Champions League semifinals: Man City and Inter Milan dominate to reach title match
The final will be contested on June 10 in in Istanbul, Turkey
This season’s Champions League final is set.
Manchester City and Inter Milan, two teams that dominated their opponents in the semifinals, will meet on June 10 in the Turkish city of Istanbul at Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
Man City reached the final after thumping Real Madrid 4-0 at home on Wednesday thanks to a Bernardo Silva brace. Man City won the series 5-1 on aggregate over two legs.
Inter Milan, meanwhile, subdued city rivals AC Milan 1-0 on Tuesday on a Lautaro Martinez goal to dominate the series 3-0.
It is a remarkable achievement for both these sides to reach the final. For Man City, crushing Real Madrid, the defending European champions, puts them on track to win the treble. Pep Guardiola’s side could clinch a second straight Premier League title this weekend and will face Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
City’s ability to put pressure on Real Madrid, relentlessly creating scoring chances ultimately led to their resounding victory. Two Silva goals in the first half, in the 23rd minute and a second 14 minutes later, essentially put the game out of reach.
Although Real Madrid looked dangerous a few times, there was no stopping the Man City juggernaut. Guardiola’s side is focused on winning the Champions League for the very first time in history.
Standing in their way is Inter Milan. The Serie A club under coach Simone Inzaghi are a cup team that can’t be overlooked. In fact, the Nerazzurri seem to thrive in cup competitions. Aside from the UCL final, they are also in this season’s Coppa Italia final, where they will face Fiorentina.
It should come as no surprise that this Inter team is strong thanks to its defense. Inter's backline combination of Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian and Alessandro Bastoni helped them blank their city rivals in the semifinals.
This is an Inter side that also seems to thrive under pressure. That’s a good thing since Man City will given them plenty of it in Istanbul.