Our prediction for this Champions League match:
The ground at Ataturk Olimpiyat will shake when Manchester City and Inter face each other in the Champions League final. The Citizens are eager to win their first trophy in the elite competition and they are seen as hot favourites to win Saturday’s showdown. Ilkay Gundogan, who scored two beautiful goals in the FA Cup final at the weekend, will be the man to watch in the home team, but the opposition back-line should have Norway superstar Erling Haaland at bay as well. Pep Guardiola should have a full squad to choose from for the decider.
The Nerazzurri, on the other hand, are eyeing their first Champions League trophy since 2010, but they will have a mountain to climb against the star-studded Premier League side. Since Man City have been impressive in front of goal of late, crushing Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semis, home win should be considered. As for Simone Inzaghi’s team, Milan Skriniar is back after missing the semifinals through injury, while both Dimarco and Mkhitaryan are major doubts.
Highlighted Player (Ilkay Gundogan):
Ilkay Gundogan is a German footballer of Turkish origin who made a name for himself playing for Borussia Dortmund. The skilful midfielder began his professional career at VFL Bochum, but it was at Nurnberg that he was given the opportunity to prove his undoubted potential. He needed just two years to make Germany’s top clubs stand up and take notice and the Millionaires secured his signature for mere €4 million.
That would prove to be a great investment as Gundogan quickly slotted straight into the starting line-up and became a playmaker in the side led by Jurgen Klopp and later Thomas Tuchel. The midfield maestro kept being linked with clubs like Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal, but he resisted temptation to leave Borussia Dortmund, winning one Bundesliga trophy with the club and making it to the Champions League final.
Gundogan unfortunately missed the 2014 World Cup finals through injury, but there is still time for the BVB star to make things right and lift a major international trophy with Germany.
Highlighted Team (Inter):
Internazionale Milano, known as Internazionale, Inter or Inter named Milan, is a football club from Italy, founded on March 9, 1908 by a number of "rebels" who did not like in the regulations of the Milan Cricket and Football Club, now known as AC Milan. The main objection was that no foreign players were allowed. In 1928 the club merged with US Milanese and strongly entered a time when Ambrosiana-Inter survived.
The club, nicknamed the Nerazzurri or the blue / blacks has had many successes. This is how Inter Milan won 18 national titles, seven times the Italian Cup, the UEFA Cup 3x, and 3x times the Champions League, formerly known as the European Cup I.