Manchester City is the best team in the world but Inter Milan can still believe they can beat the treble-seeking English team in the Champions League Final in Istanbul June 10, former Nerazzurri coach and commentator Andrea Stramaccioni told ANSA after Pep Guardiola's powerhouse's 4-0 thumping of Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg at the Etihad Wednesday night put them through 5-1 on aggregate against the reigning champs in spectacular revenge for their last-minute defeat to the Merengues at the same stage last year.
"City today is the best team in the world for quality and organization," said the former Udinese, Panathinaikos, Sparta Prague, Estegial and Al Gharafa manager, who led the Milanese side in 2012-13.
"But a final is a final, and the gaps get slimmer. I believe they can do it, and I really believe that," Stramaccioni told ANSA over the phone.
Inter got to Istanbul after beating city rivals AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate in the two legs at the San Siro.
Among the reasons for his optimism, Strammaccioni cited the fact that City "suffers when it plays against three at the back, seeing that in their surge past Arsenal they only lost to two teams and those played three at the back, Tottenham and Brentford.
"And go back and look at the Chelsea formation from 2021," when City lost to the Londoners in the UCL final, he added.
Another point in favour of Inter and its manager, Simone Inzaghi, said Stramaccioni, is "the potential two against two that the Inter strikers can create when, inevitably, City allows itself to be found out with its defensive lines a little more open".
Istanbul will be Inter's first UCL final since 2010 when the Special One José Mourinho helped them complete the treble by beating Bayern Munich 2-0 with a brace by El Principe Diego Milito.
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