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      Erling Haaland’s bromance with Jack Grealish takes new twist as City goal machine teases pal over settling into team

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      ERLING HAALAND couldn’t resist taking a playful dig at Manchester CIty pal Jack Grealish after his record-breaking season.Haaland, 22, has adapted to life at City seamlessly – breaking records and winning multiple individual awards having scored 52 goals in all competitions.
      The pair have struck up an unlikely friendship following Haaland’s arrival last summerCredit: Getty
      The duo are one game away from winning the treble with Manchester CityCredit: Getty

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN LIVE: Keep up to date with all the action from Istanbul – TV and streaming info
      But, for Grealish it took a little longer to settle following his £100million move from Aston Villa two years ago.
      The pair have struck up an unlikely friendship and live on the same floor in an apartment complex in Manchester.
      The Norwegian was asked if he was surprised that he had settled into life at City so quickly and he couldn’t resist a swipe at Grealish with his answer.
      Haaland said: “I told Jack sometimes players need maybe a year or something to come into the new league, new team and everything.
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      “And, sometimes players come directly in and perform, I told him this. So, yeah, there was one game, the Community Shield, I missed a couple of big chances.
      “It can happen, it will happen again. What can you do? Nothing. We have to focus on the next thing, the next game and that’s what I did. I scored two goals in the next game, so it was still not a bad start.”
      Despite all the records he has broken this season Haaland heads into Saturday night’s Champions League final with only one goal in his last seven games.
      Although, he was quick to defend himself, saying: “You can think of it as one goal in seven games or 52 goals in 52 games and eight assists, I think.
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      “You can think of it in both ways. I’m not stressed. I feel really good. I didn’t expect to score this many goals but, again, I could have scored more.
      “I’ve been missing a lot of chances, so I could have scored more, that’s the truth.”
      Haaland and Grealish are one game away from completing an historic Treble with City, and matching the achievement of rivals Manchester United back in 1999.
      The pair will likely both play a key role as City look to win the Champions League for the first time in their history against Inter Milan in Istanbul. More

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      Inter Milan boss reveals ‘special plan’ to stop Erling Haaland as Kevin de Bruyne makes choice between ace and his WIFE

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      INTER MILAN boss Simone Inzaghi has a special plan to stop Erling Haaland.But he says his underdogs must also find a way to subdue the rest of the Manchester City team, which he rates as the best in the world.
      Simone Inzaghi has revealed a special plan to stop Erling HaalandCredit: Getty
      KDB and Haaland have something special going on

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      The Inter chief said: “We know how strong Manchester City is and what a player Haaland is.
      “We will have a special eye on him. We have prepared something but it will be all of Inter, the whole team, that will have to defend, trying to limit not only Haaland but the whole of Manchester City.
      “They are probably the best team in the world.  We must make no mistakes.”
      Inter are seeking to be crowned European champs for the fourth time, 13 years after Jose Mourinho steered them to a victory over Bayern Munich to claim a historic Treble.
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      Inzaghi said: “I’m lucky to have players who know how to play these games.
      “We know it’s a huge opportunity to write a page of Inter history.”
      Meanwhile Kevin de Bruyne has admited to having an instant chemistry with Haaland — but would not swap his wife Michele for the Norwegian.
      Though Kevin De Bruyne has admitted he would still not swap his wife for HaalandCredit: Getty
      The Belgian superstar has linked up brilliantly with the 52-goal forward since he set foot in the Etihad last July.
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      Asked if it was love at first sight for him, ex-Chelsea man KDB said: “No. No, I’m happy with my wife.”
      De Bruyne, 31, married Michele Lacroix in 2017 and the couple have three children together.
      But he did acknowledge that he seemed to click straight away with the former Borussia Dortmund forward, 22.
      He said: “It’s something that I can’t really explain, you just have a feeling with a player.
      “You understand what he wants, he understands what I can do. He started scoring at an incredible rate, it helped him settle.
      “Even in the last games he’s been really important for us in different ways.” More

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      Tickets for tonight’s Champions League final are being flogged for huge sums

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      TICKETS for tonight’s Champions League final are being flogged for up to £15,000.One seller, Ticombo, had hospitality packages for up to £15,000 and seats in Category 1, originally £600, up for £8,000.
      Man City play Inter Milan in the Champions League finalCredit: Getty
      Livefootballtickets had VIP seats with food and drink for £13,500 and was listing Category 1 seats for a whopping £7,500.
      But secondary sellers risk carnage by flogging tickets for the Manchester City-end of the ground in Istanbul, Turkey.
      Ticombo is selling seats in the Man City section for £800, which could be snapped up by ultras from Italy’s Inter Milan.
      Fans buying via clubs or Uefa agents could only sit with fellow fans.
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      Uefa is keen to avoid a repeat of chaos at last year’s Liverpool and Real Madrid game in Paris.
      The was disfigured by chaotic organisation, in which Liverpool supporters suffered a near disaster and riot police tear-gassed spectators while failing to protect people from violent attacks by local thugs.
      The French government, police and Uefa united instantly to put the blame on Liverpool supporters, claiming that the chaos was caused by thousands seeking entry with fake tickets.
      But a Uefa report later cleared Reds fans of any wrong-doing and the organisation blamed its own poor planning and the French police for the appalling scenes.
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      Fans fear someone’s ‘getting sacked’ as shocking video of Erling Haaland getting taken out in Man City training emerges

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      FANS fear the axe is going to swing at Manchester City after Erling Haaland was taken out in training – by a pile of water bottles. On the eve of the Champions League final, Pep Guardiola will be keen to ensure his squad is firing on all cylinders.
      Erling Haaland went for a nasty fall over some water bottles
      Fans joked someone, or something, will be getting sacked
      But Haaland appeared to be completely fine

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      And Haaland injuring himself would be far from ideal.
      Fans were shocked to see the 52-goal ace topple over a set of water bottles in training ahead of the final.
      Fortunately, he seemed to laugh it off following his fall, suggesting there was nothing to worry about.
      Reacting to the clip, one fan joked: “Bros getting tackled by bottles 😂.”
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      A second said: “Imagine if that put him out for the final 🤣🤣.”
      “They’re getting sacked. Imagine if he got injured,” remarked a third, raising doubts about the bottles’ future.
      A fourth typed: “Defo a pen if it goes to VAR🙃.”
      While another added: “Imagine if he’d done his ankle on this.”
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      Haaland has scored seven goals in the Champions League knockout stages this season, though five of those came in a single game against RB Leipzig.
      Despite his record-breaking exploits, Dwight Yorke does not believe he would make Manchester United’s 1999 Treble-winning team.
      City are on the brink of winning a historic Treble, but SunSport’s Martin Lipton has told how the achievement could be seen as tainted by rivals. More

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      City have been waiting 15 years for this and barring a Buster Douglas moment Pep will finally deliver the holy grail

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      THIS is the night they have been building towards for 15 years — ever since the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City.This is the night that Pep Guardiola has waited for since 2011 – when his Barcelona side wiped the floor with Manchester United at Wembley with one of the greatest performances of all time.
      Manchester City are on the verge of Champions League glory against Inter MilanCredit: ALAMY
      City have been absolutely rampant in Europe’s elite club competition this seasonCredit: AP
      Victory over the Italians tonight will see Guardiola deliver the holy grail to City chiefsCredit: AP

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      And this is the night which Erling Haaland readily admits he was purchased for by the desert sheikhs last summer.
      The night when Manchester City, barring a James ‘Buster’ Douglas moment from Inter Milan, will finally be crowned champions of Europe.
      City are overwhelming favourites to complete the Treble — more so than any side contesting a Champions League final for at least two decades, and probably far longer than that.
      Guardiola hasn’t won a Champions League for 12 years and he knows the lines we trot out on occasions like this.
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      There’s the one about him overthinking his team selections in this competition and then there’s the one about him never having won the European Cup as a manager without Lionel Messi.
      Guardiola played along with that last jibe when he was asked the secrets of his success on the eve of this final in Istanbul.
      He replied: “Have good players. “Have Messi, have Haaland — this is my success. I’m not joking.
      “Let them think alone they cannot do it, (only) together with a strong team.
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      “Every manager who has had success has strong institutions and exceptional players — I’ve never scored a goal as a manager.”
      He said he wasn’t joking but his tongue was certainly in his cheek. He isn’t as modest as all that.
      Guardiola knows that complacency is his team’s biggest potential enemy here at the Ataturk Stadium on the western edge of this sprawling city which spans two continents.
      It is extremely rare for a club to reach this final while considered to be outside of the top dozen teams in Europe.
      But that is a reasonable assessment of Inter, whose route to Istanbul — via Porto, Benfica and city rivals AC Milan — was freakishly “easy”.
      City have not lost a meaningful fixture for four months and are a very settled team, with Guardiola having stopped that ‘overthinking’ tendency.
      Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were swept aside — and that 4-0 second-leg toppling of Carlo Ancelotti’s European champions felt hugely significant.
      City were the team who consistently choked and lost when they should have won in the latter stages of this competition; Real were the club who always found a way to win, even when they shouldn’t.
      But City simply sploshed the 14-time champions in that semi-final tie at the Etihad last month — to seal a 5-1 aggregate success — and their previous Champions League failures seem less relevant as a result.
      Yet Guardiola’s most pointed message to his team was his urging them to stay calm if the match stays goalless for an extended period.
      Guardiola is wary of the threat posed by Italian giants Inter MilanCredit: AP
      He said: “We have to be stable, defend well and be patient.
      “The most important thing is not to think at 0-0 you are losing.
      “Italian teams can think at 0-0 they are winning — and they are not.”
      Ruben Dias spoke bullishly about City’s ability to go on relentless late-season runs.
      The Portuguese defender said: “Since February, it’s the sweet spot — and you can see the character of a team when you arrive at these stages.
      “You can see whether a team wants to move forward or starts hiding.
      “Since that moment we’ve been showing up every time — and tomorrow will be no different. It’s another time for all of us to step up.”
      Since February, City have overhauled Arsenal in the Premier League, including completing a comprehensive double over the long-time leaders, they have demolished Bayern and Real at home, then defeated Manchester United in an FA Cup final.
      After all that, surely they cannot possibly toss away the Treble against an Inter team who, while in decent form, are an ageing side who finished a distant third in Serie A?
      With Haaland at the forefront, City are a more complete and versatile team. Not as “pure” but better than ever before.
      Guardiola will be hoping star striker Erling Haaland can fire City to Euro glory in TurkeyCredit: REX
      The Norwegian’s 52 goals in as many games have made him the stand-out player of the season.
      But in recent weeks, their scoring duties have been shared around, with others — especially skipper Ilkay Gundogan — coming to the fore.
      Asked about Haaland’s recent record — just one goal in seven matches — Guardiola was steadfast.
      The City boss said: “If you have doubts about Haaland scoring goals then you’ll be lonely.
      “I don’t have any doubts. He’ll be ready to help us win the Champions League.”
      A City victory here tonight will feel like a sea change.
      Until now, neither they nor their fellow oil-rich, state-run Paris Saint-Germain have won this trophy.
      Next year, Saudi-owned Newcastle will join them at the top table. The old elite is finally being gatecrashed.
      There are 115 Premier League charges of financial wrongdoing hanging over City and there is widespread discomfort with the sportswashing of authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes.
      But any of the footballing doubts which surrounded Guardiola’s City regime have evaporated in recent months.
      Tonight is the night he has been waiting for since he arrived in Manchester in 2016.
      It is the night City’s owners have craved since 2008.
      Read more on The Sun
      Guardiola wasn’t shying away from the idea that winning this thing is a dream and an obsession.
      Immortality awaits his team, barring one of the biggest footballing shocks of all time. More

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      I hated it at first when I joined Inter from Man Utd, my wife was upset the second we landed, England legend reveals

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      PAUL INCE is a flag-waving, patriotic Englishman who always backs Premier League teams in Europe.Yet Saturday’s Champions League final will be difficult. He is completely torn over who to support.
      Paul Ince played for Inter Milan for two yearsCredit: Allsport – Getty
      Ince has fond memories of his time at the San SiroCredit: Getty

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      Because as he watches Manchester City take on Inter Milan, the memories will come flooding back to Ince, who remains one of this country’s most successful exports to Italy.
      He said: “It is a difficult one for me. As an Englishman, I will always want English teams to do well but Inter has a massive place in my heart so I am divided.”
      Ince, 55, followed in the footsteps of stars like Paul Gascoigne, Trevor Francis and David Platt when he headed to Italy in 1995.
      The midfielder, who came up through the ranks at West Ham, had two strong seasons at Inter and the San Siro club were desperate for him to stay when he left in 1997.
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      But it was not all a bed of roses at the start.
      Ince, speaking to SunSport from the Bahamas where he has been celebrating his 33rd wedding anniversary with wife Claire, said: “The move came as a bit of a shock as I had already been at Manchester United for six years.
      “I was negotiating a contract for another four years. Then the club accepted a £7.5million bid from Inter Milan. It wasn’t the move I wanted.
      “When we landed there were loads of press, fans.
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      “This bloke came up and said, ‘Mr Ince, are you married? A lot of players often return home with an Italian woman as they are all so beautiful’.
      “My wife Claire was with me and was upset as soon as we arrived at the airport — so it was not a good start!
      “We could not find a place to stay, either. They showed us a couple of terrible apartments and then I started to have second thoughts about the whole move.
      “Then, they put us in a beautiful hotel on Lake Como and we stayed there two or three months.
      “For the first few weeks it was a struggle. The manager Ottavio Bianchi was playing me on the left wing.
      “We went to Torino for a game, we had not started the season well, and were 2-0 down at half-time.
      “Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, came down at half-time and went bananas.
      “I told my team-mate Massimo Paganin, who spoke good English, ‘Can you tell the president I had six years at Manchester United in central midfield and you are not getting the best out of me’.
      “The president listened, told the manager to put me in midfield and we drew the game 2-2.
      “By Monday, the president had fired the manager and brought in Roy Hodgson, that is when things changed and improved for me.”

      Inter came seventh but improved in his — and Hodgson’s — second campaign. Ince added: “It was probably the best move I ever made.
      “The culture, lifestyle and language all scared me at first. But I got on so well with the fans and they loved me. I loved the Milan derby.
      “I have played in some derbies but this one was sensational. You would get the flares and the game would have to be delayed because it was so smoky — you could not see the player next to you.
      “The second season with Inter was better and we finished third in Serie A and reached the final of the Uefa Cup but ended up losing on penalties.”
      Ultimately, though, Ince had to leave for family reasons.
      He explained: “Claire had Bell’s Palsy when she was in Italy and was also pregnant with my second son, Daniel, so we decided to go back and I signed for Liverpool.
      “It made it hard because things were going so well at Inter.
      “Moratti was really upset and said, ‘We are signing Ronaldo next season, you cannot go’.
      “When I look back, I understand the decision I made. It was just not a decision I wanted to make.
      “I was watching an Inter game the other day and saw Javier Zanetti on TV. We signed on the same day. He is now one of the greats at Inter, and vice-president.
      “I sort of say to myself, ‘You never know, it could have been me if I had stayed there!’
      “The most important thing is I fitted in and made my mark.”
      So who does Ince think will taste glory in Istanbul tonight?
      He said: “It will be an intriguing final. Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites but that brings pressure.
      Read more on The Sun
      “Inter struggle against lesser teams and show up against the big sides.
      “Everyone will have to be a ten out of ten for Inter, though, if they are to beat City.” More

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      Man City cult hero set to equal Paolo Maldini’s Champions League record if Pep’s side wins without even kicking a ball

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      SCOTT CARSON can go hand in glove with Champions League great Paolo Maldini.Even though the chances are next to nil that Manchester City’s No 3 will even get his fingers on the ball.
      Scott Carson can equal Paolo Maldini’s recordCredit: Getty
      Paolo Maldini won five Champions League titlesCredit: Getty

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      Yet if he ends up celebrating with those who do take on Inter Milan then Carson will bridge an 18-year gap to lift his second winners’ medal.
      Just like Maldini did between his first and fifth triumphs in the competition.
      And the AC Milan legend could not be blamed for thinking, if Carson does climb onto the winners’ podium: ‘Nice work if you can get it’.
      The revered Italian defender had to slog through a Milan career that covered 902 appearances and 25 seasons to gather that handful of precious victories.
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      Carson has had it a lot easier under Pep Guardiola — 900 games easier.
      The 37-year-old has worn the City shirt just twice — and on one of those occasions for only 17 minutes.
      But if he is named among the substitutes, as has happened throughout the European campaign, he could add a second gong to the one he won with Liverpool in 2005 — while also sitting on the bench.
      In the same Ataturk Olympic stadium that stages City’s clash with Inter, he was back–up to Jerzy Dudek as Steven Gerrard inspired Liverpool’s Miracle of Istanbul.
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      By which time he had played a mere five games for Rafa Benitez’s side.
      Maldini’s first taste of glory in the Continent’s elite competition was a 4–0 win over Steaua Bucharest in 1989.
      By 2007, he had his fifth, following a 2–1 victory over Liverpool.Carson’s own 18–year timeline was a lot different.
      After that 2005 final he played only four more times for Liverpool before going on loan to Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa.
      In 2008, although an England player, he was sold to West Brom for £3.75million before moving on to Bursaspor for £2m.
      Carson was brought in by  Guardiola from Derby County originally on loan in 2019. And, since then, things have taken a remarkable twist.
      Carson could already have a second winners’ medal having been in his usual spot — on the subs’ bench — as Ederson conceded the Kai Havertz goal that handed Chelsea a 1–0  victory in the 2021 final.

      Only 15 days before the put-down in Porto that brought the Whitehaven–born keeper his consolation prize, Carson started his one and only Prem game for City in a 4–3 win over Newcastle.
      Yet he did save a penalty and, in doing so, bridged a different but equally amazing personal time gap.
      For he had last played in a top-flight game TEN YEARS earlier for the Baggies — also against the Toon,  drawing 3–3 on May 22, 2011.
      No other player has matched that particular record.
      His one appearance for City in the Champions League came in last year’s 0–0 draw with Sporting Lisbon, when he replaced Ederson with City already five up on aggregate in that last-16 tie.
      Sometime stopper or not, Guardiola would never rain on Carson’s parade.
      The keeper infamously dropped the first-goal clanger in England’s 3–2 defeat against Croatia in 2007 that cast Steve McClaren as the Wally with the Brolly and cost him his job after the Three Lions failed to qualify for the following year’s Euro finals.
      And Carson would gain only two more caps after that to take his tally to four.
      But Guardiola, who has just given him another year’s contract, loves his No 3 and views him as an inspirational mentor inside the Etihad.
      The City manager said: “The best advice I could give to the young players is to stay around Scott Carson as much as possible in the locker room and on the pitch.
      “ ‘Listen to him and pay attention’. That is the best advice and learning they can get about their future careers.”
      Read more on The Sun
      In game time, Carson has not really had a City career at all.
      But, amazingly, he can still join Maldini in the record books because for him, when it comes to appearance numbers and Champions League gongs, who’s counting? More

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      Three Man Utd rejects out to destroy Man City dream for Inter Milan as fans wonder why they aren’t still at Old Trafford

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      MANCHESTER UNITED have been waiting 12 years and counting to return to a Champions League final.That 3-1 defeat at Wembley in 2011 by Barcelona was their third appearance in four years after winning it in 2008.
      Ex-Manchester United man Matteo Darmian has turned it around at InterCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      Team-mate Romelu Lukaku is another former Red DevilCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      Henrikh Mkhitaryan won the Europa League with UnitedCredit: Getty – Contributor

      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL – MAN CITY VS INTER MILAN: All you need to know including kick-off time and TV details
      They have not even been close since with the quarters, twice, as far as they have got.
      So United fans might be wondering how three of their rejects have managed it with Inter Milan today — and if they should have left Old Trafford at all.
      So where did it all go wrong for Romelu Lukaku, 30, Matteo Darmian, 33, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 34, with the Red Devils?
      Still short of a No 9, United could do with a Lukaku at his best.
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      But the Belgian’s time at the club came to an inauspicious end training on his own at a cricket ground in Perth before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could get him out.
      He arrived from Everton for £75million in July 2017 and had a spectacular start under Jose Mourinho.
      He scored ten goals in his first nine games and beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s 58-year club record of nine in his first nine.
      Lukaku bagged 27 goals in his first season, including 16 in the Prem as United came second.
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      The following season did not go so well as Mourinho’s reign unravelled and Solskjaer’s faster more fluent game did not suit the targetman.
      His second season will be remembered for his double against hosts Paris Saint-Germain as United reached the last eight on the away-goals rule after overcoming a 2-0 first-leg deficit with a 3-1 win.
      But Solskjaer kept him away from the rest of the squad during pre-season training the following summer at the WACA cricket ground before a £73m switch to Inter Milan was agreed.
      A record of 42 goals in 96 appearances still looks good.
      And when he went on to get 64 in 95 games in the next two seasons at Inter, United fans must have wondered what Solskjaer was thinking.
      The on-loan Chelsea striker now stands on the brink of his greatest-ever achievement back at Inter — with boss Simone Inzaghi having to chose between him and former Manchester City frontman Edin Dzeko to start up top.

      Mkhitaryan left many fans just as baffled as the attacking midfielder failed to convince Mourinho right from the start, despite the Special One making him a £30m signing in the summer of 2016.
      He waited until September 10 for his first Prem start and was hooked at half-time for failing to track back for Manchester City’s second goal in a 2-1 defeat.
      Mkhitaryan would start only 15 league games that season but was a hero in the Europa League run.
      He played ten games from the off and scored six goals including one in the 2-0 triumph over Ajax in the final. With that he became the first Armenian to win a European trophy.
      The first three matches of the following campaign saw him assist five goals but he never really fitted in with what Mourinho wanted defensively.
      He did not even figure in the squad for five games before a brief return ahead of his switch to Arsenal in January 2018 as part of a deal to bring Alexis Sanchez to United.
      Now he is heading for a fairytale end to his career.
      Mkhitaryan said: “I want to win because it’s the Champions League — that doesn’t come along every day.”
      He is fit despite being out since May 16 with a thigh injury.
      Full-back Darmian had four years at United after a £12.9m move from Torino in July 2015.
      Again, he had a great start and was named the club’s player of the month for August.
      His 24 league starts that first season under Louis van Gaal would be his best tally.
      Darmian moved to Parma for £1.4m in September 2019 then joined Inter the following season — initially on loan.
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      But he has not forgotten his time at Old Trafford and wants to stop City matching United’s 1999 Treble.
      He said: “Being a former United player is extra motivation.” More