Champions League final: Simone Inzaghi battles back from the brink to inspire Inter Milan renaissance

Barely two months ago, Simone Inzaghi was on the verge of being sacked. Inter Milan were without a win in five Serie A games and had just lost 1-0 at home against Monza, leading La Gazzetta dello Sport to say his future was hanging by a thread.

Fail to get past Benfica in the Champions League quarter-finals, and Inzaghi was gone.

But, having won 2-0 in Portugal in the first leg, Inter drew 3-3 at the San Siro to go through and, since then, they have not looked back. They finished the season with 11 wins in 12 matches in all competitions, finished third in Serie A, won the Coppa Italia and saw off city rivals AC Milan in the Champions League semi-finals.

It has been a remarkable turnaround by Inzaghi, who has constantly defied the odds. He took over after Antonio Conte walked out in the summer of 2021, unhappy with the level of backing he received after guiding the Nerazzurri to the title.

Crippled by the Covid pandemic, the club asked players to take pay cuts, needed to take out emergency loans and star players Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi were sold. Operating on a tight budget, Inzaghi has somehow guided Inter to the Champions League final.

Under him, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is reborn at 37, while ex-Arsenal and Manchester United playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been remoulded as a box-to-box midfielder at 34.

Few give Inter a chance against City, but Inzaghi has proved a man for the big occasion. He has earned the nickname ‘King of Cups’ in Italy, after winning seven of his eight finals in charge of Inter and Lazio.

Inter centre-back Alessandro Bastoni has been watching videos of how Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger dealt with Erling Haaland in the semi-final.

Inter use a three-man defence and will take heart from the fact that City have sometimes struggled against sides who set up like that. They will be compact, sit deep and look to break quickly.

Dzeko is set to get the nod ahead of on-loan Chelsea striker Lukaku up front alongside Lautaro Martinez.

“Our approach is not going to change,” said Inzaghi. “We know they will have lots of possession. But we also know the favourite doesn’t always win, that’s why football is beautiful.”