The 2023 Champions League Final matchup is set!  After two decisive ties, Manchester City and Inter Milan will square off on Saturday, June 10th from Istanbul, Turkey!  The Cityzens absolutely throttled the ‘Kings of Europe’, Real Madrid, last night to the tune of a 4-0 scoreline. In perhaps City’s best performance of the Pep Guardiola era, we saw Bernardo Silva score twice, the out of former Eder Militao concede an own goal courtesy of the mounting pressure imposed by Manchester City, and then followed by 2023 World Cup Champion Julian Alvarez netting shortly before the final whistle.  It feels as though this is finally the year in which we witness City win the elusive Champions League trophy.  The addition of record-setter Erling Haaland coupled with Pep having his squad peaking down the stretch (City have won 19 of the past 23 games, drawing the other four, in all competitions) makes it seem as if this version of City is truly unstoppable and destined to not just be crowned Champions of Europe, but rather be immortalized as Treble winners at the conclusion of this campaign.  The Premier League is all but wrapped up now.  At most, City need just two points from their remaining three league fixtures to win the club’s fifth EPL title within the past six years.  Then, there’s the FA Cup on June 3rd from Wembley Stadium, where City face crosstown rivals Manchester United.  The Red Devils would love nothing more than to squash City’s hopes of winning the Treble, but the odds are firmly against an upset occurring.  Thus, it’ll be up to Internazionale to stand stout and prevent the Cityzens from achieving club football’s most prized accolade, The Treble!

Inter Milan has a riche, trophy-laden history of their own.  They’ve been to the mountain top of Europe on more than one occasion, winning the Champions League three times.  Most recently was in 2010, and in that season, the Nerazurri staked claim to the club's 1st and only Treble winning season.  A club winning the domestic league and cup, as well as the Champions League all in the same season has occurred just nine times in 67 years.  Fast forward to this year, and Inter has a chance to win the Domestic and European Cup Double, which is still quite the accomplshment.  In order to stop streaking City from becoming the tenth Treble winner, they must defend for their lives, and as aforementioned in previous articles, I believe that the Snakes’ backline has the ability to stand firm and suffer for 90 minutes.  However, I foresee the matchup in the midfield playing a crucial part in this game, as Kevin DeBruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Rodri are breathtakingly effective and efficient in winning the ball, picking passes, making runs into the box, and slotting home strikes from all over the 18 yard box. Another pivotal factor in this match, only made possible if Inter can keep the match tied or have a lead on City heading into the final 20-30 minutes, is mental makeup.  Whilst Inter’s current squad of players haven't experienced this European stage before, the club itself has, and as we've seen with Real Madrid and fellow city rival AC Milan, when the club has that winning pedigree, that confidence permeates through the clubhouse and often times spills onto the pitch, which could very well happen for Inter in Istanbul.  However for Man City, they’ve never won the Champions League, and the core of this squad only has the memory of being favorites against Chelsea some years ago and failing to score en route to losing 1-0 to the Blues.  Thus, if the match is still hanging in the balance at the latter stages, will City rise above past failures, and kick on to winning the club’s first UCL title and likely Treble or will the Cityzens succumb to the pressures of the past and present once more?  Get your popcorn ready, because we’ll find out in two weeks time.