Manchester City vs Inter | Previous meetings, Dzeko, stats: the guide
Road to Istanbul
— Jun 9th 20234 MIN READING
All you need to know about the UCL final on 10 June in Istanbul
CITY'S ROUTE TO THE FINAL
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are on course to win the Premier League title; with three matches to play and a game in hand, the Sky Blues have a four-point lead over Arsenal.
In the Champions League, City dominated Group G, finishing top ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen. The Cityzens picked up 14 points from four wins and two draws. They scored 14 goals in the group stage and conceded just two.
In the knock-out rounds, the eliminated RB Leipzig in the round of 16 (1-1, 7-0), Bayern Munich in the quarters (3-0, 1-1) and Real Madrid in the semi-final (1-1, 4-0).
Their full record in the Champions League this season now reads seven wins and five draws. Guardiola's side have scored more goals than any other team in the competitions this season: 31, with Haaland the leading goalscorer on 12. In UCL football this season, City have had an average of 60% possession and a passing accuracy of 90%, keeping a clean sheet in seven matches.
Sevilla 0-4 Manchester City Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund Manchester City 5-0 Copenhagen Copenhagen 0-0 Manchester City Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Manchester City Manchester City 3-1 Sevilla RB Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City Manchester City 7-0 RB Leipzig Manchester City 3-0 Bayern Munich Bayern Munich 1-1 Manchester City Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester City Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid
Goalscorers: Haaland 12; Silva, Mahrez, Alvarez 3; De Bruyne 2; Ruben Dias, Gundogan, Rodri, Akanji, Stones, Foden, Lewis 1.
NO OFFICIAL PREVIOUS MEETING
It will be the first time Inter and Manchester City have faced each other in an official fixture. It will be an original game, an original final. Inter have never met an English side in a European cup final (neither in the European Cup/Champions League nor in the UEFA Cup).
Inter and Manchester City met in friendlies in the summer of 2010 and 2011. In 2010, the Nerazzurri won with goals from Obinna (two) and Biraghi, scorer of a wonderful strike with his right. In 2011, the English team won with goals from Balotelli and current Inter forward, Edin Dzeko.
Baltimora (USA.), 31 July 2010 Manchester City 0-3 Inter Goals: 38' and 54' Obinna, 74' Biraghi
Dublin (Rep. of Ireland), 31 July 2011 Inter 0–3 Manchester City Goals: 45' Balotelli, 46' Dzeko, 93’ Johnson
DZEKO, 72 GOALS IN A MANCHESTER CITY SHIRT
Edin Dzeko, who is now in his second season with the Nerazzurri, played for Manchester City between January 2011 and June 2015. In those four-and-a-half seasons, he made 189 appearances for the English club, scoring 72 goals. He was part of two league-winning campaigns in England in 2012 and 2014 and also won an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Community Shield.
INTER'S SIXTH FINAL
The aggregate win over AC Milan in the semi-final saw Inter qualify for the Champions League final. On 10 June at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the Nerazzurri will take on Manchester City in the sixth European Cup/UCL final in the Club's history. The last time that Inter made it to the final was in 2010 when they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid to lift the trophy for the third time. The other two titles came in 1964 (against Real Madrid) and 1965 (against Benfica).
27-05-1964 Inter 3-1 Real Madrid 43' Mazzola, 62' Milani, 69' Felo Bautista, 76' Mazzola 27-05-1965 Inter 1-0 Benfica 42' Jair 25-05-1967 Celtic 2-1 Inter 6' Pen. Mazzola, 62' Gemmell, 83' Chalmers 31-05-1972 Ajax 2-0 Inter 48' Cruijff, 77' Cruijff 22-05-2010 Bayern Munich 0-1 Inter 35' Milito, 71' Milito 10-06-2023 Manchester City vs Inter
CITY IN THE FINAL FOR THE SECOND TIME
The game in Istanbul against Inter will be the Sky Blues' second appearance in a Champions League final. Guardiola's side reached the final stage in 2021 but were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto (Havertz with the goal).
29-05-2021 Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea 10-06-2023 Manchester City vs Inter
Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, who won the Champions League as a player, is through to his fourth final as a manager: two victories in charge of Barcelona (2009 and 2011) and the aforementioned loss with City.
As a coach, Guardiola faced Inter on four occasions in the 2009/10 season: a draw and a win for Barcelona in the groups, 3-1 to Inter in the first leg of the semi-final and a 1-0 win (though meaningless) for the Blaugrana in the return fixture.