Simone Inzaghi did not want to go into details. All the Inter Milan coach wanted to say on the eve of the Champions League final was that his team had a “special idea” about how to deal with Erling Haaland. Haaland has scored so far this season 52 goals in 52 games for Manchester City. He scored at least twice against every opponent he faced. Inzaghi’s ‘special idea’, you might think, should be a real siege machine.
That has certainly been the feeling since it was confirmed that it would be Inter – Italy’s third-best team this season and the oldest team in that competition – standing in the way of Manchester City and the Champions League trophy. was essentially an inevitability from the moment the club came under the auspices of Abu Dhabi 15 years ago.
It’s not that Inter is a bad team. It’s not. It was champion of Italy just two years ago. It has already waved goodbye not only to AC Milan, but to both Benfica and FC Porto in the Champions League this season. It emerged from a group that included both Bayern Munich and Barcelona. It has a formidable, intelligent defence, a combative midfield and at least three genuine goalscoring threats.
It also has a plethora of experience: gritty, grizzled performers like Francesco Acerbi, Marcelo Brozovic and Edin Dzeko, players undeterred by the scale of the occasion at Istanbul’s Olympic Stadium. Inter also has some momentum, winning 11 of its last 12 games. And Inzaghi is a fine coach, one with a reputation for particular expertise in knockout games.
The problem is that none of it looks like it will be nearly enough to beat City, a team that has been untouchable in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League since February, a team that is actually ranked as the best . side in the world for half a decade or so.
It could be that Inter, military hardware or not, can stop Haaland. However, the chances of it also stopping Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are slim.
But no final is a foregone conclusion. City have lost to Brentford twice this season and so it is certainly possible that they will lose to Inter Milan. Should Inter hold out for an hour or more, the equation of the game could shift slightly in its favour.
“We shouldn’t think we’re losing 0-0,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said yesterday. “We are not. Italian teams always think they win 0-0. They are not.” That’s true, but it hits on a pertinent truth: the longer the game remains balanced, the more the field is leveled.
Inter cannot match City in skill, talent or system; the financial differences between the teams ensure that. Inzaghi will believe – because he has to believe – there’s no reason it can’t match City.
