2023 UEFA Champions League final

An open bidding process was launched on 22 February 2019 by UEFA to select the 2022 and 2023 UEFA Champions League final venues.[4] Associations had until 22 March 2019 to express interest, and bid dossiers had to be submitted by 1 July 2019.[5]

While the bidding associations have not been confirmed by UEFA, the German Football Association was reported to have bid with the Allianz Arena in Munich, should they not be awarded the 2021 final.[6]

The Allianz Arena was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 24 September 2019,[7] where the hosts for the 2021 and 2023 UEFA Champions League finals were also appointed.[8]

On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final, Munich would instead host the 2023 final.[2] However, because of the subsequent relocation of the 2021 final from Istanbul, they would host the 2023 final. Munich would host the 2025 final instead.[3]

Manchester City qualified for the Champions League group stage by winning the 2021–22 Premier League. In the group stage, they were drawn into Group G, alongside Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund, La Liga fourth-place team Sevilla and Danish Superliga champions Copenhagen.[9]

In City's opener of the group stage, they faced Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and won 4–0, with goals from Phil Foden, Rúben Dias, and a brace from Erling Haaland.[10] On matchday 2, City won 2–1 at the City of Manchester Stadium against Borussia Dortmund with goals from John Stones and Erling Haaland.[11] On matchday 3, City defeated Copenhagen at home 5–0, with goals from Riyad Mahrez, Julián Álvarez, a brace from Erling Haaland, and an own goal from Davit Khocholava.[12] On matchday 4, City drew in Copenhagen 0–0.[13] On matchday 5, City drew against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion 0–0.[14] On matchday 6, at the City of Manchester Stadium, City defeated Sevilla 3–1, with goals from Rico Lewis, Julian Álvarez, and Riyad Mahrez.[15]

In the round of 16, City were drawn against German club RB Leipzig. In the first leg at Red Bull Arena, City drew 1–1 with Leipzig with a goal from Riyad Mahrez.[16] In the second leg, in Manchester, City defeated Leipzig 7–0, with five goals from Erling Haaland, tying a Champions League single game goals record, and one goal each from İlkay Gündoğan and Kevin De Bruyne, to advance 8–1 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals.[17]

In the quarter-finals, City were drawn against German champions Bayern Munich. In the first leg, at the City of Manchester Stadium, City won 3–0, with goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland.[18] In the second leg, at the Allianz Arena, City drew 1–1 with Bayern, with a goal from Erling Haaland, and advanced 4–1 on aggregate to qualify for the semi-finals.[19]

In the semi-finals, City were drawn against Spanish champions and 2021–22 UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid, making it a rematch of the last season's tie at the same stage, which Madrid won 6–5 on aggregate after extra time. In the first leg, at the Santiago Bernabéu, City and Real tied, with a first-half goal from Real matched by an equalizer from Kevin De Bruyne.[20] In the second leg, at the City of Manchester Stadium, City won 4–0, with a brace from Bernardo Silva and goals from Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez. City won 5–1 on aggregate to qualify for their second Champions League final.[21]

Inter Milan qualified for the Champions League group stage by finishing as runners-up in the 2021–22 Serie A. In the group stage, they were drawn into Group C alongside Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, La Liga runners-up Barcelona and Czech First League champions Viktoria Plzeň.[22]

In the opening match of the group stage, Inter faced Bayern Munich at the San Siro and lost 2–0 with goals for Bayern from Leroy Sané and an own goal by Danilo D'Ambrosio.[23] On matchday 2, Inter won 2–0 against Viktoria Plzeň at the Doosan Arena with goals from Edin Džeko and Denzel Dumfries.[24] On matchday 3, Inter returned to the San Siro and won 1–0 against Barcelona with the only goal of the match coming from Hakan Çalhanoğlu.[25] On matchday 4, Inter drew 3–3 with Barcelona at the Camp Nou with goals for Inter from Nicolò Barella, Lautaro Martínez and Robin Gosens.[26] On matchday 5, Inter won 4–0 against Viktoria Plzeň at the San Siro with goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Džeko and Romelu Lukaku, sealing qualification to the knockout phase.[27] On matchday 6, Inter lost 2–0 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena with goals for Bayern from Benjamin Pavard and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.[28]

In the round of 16, Inter were drawn against Portuguese club Porto. In the first leg at the San Siro, Inter Milan won 1–0 with a goal from Lukaku.[29] In the second leg at the Estádio do Dragão, Inter drew 0–0 to seal a 1–0 win on aggregate, qualifying for the quarter-finals.[30]

In the quarter-finals, Inter were drawn against another Portuguese club, Benfica. In the first leg at the Estádio da Luz, Inter won 2–0 with goals from Barella and a penalty kick from Lukaku.[31] In the second leg at the San Siro, Inter drew 3–3 with goals from Barella, Martínez, and Joaquín Correa, finishing with a 5–3 aggregate score and qualifying Inter for the semi-finals.[32]

In the semi-finals, Inter were drawn against local rivals Milan, their first meeting in European competition since 2005, with both legs being held at the San Siro. In the 'away' leg, Inter won 2–0 with goals from Džeko and Mkhitaryan.[33] In the 'home' leg, Inter won 1–0 with the only goal of the match from Martínez, making it 3–0 on aggregate, and qualifying Inter onto the final thus returning back for their sixth appearance, and their first since 2010, when Jose Mourinho was manager.[34]

The visual identity of the 2023 UEFA Champions League final was unveiled at the group stage draw in Istanbul on 25 August 2022.

The ambassador for the final is former Turkish international Hamit Altıntop, who was originally the ambassador for 2020 and 2021 finals before both matches were relocated to Lisbon and Porto respectively.

Nigerian singer Burna Boy will perform for the opening ceremony before the start of the match.[35]

With a stadium capacity of 72,000 for the final, a total amount of 47,200 tickets are available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 20,000 tickets each, and with the other tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 21 to 28 April 2023 in four price categories: €690, €490, €180, and €70. Accessibility tickets for disabled spectators cost €70. The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organising committee, national associations, commercial partners, and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.[36]

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.

10 June 2023 (2023-06-10)

22:00 TRT

Manchester City	v	Inter Milan
	Report

Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul