Manchester City (hereinafter referred to as Man City) is facing the ‘Big Year’ that they have longed for and longed for.
Man City defeated Real Madrid 4-0 with Bernardo Silva’s multi-goal in the second leg of the ‘2022-23 UEFA Champions League’ semifinals held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England on the 18th (Korean time).
Manchester City, who drew 1-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals away from Spain, secured a ticket to the final with an aggregate score of 5-1 thanks to a sweeping victory in the second leg. Man City will clash with Inter Milan, the prestigious Serie A, for the Big Year in Turkey on the 11th of next month.
Manchester City, who are leading the EPL, are also in the FA Cup final. If you stand at the top of the Champions League, there is a possibility of a treble (three crowns). What I want most of all is to win the Champions League.
Man City has won the EPL eight times, but has failed to reach the top of the Champions League, the ultimate goal of owner Sheikh Mansour. Mansur, who is estimated to have assets of 37 trillion won as a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) royalty and oil conglomerate, is also a big year to hang himself.
When Mansour took over Manchester City in 2008, he quickly transformed it into a top-tier EPL team. By pouring nearly 2 trillion won and collecting top-notch star players, he turned Man City into a ‘regional rival’ and a team comparable to the prestigious club Manchester United. The ransom value of Manchester City’s players is 1.53 trillion won (estimated), the most among the 20 EPL clubs.
Mansour’s aggressive investment led to significant results, but he was unable to lift the trophy in the Champions League. In the football world, there was even a saying that “money can’t buy you to win the Champions League.”
Coach Roberto Mancini, who won the EPL for the first time in 44 years, was sacked after slipping in the Champions League group stage for two consecutive seasons. Manager Manuel Pellegrini also had to leave the team after three seasons without winning the Champions League.
Mansour’s last choice was Pep Guardiola. He led FC Barcelona (Spain) and won only two Champions League titles, including a treble in the 2008-09 season. Believing that Guardiola would free Han, Mansour was brought in for a huge sum ahead of the 2016-17 season.
Coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with FC Barcelona, did not produce any other results. In the past six seasons, they have won three EPL titles and one FA Cup title, but have not won the Champions League. He reached the finals of the 2020-21 season, but lost to Chelsea and finished runner-up.
The dominant opinion is that this season will be really different.
Manchester City beat Real Madrid to advance to the final. Real Madrid is the team that holds the record for most wins (14). He is the defending champion who won last season as well. Following the 2015-16 season, Manchester City failed to reach the final last season after losing to Real Madrid in the semifinals. Even the jinx that I couldn’t use my strength when I met Real Madrid was shaken off.
Final opponents are fine too. Inter Milan defeated AC Milan 3-0 in the semifinals and advanced to the final, dreaming of a fourth big year. Inter Milan reached its 6th final in 13 years since the 2009-10 season.
Although Inter Milan is a prestigious team in Serie A, it is evaluated that it falls behind Man City in terms of objective power. Manchester City went through to the final undefeated. Inter Milan lost twice to Bayern Munich in the group stage. After the tournament, they pushed Porto-Benfica-AC Milan to the final. Manchester City advanced to the final defeating strong Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. There is also a big difference in the weight of the opposing team.스포츠토토
Even on the prediction site, Man City’s advantage is one color. Statistical firm FiveThirty8 set Manchester City’s chances of winning at 74% and Inter Milan at 26%. Opta also saw Manchester City’s chances of winning nearly twice as high. Local football experts are also predicting that “Man City, which won against Real Madrid, will overwhelm Inter Milan.”
All the atmosphere is Man City. Attention is focusing on whether Mansour’s dream can finally come true.