UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final: Everything you need to know

The English Giant Manchester City and Inter Milan will lock horns on 11th June at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. This clash will end the 68th season of the UEFA European Cup. It will also end the 31st season since the name changed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The winners of the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final will automatically qualify for the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League group stage. They will also face Sevilla, the winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League, in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup and enter both the 2023 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups.

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At first, the final was scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hosts planned for subsequent finals were shifted back a year. The Allianz Arena in Munich got the assignment to host the 2023 final. The 2021 final also had to reschedule to be played in Istanbul and also had to be relocated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 final was given to Istanbul instead. Munich will now host 2025 Final.

UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final

Road to the Final: Manchester City

Manchester City qualified for the Champions League group stage by winning the 2021–22 Premier League. In the group stage, they were drawn into Group G, alongside Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund, La Liga fourth-place team Sevilla, and Danish Superliga champions Copenhagen.

Group Stage:

Man City faced Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and won 4–0, with goals from Phil Foden, Rúben Dias, and a brace from Erling Haaland. On matchday 2, City won 2–1 at the Etihad Stadium against Borussia Dortmund, with goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland. Then, City defeated Copenhagen at home 5–0, with goals from Riyad Mahrez, Julián Álvarez, a brace from Erling Haaland, and an own goal from Davit Khocholava. On matchday 4, City drew in Copenhagen 0–0. Man City drew against Borussia Dortmund 0–0 on matchday 5. Then Manchester City defeated Sevilla 3–1 in their last group stage match, after goals from Rico Lewis, Julian Álvarez, and Riyad Mahrez.

Round of 16:

Manchester City faced RB Leipzig in the Round of 16. In the first at the Red Bull Arena, the match drew 1–1, with goals from Riyad Mahrez and Joško Gvardiol. In the reverse leg, City defeated Leipzig 7–0, with five goals from Erling Haaland and one goal each from İlkay Gündoğan and Kevin De Bruyne. Manchester City won the clash 8–1 on aggregate and advanced to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-Finals:

City faced the German champions Bayern Munich in the Quarter-Finals. In the first leg at Etihad, the hosts won 3–0, with goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland. City drew 1–1, with goals from Erling Haaland and Joshua Kimmich In the second leg at the Allianz Arena. Manchester City won the clash 4–1 on aggregate and qualified for the semi-finals.

Semi-Finals:

In the semi-finals, City faced the Spanish champions and the 14 times champion Real Madrid. They also met in the last season's tie at the same stage, which Madrid won 6–5 on aggregate after extra time. In the first leg, at the Santiago Bernabéu, City and Real tied. Vinícius Júnior scored a screamer in the first-half and then Kevin De Bruyne came up with an equaliser. In the second leg, Manchester City thrashed Madrid by 4–0. They completed the revenge, with a brace from Bernardo Silva and goals from Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez. City won 5–1 on aggregate to qualify for their second Champions League final.

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Road to the Final: Inter Milan

Inter Milan qualified for the Champions League group stage by finishing as runners-up in the 2021–22 Serie A. In the group stage, they were drawn into Group C alongside Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, La Liga runners-up Barcelona and Czech First League champions Viktoria Plzeň.

Group Stage:

Inter faced Bayern Munich at the San Siro and lost 0–2 on the opening matchday. The goals came from Leroy Sané and an own goal by Danilo D'Ambrosio. On matchday 2, Inter won 2–0 against Viktoria Plzeň at the Doosan Arena. The goals came from Edin Džeko and Denzel Dumfries. Inter returned to the San Siro and won 1–0 against Barcelona, with the only goal coming from Hakan Çalhanoğlu. On matchday 4, Inter drew 3–3 with Barcelona at Camp Nou, with Nicolò Barella, Lautaro Martínez, and Robin Gosens scoring for them. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace and Ousmane Dembélé scored for the hosts. Inter won 4–0 against Viktoria Plzeň at the San Siro, with goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Džeko, and Romelu Lukaku. They sealed qualification to the knockout phase. On matchday 6, Inter lost 0–2 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, with goals from Benjamin Pavard and Choupo-Moting.

Round of 16:

In the round of 16, Inter Milan faced Portuguese club Porto. At the San Siro, Inter won 1–0, with a goal from Lukaku. In the reverse leg at the Estádio do Dragão, Inter drew 0–0 to seal a 1–0 aggregate victory.

Quarter-Finals:

Inter faced another Portuguese club Benfica in the quarter-finals. In the first leg at the Estádio da Luz, Inter won 2–0, with goals from Barella and Lukaku. At the San Siro, Inter drew 3–3, with goals from Barella, Martínez, and Joaquín Correa. Fredrik Aursnes, António Silva, and Petar Musa scored for the visitors but Inter won 5–3 on aggregate and sealed semi-finals qualification.

Semi-Finals:

In the semi-finals, Inter Milan faced their local rivals AC Milan. It was their first meeting in European competition since 2005, with both legs being held at the San Siro. In the 'away' leg, Inter won 2–0, with goals from Džeko and Mkhitaryan. Inter won 1–0 in the 'home' leg, with the only goal coming from Martínez. Inter qualified for the final with a 3–0 aggregate victory. It will be the club's sixth European Cup final appearance and their first since 2010 when José Mourinho was manager.

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Match Details:

• Location: Istanbul, Turkey
• Stadium: Atatürk Olympic Stadium
• Date: Sunday, June 11, 2023 (IST) / Saturday, June 10, 2023 (ET) / Saturday, June 10, 2023 (PT) / Saturday, June 10, 2023 (BST)
• Kick-off Time: 12:30 AM (IST) / 3:00 P.M. (ET) / 12:00 P.M. (PT) / 8:00 P.M. (BST)

UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final: Match Officials

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak has been appointed to take charge of the final by UEFA alongside Paweł Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz as assistant referees and Tomasz Kwiatkowski as the video assistant referee (VAR). The four officials had all previously officiated together in the World Cup final about six months ago. Bartosz Frankowski will be the Assistant VAR, with Romanian István Kovács as the fourth official. 

UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final: Streaming Platforms

Football enthusiasts in the UK can tune in to BT Sport 1 and Ultimate for live coverage of the final, starting at 6.30 P.M. (BST). Excitingly, BT has announced that the match will be available for free streaming on their website and YouTube channel, providing an opportunity for wider viewership.

Paramount+ will broadcast the 2023 Champions League final live on TV and streaming in the United States. Viewers can also watch the game between Man City and Inter on CBS, TUDN, Univision, fubo, and ViX+.

In India, the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final will be telecast live on Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 2 HD, Sony TEN 3 (Hindi), Sony TEN 3 HD (Hindi), Sony TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu) and Sony TEN 4 HD (Tamil and Telugu) TV channels in India. The live streaming will be available on the SonyLIV app and website.

Manchester City vs Inter Milan: Head to Head record

Saturday's Champions League final will be the first competitive meeting between these two teams.

UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Final: Injury News

A minor concern for Kyle Walker was recently reported by Guardiola. He confessed that the right-back had been experiencing trouble with his back.

As for the Nerazzurri, Inter lost former Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan to a thigh injury in the second leg of his side's semi-final success over AC Milan. The Armenian playmaker is trying to win his battle to play the final.

The situation is the same for Argentine attacker Joaquin Correa. He picked up a calf issue against Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia final. Although a spot on the bench will await him if he gets the green light to make the journey.