi will hope to cause City problems with his dynamic 3-5-2 system which relies heavily on the forward thrustings of wing-backs Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco, and the tireless work of his 2 strikers. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, scorer in the semi-final first leg against Milan, is a minor injury doubt. Croatian midfield general Marcelo Brozović will deputise if the Armenian star isn’t fit.
İlkay comes up clutch
Man City skipper İlkay Gündoğan has 6 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 matches for City, but it’s often the nature or timing of those goals and clutch involvements that make him such a critical player. He scored both of City’s goals in the FA Cup final and also bagged a sensational improvised solo strike away to Everton, a goal of the season contender for sure. Going back in time, he was the difference when City snatched the Premier League from Liverpool on the final day in 2021/22 with his brace against Aston Villa. If he is to leave the club at the end of this campaign, he’d love to sign off in style.
What can we expect in this final?
City will have the majority of the ball, as they do in most football matches regardless of the calibre of opposition. Although these sides will both be fielding 3 at the back, there will be a contrast of styles in various portions of the pitch, to go alongside a few intriguing similarities:
Ball-playing goalkeepers
In Ederson and André Onana, we’ll be watching 2 goalkeepers who are extremely comfortable with the ball at their feet and building play from their own third, although Ederson is more adept with passing over longer distances and Onana likes to keep it short. That in itself should make this an enjoyable spectacle.
Super-subs
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi likes to make pre-prescribed changes, usually in the full-back and striker positions. Don’t be shocked to see Romelu Lukaku get at least 30 minutes off the bench, or indeed Dutch full-back Robin Gosens who likes to stretch the width of the pitch.
City have plenty of options in reserves too, with Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez both posing a goal threat but also the ability to retain possession of the ball and carry it up the pitch.
De Bruyne vs Barella
Kevin De Bruyne’s scintillating form in the final third and in transitions makes him a clear and present danger for Inter. He assisted against Bayern in the quarter-final second leg, scored a critical goal in the Bernabéu against Real Madrid in the semi-final first leg and then finished Los Blancos off with 2 assists in a 4-0 win at the Etihad. The Belgian also got a pair of assists in the FA Cup final. KDB has now created 24 goals across all competitions for teammates this season.
Although the dynamic Nicolò Barella isn’t a defensive midfielder by trade, a lot of his work in the final will involve disrupting De Bruyne’s rhythm and getting into dangerous positions in the final third himself, when those opportunities arise. On his day, he’s one of the best box-to-box midfield operators in the world.
Likely XIs
City (3-2-4-1)
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Aké; Rodri, Stones; Silva, Gündoğan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland
Inter (3-5-2)
Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Çalhanoğlu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martínez, Džeko
A stat to tell your friends
At least 1 Croatian player has won the Champions League in each of the last 10 seasons, a sequence that started with Mario Mandžukić getting his hands on the trophy in 2013 with Bayern Munich.
The stage is set.
