Champions League Final: Inter Milan stand in way of Man City's treble chance

Manchester City are huge favourites heading into Saturdays Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul After winning the Premier League title in May and the FA Cup last weekend Pep Guardiolarsquos side now aim to get their hands on the greatest prize in European club football and complete a historic trebleThey have become Englands dominant force winning seven Premier League titles in the last 12 seasons with five of them being in the last six seasonsQuestion marks surround their finances given that City were charged in February by the Premier League with 115 alleged breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018In Europe meanwhile City were banned for two years from UEFA competitions in February 2020 for serious financial fairplay breaches but that sanction was overturned later by the Court of Arbitration for SportNow they can match the achievement of Alex Fergusons Manchester United in 1999 by beating Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium and securing a trebleHow to stop HaalandBeaten finalists in 2021 City lost in last years semifinals to Real Madrid but the addition of Erling Haaland appears to have taken Guardiolas team to a new levelThe Norwegian has scored 52 goals since arriving from Borussia Dortmund and City land in Turkey having been beaten just once in their last 27 games That 10 defeat at Brentford came on the last day of the Premier League season after the title had been securedErling Haaland Pic AFPAlso Read Not Messi or Ronaldo Erling Haaland is soccers next global superstarCity have not lost in Europe this season and dished out heavy beatings to RB Leipzig Bayern Munich and Madrid in the knockout rounds So there is surely nothing to fear in the final against the thirdbest team in Italy except perhaps their own past demons in crucial Champions League gamesWeve still not won it yet warned Kevin De BruyneIve been here eight years and its been incredible Could I come here and think about all the amount of games and trophies we would win in eight yearsProbably not But it is something we have not won yet and it is something that we want to win Hopefully it will be SaturdayAs they eye the Champions League title City cannot overlook the threat of an Inter team who qualified from their group ahead of Barcelona before seeing off Porto Benfica and city rivals AC MilanThey have maybe not faced a team of Citys calibre but they have a clear Cup pedigree having recently retained the Coppa ItaliaI mean theyre in the Champions League final for a reason warned John Stones whose move from central defence into midfield has been key to Citys outstanding formTheyve got incredible players we can all see that How they played in a big occasion in a derby game in the Champions League semifinal is never easy We know what were up againstNo fear for InterInter know what they are up against too not least veteran 37yearold forward Edin DzekoThe Bosnian played for City between 2011 and 2016 He has scored 14 goals this season and has been an excellent foil for Inters star forward Lautaro MartinezSimone Inzaghis side may not have as many superstars as City but they have a grizzled back line dangerous wingbacks and a hardworking midfield in which Nicolo Barella excelsWere talking about a football match theres no fear said Inzaghi who was appointed in 2021 after the Nerazzurri had won Serie A under Antonio ConteDefender Alessandro Bastoni added You are scared of murderers not football players It would be a mistake to talk about fearInter are in their first final since winning the trophy under Jose Mourinho in 2010 the last victory in the competition for an Italian side They have lifted the trophy three times before while Citys only European silverware to date remains the Cup Winners Cup which they won in 1970 by beating Polands Gornik Zabrze 21 in the finalSaturdays game will need to go a long way to equal the drama of the last final at the Ataturk stadium In 2005 Liverpool recovered from a threegoal halftime deficit to draw 33 with Milan before winning on penaltiesWith AFP inputsAlso Read Man City Inter Milan brace for Champions League final showdown