2023 UEFA Champions League
This week, Manchester City will play in the UEFA Champions League final 16 in Copenhagen, where Pep Guardiola’s team will try to win the European championship again.
Since their debut in 2011–12, City has participated in the Champions League for 13 seasons running, but the major prize has proven to be elusive.
Under Guardiola, this happened in a more and more cruel way. Real Madrid pulled out an incredible comeback against Chelsea in the semifinals the next year, after the team had lost handily to them in the 2021 final.
Guardiola’s most recent opportunity to win the Champions League in almost ten years and the first-ever City title came against Inter Milan in June of last year.
Here’s how the Premier Champions League winners completed a historic triple at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
How did Inter Milan and Man City make it to the UEFA Champions League final in 2023?
Following a 7-0 thumping of RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 match, in which Erling Haaland scored five goals, City defeated two daunting heavyweights in the Champions League quarterfinals and semifinals.
In a closely contested first half at the Etihad Stadium, Rodri gave City the lead against Bayern Munich. However, in the second half, goals from Bernardo Silva and Haaland helped City pull away. A 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena sealed their ticket to a third consecutive semifinal, a scoreline that was repeated at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid as Vinicius Jr. and Kevin De Bruyne traded incredible long-range goals.
A week later, in Manchester, Madrid was soundly defeated, with the lively Silva netting two goals in the first half to set up a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Even while those performances grabbed headlines, it was hardly shocking that a squad of City’s caliber made it to the final. In contrast, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter took advantage of a fortunate draw to surprise everyone.
In the Round of 16, the Nerazzurri defeated Porto 1-0 overall before dispatching Benfica, another formidable Portuguese team, in a more flamboyant fashion.
Edin Dzeko and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped Inter flourish in the caldron of the San Siro, the famous home stadium that the Milan teams share, as they raced into a 2-0 lead just 11 minutes, setting up an unforgettable semifinal matchup between Inter and their bitter rivals AC Milan.
After winning 1-0 in the second leg, Inter secured their destiny match in Istanbul.
In the 2023 Champions League final, what transpired between Man City and Inter Milan?
Guardiola cried out to his players to “RELAX!” while also appearing completely uninterested in his own advice. City got off to the expected strong start, with Silva backing up Federico Dimarco to curl wide of the far post in the fifth minute, although Ederson’s careless clearance to Nicolo Barella betrayed their nerves.
Before the break, after a typical De Bruyne throughball, Haaland made a fine save of Andre Onana, who was headed to Manchester United. It turned out to be the Belgium playmaker’s final action of the game as a persistent hamstring ailment finally got the better of him.
As the clock approached the hour mark, the game remained goalless, and City were given a huge break when Manuel Akanji allowed a pass from Silva to run through towards Ederson, but his keeper missed the memo and superbly saved, facing down Lautaro Martinez as Guardiola fell to his knees on the touchline.
Reversing that fright, Silva and Akanji played a major role in the game’s pivotal moment in the 68th minute. The Switzerland defender moved forward by stealing the ball from De Bruyne’s substitute, Phil Foden, and sliding a pass down the right channel.
While Inter defenders were distracted by Haaland, Silva’s low cross found its way into Rodri’s path, and the midfielder guided the ball home with ease. But it was anything but a calm ride for City to the finish.
Romelu Lukaku performed what in the UCL champions league final?
By the time City took the lead, Romelu Lukaku had taken Dzeko’s place, and the former striker for Chelsea and Manchester United was unintentionally involved immediately after Rodri’s goal.
In the City area, Dimarco found space and looped a header against the bar; the rebound arced back towards the Italy wingback, whose goalbound attempt struck Lukaku, allowing City to scramble clear.
After that, Foden used a deceptive move to turn Dimarco. Haaland opened up space for the youthful assailant to bring down the house, but he fired too near to Onana.
Ederson made all the big saves at that point: first, when Ruben Dias cleared behind Lukaku’s absurd point-blank header, and then, in the last minute of the game, when Ederson made a diving save from Robin Goosens’ near-post header from a right-wing corner.
After referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle and the ball spun behind Inter captain Marcelo Brozovic for a goal kick, City’s players either ran deliriously across the field or broke down in tears on the ground.
This season, there has been an increase in talk about the Triple Crown. Guardiola stated before City’s 2-0 Premierchampions League victory over Everton that he was “99.99 per cent” certain his team would not repeat the feat. This is partially a means of controlling expectations, but it is easy to forget how difficult it was for City to battle in Istanbul and how close Europe’s best team of recent years was to blowing it again.