Manchester City are aiming to win their first Champions League title on Saturday after several near misses over the past 12 years.
City lost to Chelsea in the 2020/21 final and suffered dramatic defeats against Tottenham in 2018/19 and Real Madrid last season but, having already won the Premier League and FA Cup this term, they are 2/9 to claim the trophy when they take on 10/3 Inter Milan in Istanbul.
What | Champions League 2022/23 |
Where | Final at Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul |
When | 20:00, Saturday 10th June |
How to watch | BT Sport 1 |
Odds | Man City 9/20, Draw 15/4, Inter Milan 11/2 |
A third-placed finish in the Premier League in 2010/11 earned Manchester City their first taste of Champions League football.
They picked up 10 points from six group games, doing the double over Villarreal, but away defeats to Bayern Munich and Napoli meant the Citizens finished third in Group A and they went on to lose to Sporting in the Europa League last 16.
Sergio Aguero's dramatic goal clinched City's first Premier League title in 2011/12 but the English champions finished bottom of Group D in the following season's Champions League.
They drew their home games against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax but lost all three away fixtures as Dortmund and Real progressed from a tough section.
Five wins out of six in Group D, including a 3-2 away victory over Bayern Munich, set up a last-16 clash with Barcelona in City's first Champions League knockout tie.
Barca proved too slick for the Mancunians, however, winning 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg and completing a 4-1 aggregate victory at Camp Nou, where Vincent Kompany scored City's consolation goal in the 89th minute.
City qualified from Group E as runners-up to Bayern despite taking just eight points from six games, but once again they ran into Barcelona in the last 16.
Again, the Catalan giants were too good for the Premier League side as a Luis Suarez brace gave Barca a 2-1 first-leg win at the Etihad and Ivan Rakitic sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory in the return fixture.
City first got a real scent of Champions League glory in 2015/16 after beating Dynamo Kiev in the last 16 and seeing off Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Their semi-final against Real Madrid was a tense tie and, after a goalless first leg in Manchester, a Fernando own goal in Madrid proved to be the decisive moment as Real advanced before beating Atletico Madrid in the final.
Pep Guardiola's first Champions League campaign as City manager saw them finish second to his former club Barcelona in Group C before a dramatic last-16 exit against Monaco.
The Citizens won the first leg 5-3 but went out on away goals after a 3-1 loss at Monaco, whose teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe scored in both legs. With Arsenal thumped 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern in the last 16, Leicester were the only English club to reach the quarter-finals.
City eased past Basel in the last 16 but were 3-0 down inside 31 minutes in their quarter-final first leg against an inspired Liverpool at Anfield.
Gabriel Jesus sparked hopes of a comeback with a second-minute goal in the home leg but strikes from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino completed a 5-1 aggregate win for the Reds, who went on to lose to Real Madrid in the final.
A 10-2 aggregate rout of Schalke in the last 16 showed City meant business in the 2018/19 Champions League but they were knocked out by Tottenham in a remarkable quarter-final tie.
Following a 1-0 defeat in north London, City led 3-2 on the night after just 21 minutes of the home leg and Sergio Aguero put them ahead on aggregate in the second half. However, Fernando Llorente's 73rd-minute strike saw Tottenham through on away goals – only after Raheem Sterling's stoppage-time 'winner' was ruled out for offside.
City fans were starting to believe it could be their year when late goals from Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne gave Guardiola's side a 2-1 last-16 first-leg win against Real at the Bernabeu.
They sealed a 4-2 aggregate win over the Spanish giants in Manchester but suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to Lyon in the one-off quarter-final in Lisbon, where Moussa Dembele's late brace dashed the Citizens' European dream for another year.
City reached their first Champions League final in 2020/21 after winning all six of their knockout ties against Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
They were favourites to beat Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in the final in Porto but mustered only one shot on target in 90 minutes and a Kai Havertz goal shortly before half-time extended City's wait for a maiden Champions League title.
After topping a group containing PSG, City knocked out Sporting and Atletico Madrid to set up a heavyweight semi-final against Real Madrid.
The Citizens won the first leg 4-3 and Riyad Mahrez's goal at the Bernabeu took them to the brink of the final until a remarkable comeback from Real.
Substitute Rodrygo scored in the 90th and 91st minutes to take the tie to extra-time and shellshocked City could find no response once Karim Benzema's penalty had put Real 6-5 ahead on aggregate.
City have swaggered to this season's Champions League final thanks to some outstanding performances in the home legs of their three knockout ties, beating RB Leipzig 7-0, Bayern Munich 3-0 and Real Madrid, their semi-final conquerors last term, 4-0.
They will be hoping to land the trophy for the first time in Saturday's showdown in Istanbul, where City are 9/20 to win in 90 minutes with Inter Milan 11/2 and the draw 15/4.
We use cookies to deliver a better and more personalised service. For more information, see our Cookie Policy