Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Jack Flintham

Man City warned Inter Milan Champions League final will be tougher than Manchester United

Former Arsenal midfielder and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has urged Manchester City not to underestimate Inter Milan after beating Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

Saturday's victory over their arch-rivals secured the Blues' second major trophy of the season. It also leaves City on the verge of securing a historic treble in Istanbul.

In their way this weekend is Simone Inzaghi's Inter side who finished third in Serie A. While their season has not been as successful as City's, Merson has warned the Blues to learn their lessons from the Chelsea defeat in 2021.

ALSO READ: Gundogan sets blunt Champions League expectation

Writing in his Sky Sports column, Merson explained: "Man City will be feeling the pressure in the Champions League final. They turned up against Chelsea a couple of years ago and were expected to win.

"We can go through semi-finals where they've been expected to turn up and win and they haven't - it's a big match, of course they're going to be nervous. For how good they are and how dominant, how many times are they going to get into this position ever again?

"The league looks after itself, 38 games, you've got leeway in that but there's only got to be a penalty in the final like they conceded against Manchester United and all of a sudden it's game on. I always thought this was a harder game than the Man United game.

"Inter have got forwards in Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku who can hurt you, I didn't see that with United's front three - bar Marcus Rashford. That was the problem.

"This is a tough game, and they will be nervous." City are widely considered to be favourites for Saturday's encounter with the bookmakers offering odds of at least 6/1 for Inter to be victorious.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.