Victory against Inter Milan on Saturday will seal a historic treble for Pep Guardiola’s side, following their Premier League and FA Cup triumphs.
Abu Dhabi, UAE: Manchester City and England’s Jack Grealish says it is a “dream” to be playing alongside his Manchester City team-mates this season as the club aims to clinch their first UEFA Champions League title and complete a historic treble.
Pep Guardiola’s team take on Italian side, Inter Milan in Saturday’s showpiece finale in Istanbul, knowing a win in Europe’s elite club competition would end a remarkable season following their Premier League and FA Cup triumphs.
England international Grealish is one of three players to have played in all 12 matches on the road to Turkey – creating 35 chances in the competition. The team goes into the crucial clash having scored 31 goals in Europe.
While the 27-year-old winger aims to contribute to adding to that tally this weekend, he says it’s been a joy to play with high calibre players and believes they can cause plenty of problems for Inter Milan given how strong they are at both ends of the pitch.
He said: “It’s a bit of both (with being strong in attack and defence). I think that’s why we’re on the brink of what we’re doing.
“Defensively, we have been brilliant – whether that be Manuel (Akanji), Nathan (Ake), Rúben (Dias), John (Stones) – they have all been unbelievable. Especially Kyle (Walker) against Real Madrid was brilliant.”
“Erling Haaland is another one who’s come into the squad and scored more than 50 goals. At both ends of the pitch, it’s been unbelievable, and it is a dream to play with this team.”
Despite their impressive season so far, Grealish admits his team-mates will need to be at the top of their game if they are to overcome Inter Milan, a different task to what has been faced in domestic competition.
He said: “It’s a different game to what we’ve faced (in the league and cup). We know the teams around us well, and we know how they’ll play. We’re seeing their players on international duty too, so we do know the teams at home more.
“I’m not sure if I have played against many of their (Inter’s) players before. But I love watching football, so I know their players and what strengths they have.”
Manchester City fans in the Middle East can watch their team in this year’s UEFA Champions League final at the official live screening at Town Square, Yas Mall on Saturday 10th June, with the game kicking off at 11pm UAE time.
About Manchester City Football Club:
Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, nine League Championship titles, seven FA Cups and eight League Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 13 clubs comprising the City Football Group.
Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly-decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 53,500 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a state-of-the-art performance training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.
