Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists Inter are ‘built to win every game’ and the Champions League and praises the Nerazzurri’s stars, particularly Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella, Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.
Inter and Manchester City make their 2024-25 Champions League debut at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Wednesday night.
Guardiola previewed the game in a pre-match press conference, answering questions from the media in English and Italian.
Inter and Manchester City met in the 2023 Champions League final, which the Nerazzurri lost 1-0, but Guardiola is naturally expecting a different match.
“We couldn’t have thought we were much better than them at the time. The media said that we were much better than them, but I didn’t think we were,” Guardiola initially said at the press conference.
“I knew they were strong two years ago and they will be strong tomorrow. I have respect for them. Of course it will be a different game because a Champions League final is different from every game, but we will see.”
“Inter is a historic team with an extraordinary mentality. They are built to win every game and every race. They won a lot last year, it’s very similar to us,” continued the Spaniard.
“They have good high pressing, almost one-on-one, similar to Brentford, and they defend with a typical Italian mentality. They must suffer. They are strong in the group; they have quality in the formation of the game with Bastoni, Calhanoglu, Acerbi and Pavard. They have good players coming from the second line, especially Barella. Also, Mkhitaryan, but especially Barella”.
“I don’t know if Dimarco will be fit, but every time he crosses, there are four or five players in the area. It is a complete team. You can’t win the Italian league or reach a Champions League final if you don’t have something special.”
Lautaro is yet to score this season but is among 30 candidates for the Ballon d’Or along with team-mate Hakan Calhanoglu.
Lautaro’s status has changed somewhat since the last time Inter met City in the Champions League final as, in the meantime, the Argentine has won the Serie A and Copa America, becoming the top scorer in both competitions.
Is he a reliable candidate to win the Ballon d’Or was the question addressed to Guardiola, while the answer was positive: “Of course, why not?”.
“I hope a Man City player wins, but he’s in the running; he is a sensational player. A captain, a striker. He won the World Cup with Argentina, so you have to be special; otherwise, you can’t do that kind of thing. “Inter have many good players”.
“Thuram is also a very strong player. He works well with Lautaro. He can attack space and play beyond the defence. He and Lautaro move very well”, concluded the City coach. /Football Match Up/
