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Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana will go head to head in the main event of UFC 289 tonight, with the women’s bantamweight title on the line. Brazilian Nunes, who also holds the featherweight belt, began her second reign with the bantamweight strap last year, outpointing Julianna Pena to regain the title that she lost in the pair’s first clash. The result of their initial fight is deemed one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, and the women were set for a trilogy bout here, until Pena suffered an injury. As such, Aldana steps in, seeking a third straight win and aiming to become the fourth Mexican champion in UFC history, alongside the still-reigning trio of Brandon Moreno, Alexa Grasso and Yair Rodriguez. The 35-year-old faces a tough task, though, with Nunes – also 35 – widely considered to be the greatest women’s fighter in MMA history. In the co-main event, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira faces Beneil Dariush, who is seeking his first shot at the division’s title. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? UFC 289 will take place on Saturday 10 June, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. The early prelims are set to begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET), with the prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 11 June (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET). The main card is then due to begin at 3am BST (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET). How can I watch it? In the US, the event will air live on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. In the UK, BT Sport will broadcast the fights. BT Sport subscribers can watch the event live on TV, as well as on the broadcaster’s website and app. Odds Nunes – 2/7 Aldana – 13/5 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Amanda Nunes (C) vs Irene Aldana (women’s bantamweight title) Charles Oliveira vs Beneil Dariush (lightweight) Nassourdine Imavov vs Chris Curtis (middleweight) Dan Ige vs Nate Landwehr (featherweight) Khalil Rountree Jr vs Chris Daukaus (light-heavyweight) Prelims Mike Malott vs Adam Fugitt (welterweight) Miranda Maverick vs Jasmine Jasudavicius (women’s flyweight) Marc-Andre Barriault vs Eryk Anders (middleweight) David Dvorak vs Stephen Erceg (flyweight) Early prelims Aiemann Zahabi vs Aoriqileng (bantamweight) Kyle Nelson vs Blake Bilder (featherweight) Diane Belbita vs Maria Oliveira (women’s strawweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More McGregor Forever: The problem with the new Conor McGregor documentary UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year How to watch The Ultimate Fighter 31 in the UK

Manchester City do not have a long and distinguished European history, but Pep Guardiola and his team are hoping to write the first major chapter of that on Saturday evening in Turkey. The Etihad club head to the Ataturk Stadium to play Inter Milan in the Uefa Champions League final, their second-ever appearance in such a game and aiming for their first-ever victory, having lost two years ago to Chelsea. Come the end of the evening, supporters will be hoping to begin a massive celebration, not just of lifting this trophy but of completing a treble - with the Premier League and FA Cup already in their locker this term. But before any thoughts of celebrating, the match has to be won and Inter overcome - and before that can happen, it’s likely that City fans will send an altogether different tone and atmosphere into the night, when the Champions League anthem sounds out ahead of kick-off. City fans have habitually booed the anthem over the past couple of seasons, with whistles and jeers attempting to drown out the notable music pre-match when playing on home soil. That’s likely to be the case again at the Ataturk, as supporters continue their anti-Uefa stance. While a lot of the ill-feeling toward the continent’s governing body stems from Uefa finding Man City in breach of FFP rules in 2014 - they were fined £49 million at the time - there were grievances already beforehand. One such protest arose after City were fined more for being very slightly late back out onto the pitch for the second half of a match than opponents Porto were for racially abusing Mario Balotelli in another fixture. But in general, the poor treatment of fans - including not being allowed to travel to an away game because home fans had been banned - has been widely seen as a spark, whereas the probes and accusations towards City over financial foul play are the fire which seems to irk the supporters so much. There was, at one point, the possibility of City being banned from European competition, but this was ultimately avoided. Back in 2015, City were even cited by a Uefa match delegate for booing the anthem, but they were not punished for it after a committee instead opted to overturn rules and allow clubs free right to protest peacefully, in contrast to fining clubs beforehand if they protested the competition or organisation. Later, in 2019, Pep Guardiola had hoped fans were warming to the competition rather more, but the boos have been very much present during this season’s run to the final and are likely to be heard once more ahead of kick-off in Istanbul. Read More Man City vs Inter Milan LIVE: Latest Champions League final updates Manchester City fans sing on streets of Istanbul ahead of Champions League final Man City owner to attend first match in 13 years at Champions League final

Manchester City and Inter Milan meet at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night, the last game of the season and the biggest: the Uefa Champions League final itself. Pep Guardiola’s side need one more win to complete a treble which has alternately looked inevitable and impressive, with the Premier League and FA Cup already in the bag – though opponents Inter have a cup to their name too this term, having beaten Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final. They did only finish third in Serie A however, marking them out as significant underdogs in this one-off event. While City will doubtless face questions over their supremacy and the manner of achieving it if they get the job done at last, tonight from the players’ perspective is only about one thing: winning, and setting right the many mistakes in recent years which have seen them fall short. Follow our live coverage of the Champions League final below: Read More One last wrong to right? Man City stand on the brink of complicated history The rise, fall and rise again of Inter Milan’s Andre Onana Man City owner to attend first match in 13 years at Champions League final

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak is in charge of the 2023 Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul. Marciniak was given the honour of refereeing the World Cup final in December, which passed largely without controversy. He was the first-ever Pole to referee a World Cup final and his assistants that day in Qatar, compatriots Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz, are on hand again tonight to run the line. However, Marciniak has not been without controversy off the pitch. He managed to keep his role in charge of the final after apologising for appearing at a far-right event in Poland last month, having spoken at an event organised by far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen. He said in a statement: “I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused. “Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question. I had no knowledge that it was associated [with] a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation. “It is important to understand that the values promoted by this movement are entirely contrary to my personal beliefs and the principles I strive to uphold in my life. I am deeply remorseful for any perception that my participation may have contradicted them.” Uefa said: “After conducting a thorough review, we have received a statement from Mr Marciniak expressing his deepest apologies and providing a clarification regarding his involvement in the event.” The 42-year-old refereed the second leg of City’s semi-final win against Real Madrid and has taken charge of seven other Champions League fixtures. Here is the full officiating team for the Champions League final: 2023 Champions League final refereeing team Referee: Szymon Marciniak (POL)Assistants: Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz (both POL)Fourth official: Istvan Kovacs (ROM)Reserve assistant: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROM)VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)Assistant VAR: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)VAR Support: Marco Fritz (GER) When: Saturday 10 June, 8pm BST. Where: Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul. Odds (after 90 minutes) Man City win: 4/9 Inter win: 6/1 Draw: 15/4 Via Betfair Read More Champions League final referee Szymon Marciniak keeps role after apology for attending far-right event One last wrong to right? Man City stand on the brink of complicated history Inter and the impossible task of the Champions League final Manchester City fans sing on streets of Istanbul ahead of Champions League final Man City owner to attend first match in 13 years at Champions League final Watch live: Fans gather at Istanbul stadium ahead of Champions League final

The biggest club title in European football is on the line and either Manchester City or Inter Milan will be celebrating the greatest night in their recent history come tonight. Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi go head-to-head in the dugout, with key battles across the pitch seeing Nicolo Barella and Kevin de Bruyne vying for midfield supremacy and goalkeeper Andre Onana attempting to keep out free-scoring Erling Haaland. Inter’s last Champions Leagu triumph came in 2010 under the management of Jose Mourinho; City have never won the competition but came runners-up two years ago. Both teams won their respective domestic cup competitions this term, the FA Cup and Coppa Italia, but while City also won the Premier League, Inter were only third in Serie A. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match including how to watch for free. When is the Champions League final? Man City play Inter Milan on Saturday 10 June. The match kicks off at 8pm BST in the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul. How can I watch it? The match will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, and can be streamed on the BT Sport app and desktop website. BT have also made it free for viewers to watch, on the BT Sport YouTube channel. What is the team news? Kyle Walker has been hampered in preparations for the final by a muscle injury, but he has vowed to be back fit and pending any late setbacks, he should be included in the squad. There are no other injury issues for Pep Guardiola to worry about. Milan Skriniar is back in training for Inter Milan after an injury, though it’s doubtful he’ll earn a place in the starting back three, with Simone Inzaghi’s plans already set. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Joaquin Correa are both hoping to be passed fit for the final too, with the latter probably having least chance after an injury in the Coppa Italia final. Predicted lineups MCI - Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish, Haaland INT - Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco, Martinez, Dzeko Odds City 11/21 Draw 39/10 Inter 6/1 Prediction It’s a huge task for the Serie A side to stop this City juggernaut and it seems they’ll finally get their hands on the trophy which has thus far eluded them. Man City 2-0 Inter Milan. Read More One last wrong to right? Man City stand on the brink of complicated history The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher – in more ways than one The rise, fall and rise again of Inter Milan’s Andre Onana

Manchester City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final tonight, with both teams hoping to aid the biggest trophy of all in club football to their respective objectives already attained this term. Pep Guardiola’s side have completed the domestic double with a Premier League title and the FA Cup already in the bag, following their recent Wembley win over rivals Man United. Now, though, they go looking for the last and most historic part of the campaign, looking to finish the treble. As for Inter, they beat Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final to land their first silverware of the season, while they secured third place in Serie A to ensure a return to this competition next term. All eyes will be on whether boss Simone Inzaghi opts for former City striker Edin Dzeko in the lineup or brings in on-loan Chelsea man Romelu Lukaku - while City are hoping Kyle Walker recovers to full fitness. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match. When is the Champions League final? Man City play Inter Milan on Saturday 10 June. The match kicks off at 8pm BST in the Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul. How can I watch it? The match will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, and can be streamed on the BT Sport app and desktop website. BT have also made it free for viewers to watch, on the BT Sport YouTube channel. What is the team news? Kyle Walker has been hampered in preparations for the final by a muscle injury, but he has vowed to be back fit and pending any late setbacks, he should be included in the squad. There are no other injury issues for Pep Guardiola to worry about. Milan Skriniar is back in training for Inter Milan after an injury, though it’s doubtful he’ll earn a place in the starting back three, with Simone Inzaghi’s plans already set. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Joaquin Correa are both hoping to be passed fit for the final too, with the latter probably having least chance after an injury in the Coppa Italia final. Predicted lineups MCI - Ederson, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish, Haaland INT - Onana, Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Calhanoglu, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco, Martinez, Dzeko Odds City 11/21 Draw 39/10 Inter 6/1 Prediction It’s a huge task for the Serie A side to stop this City juggernaut and it seems they’ll finally get their hands on the trophy which has thus far eluded them. Man City 2-0 Inter Milan. Read More One last wrong to right? Man City stand on the brink of complicated history The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher — in more ways than one The rise, fall and rise again of Inter Milan’s Andre Onana

In Manchester City training sessions, the staff can already sense the same mood that was so striking before the games against Arsenal and Real Madrid. There is that “right kind of conviction”, that is so specific to the circumstances of the fixture. For the 4-1 over Arsenal, it was the aim of reclaiming the title they felt was theirs. For the 4-0 over Madrid, it was revenge for what happened at the Bernabeu last season. Now, it is the memory of 2021, and finally putting right what has always gone so wrong in the Champions League. That focused intensity can be seen in the players, above all Kevin De Bruyne. The feeling is that City will come out at thFce Ataturk Stadium with full fury, and not give Internazionale even a chance to settle, let alone get on the ball. If that is the case, it could well be worse than either Arsenal or Madrid. The 68th Champions League final could even be one that surpasses the four-goal victories of 1960, 1989, 1994 and the 1974 replay. It’s hard not to think City could render it a procession by the first half-hour, just as they have done so often in the last three months. What Simone Inzaghi is banking on, though, is if that doesn’t happen. If it gets to even 25 minutes and Inter have dug deep to not let City in, there is the chance that doubt could creep back in; that it could feel like it's going to be another of those nights; that there is something about this competition that is now fated for Pep Guardiola. That is when we might see one of those occasions when players like Alessandro Bastoni and Andre Onana stand defiant, when Inter display the kind of emotional intensity that characterised their own last victory in the Champions League, in 2010. That is when we might have a game, rather than a last formality to be fulfilled for City. It says much, however, that so much of the discussion around whether Inter can win ultimately goes to the nebulous; to football’s inherent capacity for unpredictability. City have already done quite a job of brutalising that concept this season, just as they have brutalised most of the best opposition. That has been just one factor in making this the most mismatched final since at least 2002 and that between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, but probably even much further back. Inter may be one of the great European names, aiming for their fourth Champions League, but they can only be described as a good team at best. That has meant they have defied a lot of modern football norms to even get this far. By contrast, City are the most lavishly funded project the sport has yet seen, to the point a feat as traditionally elusive as the treble now almost seems an inevitability. The club’s hierarchy have certainly planned it like that since the 2008 takeover. While the first decade was intended to provide the platform to win repeat Premier Leagues, the second has been intended to win repeat Champions Leagues. City now stand on the brink of the club’s first European Cup, and becoming the 23rd different name on the trophy. That will be celebrated with relish and relief by a group of superb players who have been through a lot. The club and Guardiola may have a long history of frustration in the Champions League, but the depth of feeling has partly been because they have so often been the best side in Europe. City should have lifted the trophy in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, and in 2020 certainly shouldn’t have lost to Lyon. The wider point is that a feat of this scale could have easily happened in almost any of those years. And if it doesn’t happen this year, it could well happen next year. Or the year after that. It would still be wrong not to admit that 2023 is as good a chance as City will ever have to win it, certainly in this way. And if the Champions League final is itself an occasion that naturally serves as a barometer for where the game is, few bring together as many strands as this one in Istanbul. The time and place are telling, especially as regards the use of the game by political and financial influences. President Recep Erdogan’s government finally gets its grand showpiece after two Covid-enforced postponements, but amid criticism for “democratic backsliding”. Uefa had no confirmed guest list as of Friday evening, but it was understood that invitations were extended to several heads of state. One of those who was reported to have accepted, to congratulate Erdogan on his election win, is United Arab Emirates president Mohamed bin Zayed. He is the elder brother of City’s named owner Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, although the club is now widely seen as an Abu Dhabi “sportswashing” project. It would be a historic landmark for a state club to finally win the European Cup. It also wouldn't necessarily be for the good of the sport. This is very different to the City that historically charmed the sport, or even their great title winners of 1968. Many have raised related issues about Inter, though, since financial issues of the past few years have ensured the club is part-owned by the Chinese state through a holding company. That may not be for reasons of “soft power” or “sportswashing”, and there is no influence, but it should feed into an ongoing debate about the ownership of football clubs and where the game is going in that regard. For this final, it has created another strand that reflects so much about the state of the sport in 2023. That is a huge financial gap, of the type that has now economically tiered football to an unprecedented degree, and fed into the very erosion of unpredictability that makes a City victory feel so likely. The game is meanwhile facing a series of legitimacy issues, one of them involving the potential European champions. City have been charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules, to go with Barcelona being charged regarding payments to former referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira and Juventus having 10 Serie A points deducted in a new ruling by the Italian football federation’s court after an investigation into the club’s transfer dealings found evidence of false accounting. Such complicated stories are a long way from the elemental glory this grandiose fixture has traditionally conjured. This is where we are. The current players and managers would of course say that all they can do is go out and perform “on the pitch”. That is where there is still some intrigue to a fixture so many see as a foregone conclusion. Guardiola has after all undercut foregone conclusions in the past by overthinking. Back in 2021, the final that frames so much of this, Thomas Tuchel was “shocked” when he got the City team sheet on the Chelsea bus and saw there was no defensive midfielder on the screen. It has this week led to some jokes among the City players and staff for Guardiola not to do similar. The Catalan even acknowledged this with a laugh on the club’s media day. It just shouldn’t be an issue this time. Guardiola has never been so clear on his team. This is, despite 52 goals, maybe the main value of Haaland. It is so obvious where he has to play that Guardiola ultimately worked back from that to come up with a formation that has made City almost unstoppable. It fittingly involved going back to the Catalan’s football roots, too. After hours in front of screens, Guardiola realised the way to maximise his attack with Haaland was to introduce the “defensive box” that Johan Cruyff did to win Barcelona their first Champions League in 1992. The current City manager played at the top of that. It gave him his only Champions League medal as a player and may now give him his third as a manager, bringing so much full circle. That is, of course, unless Inter square that circle. While it would obviously be preposterous to say Inzaghi’s side are the last that City would want to face, they do have qualities that pose very specific challenges to Guardiola’s approach. The Catalan and his staff always seek to impose their game on any team but with very specific adaptations for the opposition within that. Inzaghi has made that difficult because Inter are almost a throwback in how they constantly adapt to the opposition to such an extreme degree. The manager never plays the same way twice, in the words of those within the squad. Inzaghi knows this game is only really going to go one way, and probably quite furiously from the off. The vast majority of the match will take place within 30 metres of Onana’s goal. That is where Haaland may prove his most symbolic value, as he offers that finish that City have so often lacked on such occasions. It is also why one of Inter’s main defensive approaches will be to draw the Norwegian into physical battles so as to distract him. Inzaghi does have plenty of individuals who can stand up in such ways. There are a lot of “old warriors”, ready to rise to the occasion or looking for some kind of redemption. Much will revolve around two forwards with so much knowledge of the Premier League, in former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko and the on-loan Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian was lampooned for his World Cup performances but they were a product of rushing back too quickly. The flip side is that he is now in his best form since leaving Inter the first time. Lukaku is one player who is capable of wreaking havoc in the space left by City. Federico Dimarco is then capable of suddenly surging in out of nowhere. This is all what Inzaghi is seeking to play on, as he gets his team to focus on their own qualities rather than fixate on City’s. Inter certainly aren’t looking at this as an occasion they should just be happy to be involved in again. They are enjoying a real momentum from this run, going right back to an extraordinarily difficult group, and see themselves as a classic Champions League team. That means they see themselves as winners. Most people looking on can’t see anything other than a City victory. Judging from the atmosphere around Istanbul compared to previous finals, it is difficult to remember one where there was so little sense of contest, if not occasion. That might all just be set-up, though. This stadium’s only other Champions League final offered up the greatest sensation in the competition's history, with Liverpool's 3-3 comeback against Milan in 2005. This one might similarly display football’s eternal ability to amaze us. Or, it might be a landmark for how it’s going in the future. Read More The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher – in more ways than one How to cure ‘City-itis’? Pep Guardiola has new template to end Champions League woe Inter and the impossible task of the Champions League final Erling Haaland’s best time of all comes in the competition Man City signed him to win The fresh perspective driving Kevin De Bruyne to Champions League glory How John Stones sparked his Man City revival by looking in the mirror

From goalkeeper of the year to out for a year. From elite to club exile, from No.1 to drugs ban, from sought-after to released on a free. And all the way back again. Andre Onana is bidding to hit the pinnacle of the sport and become a European champion, 855 days on from first being handed a ban for a doping violation. It’s a journey which would make some shrink from the challenge or play havoc with their mindset, yet setbacks - which feels too understated of a word - seem part and parcel of the Cameroonian’s career. Indeed, it’s less that Onana’s story is one of a rise-fall-rise, and more of a non-stop, chaotic rollercoaster which travels an upward trajectory even as the stomach still feels like it’s heading the opposite direction. And all of this is even before he gets to attempt stopping Erling Haaland and co. For starters, the many months spent not being allowed to train or play with Ajax wasn’t the first time he had suffered such a fate. Back after he joined his first club in Europe, Barcelona, Onana was one of the group of youngsters unable to play after the Spanish club were found to have breached recruitment laws, effectively banning him until 18 years of age. Coming back from that and then seeing Marc-Andre ter Stegen signed meant an exit was a certainty if he wanted first-team football. The Eredivisie came calling and Onana signed for Ajax in 2015, then still a teenager. After a season and a half with the second string team, he was straight into the senior line-up and barely missed a game for four-and-a-half years. Despite not signing for Inter Milan until this term, 2022/23, Onana’s last full season for Ajax was 18/19. The following year the Dutch top flight was curtailed early due to the Covid pandemic, while 20/21 saw him hit by a Uefa doping ban for accidentally ingesting his wife’s tablets, which contained a prohibited substance. The ban was originally 12 months, brought down to nine, but it meant he missed the rest of that campaign and much of the next, only featuring in six league games in 21/22. All that, and still he had picked up a league and cup double and reached the Europa League final before matters started to go awry once more. And so to a new comeback, a new attempt to scale one of his own mountains. “I can’t say anything but thanks to [Simone] Inzaghi for giving me the chance to play for Inter. “Being here is a source of pride for me, and I hope that we can go on and win everything,” Onana said ahead of the Champions League final. “Without any fear, as I always say.” And why would he have any? For someone who has been forced by others to miss so much football, getting to actually play a game - even one of the biggest matches - certainly won’t be a situation to back down from. Inter certainly rely on him, the man to finally take over the gloves from the seemingly eternal Samir Handanovic. That said, the club laughably glossed over the reason for his most recent enforced absence when he signed: “There have been wonderful moments and particularly onerous ones [in Onana’s career], too, such as having to train on his own before returning to the action in between the sticks.” Yes, train on his own he effectively did, taking a mini team with him to Spain to keep him in shape for months and preparing for his return. Again it has paid off, with a move to Italy secured and this latest run in Europe offering a second shot at continental glory. Yet, even as Onana’s club situation has spiralled wildly from one extreme to the other through misfortune or misjudgement, there cannot be doubt he has one way or another contributed to it too. He absolutely acknowledges that the error with his wife’s medicin was his own responsibility. Onana had no intention of cheating - the tablet he took offers no athletic advantage and Uefa accepted his explanation - but, as he said at the time, the “human error” doesn’t ultimately matter when “you’re responsible for everything in your body”. That instance would have led to Onana missing the Africa Cup of Nations, had the sentence not been reduced. Ten months later, he did miss the World Cup after a more direct confrontation: a disagreement with Cameroon head coach Rigobert Song and a dismissal from the squad. After playing the first game, the pair argued over tactics and Onana subsequently retired from international duty, just 34 caps to his name. Samuel Eto’o has been asked to play the peacemaker to lure the goalkeeper back by former captain Stephane Mbia, but at present it seems the Indomitable Lions squad will continue with stoppers playing in Latvia, Saudi Arabia and on home soil, rather than one ready to feature in the Champions League final. It’s likely he’ll have a crucial role to play there with his side very much second favourites against Manchester City. Onana already has one club record wrapped up, becoming the first Inter Milan No.1 to keep seven Champions League clean sheets in the same season. One more feels like an extraordinary ask, but given the mountains he has already scaled to reach this point in his career, it would be remarkably on-brand if he did so to complete his most dramatic and unexpected turnaround yet. Read More The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher — in more ways than one Inter and the impossible task of the Champions League final A World Cup-winning striker and mean defence – Inter’s strengths and weaknesses Bastoni at the back with Martinez in attack – Inter Milan’s key players The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher — in more ways than one

West Ham enjoyed a heroes’ welcome as fans lined the streets of east London to celebrate their Europa Conference League glory. The Hammers won their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, and a first European title since 1965, when they beat Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague on Wednesday night. And their jubilant supporters, decked out in the famous claret and blue on a warm and sunny evening in the capital, packed the pavements as the players paraded the silverware on an open-top bus.

When Pep Guardiola and his staff began to properly prepare for this Champions League final, they found something they haven’t really experienced in, well, years. It has been very difficult to identify patterns or trends in Inter’s play because there don’t appear to be any. During the quarter-final against Benfica, it became clear that the Portuguese side had much more of an idea of play, in that they had an idea at all. Inter’s forward players, by contrast, didn’t seem to be coordinated. There were moments when some would press and some wouldn’t, as if it was completely ad hoc. A few figures in the game have quipped that it is like something out of the turn of the millennium, or even 1990, and that it certainly shouldn’t be working in 2023. It is most definitely not a product of the pressing-dictated world that Guardiola himself has been so central to creating. It is not the only way that Inter have defied the norms of the modern game in reaching their sixth Champions League final. They may be one of football’s grandiose names and one of the most successful clubs in the competition’s history, having already lifted the European Cup three times, but they are currently not a “super club” and very far from one of the better eras in their own 115 years of existence. It is actually funny how football works, even as it has changed. None of the stellar Inter squads that featured - among others - Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio, Christian Vieiri, Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Youri Djorkaeff or Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ever got within a breeze of a Champions League final and yet here they are with Robin Gosens and Matteo Darmian. There are enjoyably nostalgic threads you could follow there about how the club was run, how former owner Massimo Moratti was too fixated on stars, how one of their best European runs came in the Uefa Cup just before the Champions League was expanded and how the sport as a whole had a greater competitive balance. Even allowing for all that, though, Gosens and Darmian are part of a squad that is currently the oldest in Serie A. It also has 12 players out of contract this summer just at a point when Inter badly need to sell. That points to how financially stretched the club are, with many potential buyers understood to be circling in the belief that such a historic name can be bought for a relatively low price. Previous issues have already ensured Inter are part-owned by the Chinese state, even if that is not for reasons of soft power or “sportswashing”. It does mean the club almost represent a cautionary tale in what can happen when an autocratic country suddenly abandons a huge international football plan, which has never been more relevant. It also means it should never have been more difficult for Inter to get this far. They may have part state-ownership, just like Manchester City, but they almost represent the total contrast in every element of the football club. The 2023 Champions League final arguably features the greatest mismatch in this fixture since 1989. Everything at Inter was supposed to be coming apart, and Simone Inzaghi is not one of those coaches who brings everything together under a unifying tactical ideology. He didn’t even have a particularly rallying message before that epochal semi-final against AC Milan. It was pretty much to “go out and do the club proud”. And yet it is that very lightness that has played into this run. Uncertainty about so much of the club has fostered a strange focus. Even the one constant of this run, which is the surges from deep by the burgeoning Federico Dimarco, are impossible to predict or pin down. He can attack any space out of nowhere, suddenly driving 50 yards up the pitch before a one-two that wreaks havoc. It may be something Guardiola’s staff can point to, but - in the words of one source - there’s “an anarchy to it that makes it impossible to accommodate in any gameplan”. That focus from uncertainty has been gently nurtured by a manager who may be the first since Jose Mourinho to lift Inter to this stage but is “absolutely nothing like” the Portuguese. There hasn’t quite been that defiance or anger. Inzaghi has instead sought to use the circumstances to nurture a “family atmosphere”, that very much comes across in the spirit in the group. Even the directors and general staff are all quite close with the players, something that could be sensed on the club’s mandated media day before this final. That formality involves squads having to go through open training for 15 minutes, but all finalists of course use that for warm-ups, with the serious business behind closed doors. Not that you would have noticed that much of a difference with Inter. There are no drills instilling a grander idea. Inzaghi never plays the same way twice. His approach is entirely reactive, to arguably a greater degree than anyone in this modern systemised era. That is possibly why so many league games are battles, and they have never looked like reclaiming the title delivered by Antonio Conte in 2020-21. It can be hard for players to buy into that approach for a game against Spezia, and they run out of ideas and impetus. The Champions League meanwhile fosters something very different. Conscious of the stakes, the players become charged for the changes that Inzaghi makes. That is where the age of the squad is an advantage, as so many players sense a last chance or even redemption. Much has been made of how Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku have been almost in a relay as regards the number-nine role, the Bosnian accentuating his age-old qualities through experience, the Belgian in arguably the best physical condition of his career. This is also where there is at least something of a 2010 vibe, at least in terms of so many seasoned individuals applying an emotional intensity to the competition. They are the ultimate “cup team” in that way, and have got into their heads that they are one of those vintage Champions League sides. No matter the form in the league, they have that rare momentum in this competition. Many might fairly say that comes from the most forgiving run of fixtures in a split knock-out stage, but it actually goes back further. City may have had a harder series of opponents in getting to Istanbul, but Inter first came through one of the hardest groups you are going to get. Squeezing through to the last 16 between Bayern Munich and Barcelona first fostered this conviction. It was seen as “ridiculous for the group - and huge”. From that, and especially the grand show in the first leg against Milan, you just would not guess there is such a cloud over the club above a professional executive department. “It is like many are almost embarrassed to talk about the ownership situation,” one source said. None of that was visible on the San Siro pitch in the immediate aftermath of the semi-final. There, the employees and families came together with the players for a true moment of community. It was glorious, one of the club’s great nights, even when the very stadium surrounded them with so much illustrious history. That points to the present difference. Some warned that it could be like Tottenham Hotspur at Ajax in 2019, where the emotional peak could only ever come in the semi-final. This Inter squad just don’t see themselves like that, though. They see themselves as winners, even if the rest of the world doesn’t. It goes against everything building up to this final. That very contradiction, however, is what has got them to Istanbul. Read More First golf, now football? Saudi Arabia’s grand plan and the 72 hours that changed everything How to cure ‘City-itis’? 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Pep Guardiola was back in an old haunt and he wanted a picture to mark the occasion. He roped in an old friend. It was in the Allianz Arena in Munich and he had Manchester City’s CEO Ferran Soriano alongside him. City’s run of nine consecutive victories had actually ended but a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich had clinched a 4-1 aggregate triumph. Even for a man who has achieved as much as Guardiola, it was worth getting a memento. Guardiola had three seasons with Bayern, reaching the Champions League semi-finals in each. He has spent much of his seven years at City arguing that the aristocracy of European football have an inherent advantage in the Champions League, some kind of institutional memory that clicks in. City’s possible route to glory now is paved with the past: Bayern in the last eight, the 14-time winners Real Madrid in the last four, Inter Milan in the final. Whether Helenio Herrera, Sandro Mazzola and Giacinto Facchetti will prove much of an advantage in Istanbul remains to be seen. Study the last 12 years, after all, and Inter, with a solitary previous quarter-final appearance, are the rank outsiders on Saturday. But perhaps City have always seen themselves as the outsiders who are desperate to be part of the club: the club of European Cup winners. When Guardiola has said he would rather win the Premier League than the Champions League, or that it is harder to – and he has made both claims over the years – it has scarcely rung true. There are many City supporters who would rather get the better of Manchester United than clubs from Milan, Munich or Madrid, but for manager and hierarchy alike, it has felt like the holy grail. It has been 15 years since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover, 12 since the modern City made their Champions League bow. There are two pertinent comparisons among suddenly moneyed clubs: Chelsea who – unlike the City of 2008 – were already in Europe’s elite competition when bought and who, after a similar assortment of agonising near-misses, won the Champions League nine years into a new regime; and Paris Saint-Germain, who reached the final the year before City but have otherwise been the wrong sort of role models. The serial French champions have five last-16 exits in the last seven seasons; since signing Lionel Messi, they have not reached the quarter-finals. Their emphasis on superstars, on buying success, has been thoroughly discredited. City have taken another approach. Indeed, an examination of its pillars – hiring and supporting a world-class manager, having a defined style of play with a clear commitment to teamwork, astute recruitment over several seasons and an environment where footballers improve – would seem the basis of a Champions League-winning campaign; it was for Liverpool in 2019, after all. And yet recent years have seen other methods prevail, whether mid-season managerial appointments like Roberto Di Matteo, Hansi Flick and Thomas Tuchel having an immediate impact or Real’s innate Realness, their preternatural sense of purpose that Guardiola feared, and amiable man-managers in Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane taking the trophy back to the Bernabeu. City, in contrast, accumulated years of hard-luck stories, near-misses and missteps under Guardiola, a strange combination of the away-goals rule, VAR, cruel late drama and “overthinking”, a narrative so established the Catalan references it, costing them. For City, 12 years of the Champions League divides into three phases and three reigns. There was the underachievement under Roberto Mancini, with two tough group-stage draws and a disappointing campaign followed by a disastrous one; in 2011-12, the Italian alleged Carlos Tevez refused to come off the bench in Munich, but the real nadir was a winless 2012-13; along with fraying relations with his players and employers, Mancini’s wretched record in Europe helped seal his fate. Manuel Pellegrini started the run of 10 successive appearances in the knockout stages. He twice beat Bayern in the group, twice lost to Barcelona in the last 16, when a flurry of City red cards hinted at defensive struggles amid over-attacking tactics and an inability to cope with the best, and once ended up apologising to the people of Sweden after an intemperate criticism of referee Jonas Eriksson. The first time City drew Barcelona it was in part because of an embarrassing miscalculation by Pellegrini: leading 3-2 at Bayern in the last group game, he took off Sergio Aguero without realising an extra goal would have seen City top the pool and avoid the favourites. Pellegrini later steered City to the previously uncharted waters of the semi-finals in 2016, only to go out with a whimper to Real; after being outclassed by Barcelona, it felt like a sign that an inferiority complex remained. But at least Pellegrini’s three Champions League exits were to La Liga’s duopoly. Guardiola’s first five were either to Ligue Un sides (Monaco in 2017 and Lyon three years later) or clubs who finished 25, 27 and 19 points below them in the Premier League in the respective seasons (Liverpool in 2018, Tottenham in 2019 and Chelsea in the 2021 final). Indeed, when comparatively unfancied sides overachieved in the Champions League, there was often a common denominator: they eliminated City en route. The “City-itis” former manager Joe Royle diagnosed in the 1990s – the sense that anything that could go wrong, would, and often in tragicomic circumstances – felt eradicated in the Premier League, but not the Champions League. There was the infamously disallowed Raheem Sterling “winner” against Tottenham – as Fernando Llorente’s hip-goal, with the suspicion the ball had brushed his hand, instead proved decisive; it also followed an Aguero penalty miss in the first leg. There were the two-goal leads City had and lost, to Monaco and then to Real last season. There was the Rodrygo double in the Bernabeu last term, with two goals in as many minutes. There was Liverpool’s destructive blitz of three goals in 19 minutes at Anfield and Guardiola’s self-destructive exit in the second leg, sent off for protesting about a Leroy Sane goal that was chalked off. There were more contentious calls: perhaps Moussa Dembele fouled Aymeric Laporte before he put Lyon 2-1 up. There was Kevin de Bruyne’s fractured nose and eye socket after Antonio Rudiger’s bloodcurdling challenge in Porto. There were the misses: Sterling against Lyon and against Chelsea, Jack Grealish against Real. There was the recurring theme of City getting caught on the counterattack: by Monaco, then Liverpool, then Spurs. There were the ever-present issues of Guardiola’s choices backfiring: Laporte at left-back and Ilkay Gundogan off the right wing at Anfield, De Bruyne on the bench away at Tottenham, no defensive midfielder versus Chelsea and, the worst of the lot, three centre-backs in an overly defensive team who faced Lyon. That was a one-off game and City have lost a lone two-legged tie in four seasons; even then, they were leading after 180 minutes – if not injury time – against Real. But Lyon can assume an almost disproportionate importance. City are unbeaten in 26 home Champions League games, scoring 85 goals; their last defeat was to Lyon. Otherwise, they have turned their groups into processions, topping the pool in their last six seasons. They have often been prolific: sometimes even in ties that brought their elimination. Arguably, over Guardiola’s seven seasons, they have had only had two remotely emphatic exits: to Lyon and Liverpool. Tales of what might have been have abounded. Yet, as rivals could point out, there is a still greater one. City were given a two-year Champions League ban by Uefa in February 2020, it was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport five months later because many of their alleged breaches of financial fair play were not established or time-barred; they had been previously sanctioned. The competition’s anthem has tended to be booed at the Etihad but an essential allegation – that funding from the club’s owners came disguised in inflated sponsorship deals – forms part of the case in the Premier League’s 115 charges against them. It is part of the backdrop. For some, theirs would be a tarnished triumph if they beat Inter. For others, it would be the culmination of an epic quest. There have been cases for arguing that City have been the best team in Europe at various points in recent years. They have never had that official status, however. Guardiola noted recently that, in the last three seasons, City have reached two finals and one semi-final; he could have added that they led for 178 minutes of that semi-final against Real. It is an admirable record, rendering them the most consistent side in continental competition in that time, but it will count for little without the ultimate prize. Now, for the second time, they are 90 minutes away. Now the survivor from their first Champions League game of the 21st century is not Aguero or David Silva but Edin Dzeko, a 37-year-old opponent on Saturday and a throwback to their past. Compared to their last final, they have gone from false nine – in De Bruyne – to genuine No 9, in Haaland, from the far west of Europe, in Porto, to the brink of Asia, in Istanbul. It is a curiously fitting venue. When City’s greatest team of the 20th century won the title in 1968, the charismatic, quotable assistant manager Malcolm Allison said they would “terrify the cowards of Europe”. City duly drew Fenerbahce in the first round of the European Cup, and went out. But perhaps, more than half a century later, Allison’s bravado will find a form of justification and, finally, City will be champions of Europe. Read More This FA Cup was more important than most – but Man City still need more Why has Saudi Arabia become big player in world sport and what does future hold? 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Lionel Messi has confirmed the stunning news that he will join Inter Miami and move to the United States after leaving Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine is now poised to become the latest superstar to feature in MLS. Rejecting reported offers from Saudi Arabia and a return to Barcelona, Messi is now ready to touch down in the Florida city for the final stages of what has been a glittering career. Messi may prove a transformative figure for the league just like Pele in the 1970s, with football now emerging as the second-most popular sport in the USA for participation at a pivotal moment in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. Here’s everything we know about Messi’s impending move to Inter Miami: Why did Messi choose Inter Miami over Saudi Arabia and Barcelona? Lionel Messi said in an exclusive interview to Sport and Mundo Deportivo: “I’m going to join Inter Miami. The decision is 100% confirmed. “If it had been a matter of money, I’d have gone to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me. The truth is that my final decision goes elsewhere and not because of money”. Messi reportedly rejected a deal from Saudi Arabia worth approximately $400m. While Barcelona, who faced FFP struggles in their attempt to bring Messi back to the Camp Nou, appeared upset at his decision to move to the United States, with a statement reading: “President Joan Laporta understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years.” What is the deal Inter Miami are offering Messi? The exact terms of Messi’s new salary and the length of the contract are yet to be known. A report from Sport details Messi is due to sign a four-year contract, while another Spanish report claims his salary could be worth $54m per season. Regardless of the exact final figure, Messi is almost certain to become the highest-paid player in MLS, with Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri currently the top earner on $8,153,000, according to Spotrac. Messi may also be handed a purchase option for part of an MLS team once he retires, in a similar manner to David Beckham’s contract with the LA Galaxy signed 16 years ago that allowed him to purchase Inter Miami. Who owns Inter Miami? Inter Miami is owned by David Beckham and Jorge Mas, an American businessman. Beckham had the option to purchase an MLS expansion team for $25m as part of his contract signed when playing for LA Galaxy. Beckham and the ownership team were awarded MLS’s 25th franchise in late January 2018. Why are Apple and Adidas involved? Apple and Adidas are involved in the deal, sources have told The Independent. Apple and MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5bn deal earlier this year and see Messi as a key player to expand interest in the league. Apple is especially invested in Messi, having made a four-part docuseries surrounding Messi’s five World Cup appearances, which will soon stream on Apple TV+. Adidas, meanwhile, a corporate sponsor of MLS, has looked into a profit-sharing agreement with Messi, sources tell The Independent, which will be aligned to any future increase in MLS-related sales linked to the player. The sportswear giant, which has sponsored Messi since 2006, has been tied to MLS since its inception in 1996 and will continue to supply kits to all 29 teams and provide the league’s official match ball until 2030 after penning a six-year, $830m extension. Who will be Messi’s new teammates? Messi's future teammates include Venezuelan forward Josef Martínez, the 2018 MLS golden boot winner. Former Newcastle defender DeAndre Yedlin and designated players Rodolfo Pizarro and Leonardo Campana will also line up alongside Messi. Reports suggested Messi would be joined by former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in Florida, but the Argentine has rejected those rumours. “It’s another of the things they said, that I was going with Busi and Jordi to Saudi Arabia, that we had everything arranged. I was obviously aware of them, what they were going to do, but we never agreed to go anywhere together,” Messi said. “I made my decision for myself and I don’t know what they’re going to do. I don’t have anything agreed with anyone.” When will Lionel Messi make his Inter Miami debut and how much will the tickets cost? Prices for rumoured Messi matches for Inter Miami have skyrocketed. Messi is due to join the club on 5 July, when the league’s secondary transfer window opens. Inter Miami will travel to D.C. United on 8 July but Messi is not guaranteed to play at Audi Field. That hasn’t stopped fans from taking a risk, with tickets for D.C.’s next league match at home to Real Salt Lake available on Ticketmaster (the club’s official ticketing partner) for as little as $29. But when Miami visit, the cheapest ticket is $186 without fees at the time of writing. More than 4,500 tickets have been sold since the announcement. A trip to St Louis on 15 July follows, with cup matches against Cruz Azul on 21 July and Atlanta on 25 July other potential options to watch the legendary player in action. A potential home MLS debut will likely have to wait until 20 August when Miami play Charlotte. Read More First golf, now football? 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