The Champions League final is the most anticipated match of the European football season. It is the culmination of a long and exhaustive campaign that pits the best teams from different countries against each other. This year, the final will feature two teams that have never met before in any official European match. Man City will face Inter Milan in the final of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League on Saturday 10 June in Istanbul.
Manchester City are the champions of England and winners of the FA Cup, having dominated the Premier League with their attractive and effective style of play. Led by the genius of Pep Guardiola, they have a squad full of world-class players who can execute his vision on the pitch. Simone Inzaghi and Inter are trying to leave their mark on European Football after 2010, and winning the trophy is the best way to do it.
The tactical analysis of the final will analyse the tactics that both teams will use based on three aspects: how Manchester City will try to break down Inters compactness; how Inter will try to exploit Manchester Citys weaknesses; and how the managers will adjust their strategies during the game.
Head-to-head
The history of the two teams in the Champions League is quite different. Manchester City has only reached the final once before, in 2021, when they lost to Chelsea 1-0 with Kai Havertz’s goal.
On the other hand, Inter reached the final five times before, winning thrice (in 1964, 1965 and 2010) and losing twice (in 1967 and 1972). Inter this season defeated local rivals AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate in the semifinal to reach their first European final since 2010 when they won the competition as part of a historic treble under José Mourinho.
This will be the first official competitive meeting between Man City and Inter Milan in European Cups.
The final will be a clash of styles and philosophies. Manchester City will try to dominate possession and create chances with their intricate positional play style. Inter will try to defend compactly and hit on the counterattack with their pace and power, utilising Romelu Lukaku or Edin Džeko as a target man.
City reached the final by scoring 12 goals more than Inter (31 to 19), which is a huge number considering that they have played just 12 games. This is one goal on average more per game. On the other hand, Inter, with just 46.42% ball possession, focused on keeping the opponents away from their goal. The 1.36 xG against per game is a very flattering number, considering that Inter was forced to defend for most of the playing time. Also, the eight clean sheets in 12 games show their defensive stability. Inter is a team that during this year’s competition should have conceded 16 goals (16.26 xG against), but due to their top-flight goalkeeper André Onana, they have conceded only 10. Onana is at the top of the list for two very important metrics for the goalkeeper position: preventing goals (6.75 per game) and saves (46 in total).
City, on the other hand, managed to keep seven clean sheets, but this was based a lot on their ability to defend with the ball by having an average of 59.84% ball possession. Having a 2.36 xG per 90 shows that they can beat any team in all phases of a game.
The final will be very interesting because Inter, based on the following chart, can produce an attacking style of football that is more than enough to secure a win against any team. They are the fourth-best team in terms of goals conceded per 90 (0.83), fifth for cross accuracy (38.2%), and second in the number of crosses into the six-yard box (2.45).
Manchester City
This year in the Champions League, they have managed to lead in almost all statistical categories. They have reached the final without losing any games, with seven wins and five draws. They scored 31 goals and conceded only five in 12 games, which is a testament to their attacking quality while also contributing to their defensive security. They have qualified through the Champions League knockout stages, easily defeating RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and last years winners Real Madrid.
Possible line-up
The FA Cup fin
