After a series of preliminaries, group stage encounters, round of sixteen knockouts, juggernaut quarterfinal bouts, and huge semifinal clashes that saw the Milan derby and the big one between Manchester City and Real Madrid, we’re down to the final in Istanbul.

Inter Milan will square up with Manchester City in the Champions League final on Saturday; it’s Pep Guardiola’s fourth final after failing to beat Chelsea two years ago at the Estadio De Dragao in Portugal and winning it twice with Barcelona long ago. There’s all to play for in Turkey.

Guardiola’s tactical credentials have been questioned at the altar of his failure to win the Champions League without the mercurial prowess of a certain Lionel Messi, and the Spaniard has to find a way to lay that to rest. He has a chance on Saturday.

Inter Milan’s fairytale run continues, and the Italian sleeping giants must rise to the occasion when the whistle goes off in Istanbul on Saturday. Inter Milan’s journey to the final saw them defeat their city rivals AC Milan in the semifinals and a badly composed Benfica in the quarterfinals.

Many would love to compare the current Inter Milan team to the famous class of 2010 that was managed by Jose Mourinho, but the Nerrazzuri of 2010 went past a strong Barcelona side on their way to beating Bayern Munich in the final.

How will they line up? Inter Milan remains the underdog in this final, but football doesn’t respect names or pedigree. In fact, speaking of antecedents, Manchester City is inferior to Inter Milan, as the Cityzens have never triumphed in Europe and would only be making their second final appearance.

Inter will be compact and highly defensive, but they must stay disciplined to avoid early bookings that will keep them on the edge against a team that will punish any numerical disadvantage. Lautaro Martinez will have the opportunity to lead the line with Romelu Lukaku on the bench, but will he have joy?

Manchester City is expected to once again unleash Erling Haaland on the Italian defence, and Andre Onana will have it all to do against the big Norwegian. Guardiola will be itching to follow in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson by winning the famous treble; he won’t overthink this one.

Guardiola famously went into the final against Chelsea in Portugal two seasons ago without a DM despite having Fernandinho and Rodri on the bench; it backfired, and he won’t dare that against an unpredictable Inter Milan.

The stage is set, and the fans are ready for what would be a grand finale to a long season of ups and downs, to an usual season that sandwiched a FIFA World Cup in the Middle East, and probably the ultimate coronation of Manchester City, who already won the Premier League and the FA Cup.