D-day as Manchester City, Inter clash in Champions League final

By Peter Ochieng

The long awaited day is finally here.

English Premier League (EPL) side Manchester City face Serie A side Inter Milan in the 2022/2023 Champions League final tonight, at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul in Turkey.

Kick off is 10pm East African time.

Both teams are going for a treble of some sort, already having won two domestic titles in England and Italy respectively.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have the Premier League and FA titles in the trophy cabinet, while Someone Inzaghi's Inter are winners of the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana.

Guardiola is in hunt for the 3rd Champions League title in his decorated managerial career, after winning two with Barcelona.

City are firm favourites and a win will propel them to the heights only reached by 'noisy neighbours' Manchester United.

United won the FA Cup, League and Champions League titles in 1999, the only team in England to have ever done so, so far.

Guardiola believes today's match is massive.

"This is the finish. The Champions League is an incredible competition. It's absolutely a dream, yes. To achieve things you always have to have the correct proportion of obsession and desire. It's a positive word, willingness to try to do it, of course," he said as quoted by the BBC.

City are yet to win in the Champions League.

They reached the final in 2021, losing 0-1 to Thomas Tuchel's determined Chelsea.

On the other hand, Inter are seeking for the first Champions League title since the 2010 treble under Jose Mourinho.

Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez who has scored 28 goals for Inter this season, hopes to win.

"I hope we can turn in a great performance, get a result and take the trophy to Milan. It's a huge dream for us. It's a very difficult one to fulfil but we are one step away."

He asked for personality and courage from all his colleagues ahead of the final.