Inter entered the arena armed with third place in the Italian Serie A and Copa Italia winners. In contrast, Manchester City entered the arena with the number one provision in England after winning the league, plus the FA Cup champion.
Not only that, according to ClubElo.com which tracks the performance of soccer teams based on Elo ratings, Manchester City is by far the best team in Europe.
With a rating value of 2,073, Manchester City outperformed Inter by 182 points. City are at the top of this ranking, while Inter are in seventh position. It was the first time since 1993 that two teams meeting in a Champions League final had such a wide gap.
The difference in rankings is reflected in the reality of the field where Manchester City journey to the final was much more tortuous and more tested than Inter, especially after eliminating Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
City’s own captivating journey has been seen in the last three seasons which has made the club one of the three strongest teams in Europe since 2020.
They failed in the 2021 final against Chelsea, and were eliminated by Real Madrid in last year’s semi-final when they were on the verge of reaching their second consecutive final.
However, at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Sunday, their quest for glory was finally satisfied. City are truly a team that learns from past failures.
Two years ago, their coach, Pep Guardiola, thought his players were nervous because they had never experienced the top of the Champions League.
Has everything
On Sunday, Manchester City players showed none of the nerves of two years ago, even though in the first half they seemed to be the team carrying the heavier burden.
That’s because they have everything, including money, with which to achieve success even off the pitch as the richest team in the world today.
