Manchester City welcome Inter Milan to the Etihad this evening in a repeat of last year’s Champions League final.
Pep Guardiola’s side completed their historic Treble thanks to Rodri’s winner in Istanbul 15 months ago, but Inter more than held their own that night and only a combination of Ederson’s brilliance and Romelu Lukaku’s poor finishing kept them at bay.
As they head over to British soil, revenge will be on Inter’s minds, and they may just get it. After all, Inter are an even better side than the last time these two teams met.
Looking back at that final in Turkey, Inter entered as huge underdogs. They had finished third in Serie A, a mammoth 22 points behind champions Napoli.
Meanwhile, City had picked up their third straight Premier League title and seen off rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final. They appeared unstoppable, but Inter came closer than most to finding the formula to beat them.
Man City edged past Inter Milan to win the Champions League in Istanbul in 2023
Inter held their own but suffered from poor finishing, with Romelu Lukaku the main culprit
Simone Inzaghi has taken Inter to the next level since that final, and are set to face City again
They produced a performance to be proud of, and that may have been good enough for some. But not manager Simone Inzaghi.
He set about taking his team to the next level, with spectacular results.
Inter stormed to the Serie A title last season, picking up 94 points to finish 19 clear of their nearest challengers, and fierce rivals, AC Milan.
It was a procession as they lost just twice all season, and their underlying numbers were phenomenal. Inter scored 18 more goals and conceded 20 fewer than the previous season as Inzaghi found the perfect balance between attack and defence.
How did he achieve it? In the immediate aftermath of that final loss to City, Inter lost Lukaku, Andre Onana, Marcelo Brozovic and Milan Skriniar, who had all been key players for the club.
But they recruited smartly. In came Marcus Thuram, Yann Sommer and Benjamin Pavard.
They were able to slot into Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 system seamlessly, allowing Inter to hit the ground running and gather momentum.
Inzaghi is now into his fourth season at Inter and it shows, with each player knowing their role in the team. Pavard has proved the perfect fit on the right-hand side of the back three, the experienced Sommer has looked at home from the off, while Thuram – the son of World Cup winner, Lilian – has blossomed alongside captain Lautaro Martinez.
Inter stormed to the Serie A title last year, finishing 19 points clear of their nearest challengers
Inter’s recruitment has been spot on, with Yann Sommer perfectly replacing Andre Onana
Lautaro Martinez has led the side brilliantly, and is now a Ballon d’Or contender
The added responsibility of the armband has sat well with Martinez, who finished last season with 24 league goals to take the Serie A Golden Boot.
Some English viewers will have only seen Martinez on a handful of occasions, and may not have been particularly impressed.
He was dropped by eventual champions Argentina en route to the 2022 World Cup final after a difficult start to the tournament, and then missed a penalty in Inter’s shootout defeat by Atletico Madrid in last season’s Champions League.
Overall, he has had a very strong 12 months, though. Having led Inter to Serie A glory, he then won the Copa America with Argentina over the summer and has made the final 30 for next month’s Ballon d’Or.
He has become Inter’s talisman, and Pep Guardiola will need to be wary of his threat up top alongside Thuram.
When you throw Hakan Calhanoglu (30), Nicolo Barella (27) and Alessandro Bastoni (25) into the mix – three players either in or approaching their peaks – Inter have a very formidable side.
Will it be enough to beat City tonight? That’s a tough ask. City have won their opening four league games with something to spare this season.
Inter need to find a way to stop Erling Haaland after his flying start to the season
Inter have enough quality to pose problems for Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad
Erling Haaland is flying once more, and containing him is easier said than done. Inter have also stumbled a couple of times this term, having been held to draws by Genoa and Monza in Serie A.
But they did beat Europa League winners Atalanta 4-0 a couple of weeks ago, showing that when they turn it on they are the real deal.
If they can find that level of performance again tonight, a shock could be on the cards.