Manchester City have been the bane in the life of their fellow English sides for the best part of the last 12 years, winning seven Premier League titles, three FA Cups and six EFL Cups since their mega-money Middle Eastern takeover rocked the footballing world in 2008
However, the one bragging right the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have over the dominant Etihad force is the fact Man City have never won a Champions League — and the fans of those clubs can often be heard teasing the Sky Blues’ support of that matter every time they clash.
Pep Guardiola’s rampant side, who have already won their third successive Premier League and the FA Cup this year, are potentially just 90 minutes away from changing that though, as they face Serie A side Inter Milan in the 2023 Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul this Saturday (June 10).
Man City have already dispatched European heavyweights Bayern Munich (4-1) and Real Madrid (5-1) in the knockout stages of the competition and are the heavy favourites to see off Inter in the Champions League winner odds, with some operators pricing Kevin De Bruyne and co. to lift the continent’s most prestigious piece of silverware in Turkey at odds as short as 2/9.
If the Sky Blues are to see off their Italian opposition, not only would Sheik Mansour’s long-awaited dream of winning the Champions League finally become reality — but Man City will be just the second team to complete the treble, rubbing salt in the wounds of their cross-city rivals Man United who completed the incredible feat under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999.
While Chelsea (x2), the Red Devils (x3) and Liverpool (x6) will still have more Champions League trophies in their respective cabinets than Man City should they come out on top on Saturday evening, there is still the danger that if Guardiola’s men lose their maiden tag and lift that mighty weight from their shoulders on Saturday then they could kick on and dominate the competition in Real Madrid-esque fashion.
Los Blancos, who hold the most honours in Champions League history with an impressive 14 gongs, won the prestigious title five times between the 2013-14 campaign and beating Liverpool in last year’s final in Paris.
While it takes an extremely talented side to pull off something like that, Man City’s gifted squad should be capable of at least challenging for the big-eared trophy most years and with the pressure off alongside the experience of winning that first title they have every chance of dominating Europe the same way they do in England.
Unfortunately for everyone else, the sky is the limit for the Etihad side. While Sergio Aguero is a club legend and led the line fantastically in becoming City’s all-time leading scorer, Erling Haaland is perhaps the missing piece of the puzzle for the Sky Blues. As long as they hold on to the Norwegian and while De Bruyne is still at the peak of his powers, there could be no stopping this juggernaut.